We know that we need to eat less salt to avoid high blood pressure, which affects two in five people in Ireland.
However, according to the Irish Heart Foundation (IHA), reducing salt intake is just one diet
Strategy to lower blood pressure.
A balanced diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables, legumes and whole grain products from
Bananas, beets, tomatoes and lentils are also important, says the IHA. Here’s what to add to your shopping list:
Two medium-sized bananas per day.
Potassium is a wonder mineral for high blood pressure because it helps the body remove excess salt from the bloodstream. According to the authors of a five-year study that analyzed data from 20,995 people in China, consuming just one extra gram of potassium a day—the equivalent of two medium-sized bananas—could be enough to fight high blood pressure.
Study participants, who had either suffered a stroke or were over 60 years old and had high blood pressure, were asked to maintain their normal salt intake or receive a replacement in which a quarter of the salt was replaced with potassium, a mineral known to play a role in blood pressure regulation.
Results published in the Journal of Human Hypertension
showed that people with a high-potassium diet had lower blood pressure and a 14% lower risk of heart disease at the end of the study.
One serving per day.
Leafy vegetables are rich in blood pressure-friendly nitrates. A 23-year study of 50,000 people at Australia’s Edith Cowan University, published in the European Journal of Epidemiology
showed that people who regularly ate a daily serving of leafy greens had significantly lower blood pressure and up to a 26% lower risk of heart disease. The scientists said a daily serving of spinach also contains enough potassium to reduce high blood pressure.
Two to four cups daily.
Black and green tea are rich in flavan-3-ols, a subgroup of the healthy plant compounds flavonoids that are found in many foods. Flavonoids improve blood pressure and circulation and have other heart-healthy benefits. A showed that 400 to 600 mg of flavan-3-ols per day – equivalent to two to four cups of tea – is sufficient to achieve such benefits.
One glass per day.
If you can tolerate it, a glass of beetroot juice daily (250 ml) can lower your blood pressure. Beetroot is a rich source of inorganic nitrates, compounds that are converted by the body into nitrite and then into nitric oxide, which relaxes and dilates blood vessels. Beetroot is known to have powerful effects on blood pressure and cardiovascular health. For the study, published in the American Heart Association’s journal Hypertension,
a group of patients diagnosed with, or at risk of, high blood pressure were asked to drink a drink a day for four weeks – half of them were given beetroot juice and the other half a placebo that looked and tasted the same. At the end of the trial, the beetroot juice drinkers had experienced a drop in blood pressure of about 8/4 mmHg, bringing their blood pressure back into the “normal” range. In the two weeks following the study, when they stopped drinking beetroot juice, their blood pressure returned to normal.
The high levels before the start of the study suggest that they need to maintain their nitrate intake for long-term benefit.
A handful of cherry tomatoes or a quarter can of chopped tomatoes per day.
Consuming 110 g of tomatoes or tomato products such as sauces and puree daily showed that healthy people have a 36% lower risk of developing high blood pressure.. In a study of 7,056 participants published in Hypertension
The protective effect has been attributed to the lycopene (the red antioxidant compound that gives tomatoes their color) and potassium contained in tomatoes.
Two to three servings per week.
A diet rich in pulses, including dried peas and lentils, significantly reduced blood pressure in both people with hypertension and those with normal blood pressure, according to a study of 544 people published in Hypertension.
and three servings of lentils, peas or beans per week were linked to better blood pressure control in another study of people with elevated blood pressure in the journal Nutrients.
One of each per day.
Apples and pears are rich in flavonoids, antioxidant plant compounds known to help keep blood pressure under control. According to Prof. Aedin Cassidy, a researcher at the School of Biological Sciences at Queen’s University Belfast, these flavonoids also promote gut health, which explains the blood pressure benefits. In a study of 904 people, Cassidy found that those who ate the most flavonoid-rich foods had a greater diversity of gut bacteria, which in turn helps lower systolic blood pressure.
100 g daily portion.
While most beans have a positive effect on blood pressure, the darker varieties, such as red kidney beans and black beans, have been shown to have the most positive effects on blood vessels. In a small pilot study examining the effects of beans on cardiovascular values, researchers at the University of Manitoba in Canada showed that blood pressure was lower two hours after eating red kidney beans than after eating rice.
Three to five per day.
Dried fruits, including raisins (749 mg potassium per 100 g), dates (656 mg) and prunes (732 mg), are a good source of potassium, which has been shown to lower blood pressure. However, by weight, dried apricots contain the most potassium (1,162 mg). Experts say that a 30-40 g serving of dried fruit is one of your five servings a day and can contribute to healthier blood pressure.
A small handful (42g) daily.
The authors of a 2020 study showed that eating a few almonds daily helps lower blood pressure, while a team in found that people in their 60s who suffered from mild hypertension had better control of their blood pressure when they ate a few walnuts daily, compared to a control group that did not eat nuts.
A small pot every day.
A daily dollop of yogurt lowered blood pressure in people with hypertension, according to a study in . The researchers who conducted the study suspected that bacteria in yogurt promote the release of proteins that lower blood pressure. Other nutrients in yogurt, such as calcium, magnesium and potassium, are important for blood pressure control.
