Top 5 Foods For Lowering Your High Blood Pressure

02/27/2023

The leading cause of preventable heart disease today is high blood pressure (hypertension). This is due to modern lifestyle and other factors.

More than one billion people across the globe are hypertensive. And according to experts, you are hypertensive when your diastolic blood pressure (DBP, base number) and systolic blood pressure (SBP, upper number) are above 130 mm hg and 80 mm hg, respectively.

Drugs such as inhibitors of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) are the most commonly used medications to combat hypertension.

However, changes in lifestyle, such as diet, are the best and most sustainable way to lower blood pressure. And they are the most available and affordable too.

We have researched the five best foods for lowering your blood pressure.

1. Berries

Berries have lots of exciting health benefits. Among them is their potential to decrease the risk of heart diseases like hypertension. In addition, they are a good source of antioxidants; one being anthocyanin in which it gives the berries an excellent color.

Anthocyanins increase the levels of nitric oxides and decrease the production of molecules that restrict blood vessels. Therefore, berries can help in lowering high blood pressure even though there is a need for more extensive research to ascertain this function in humans.

2. Lentils and Beans

Lentils and beans contain nutrients like potassium, magnesium and fiber that help lower blood pressure. These nutrients are also actively involved in the regulation of the activities of the heart function.

In an examination of eight pieces of research containing 554 individuals that either have or do not have hypertension, the two groups experienced a significant decrease in SBP and overall blood pressure when they exchanged their diets and started consuming lentils and beans.

3. Fatty Fish and Salmon

Omega-3 fats, sourced mainly from fatty fish and salmon, have significant benefits to the heart. They cut oxylipin levels, responsible for restricting blood vessels. Also, fatty fishes decrease inflammation, lowering blood pressure.

Numerous shreds of evidence connect the consumption of omega-3 fats with lowering blood pressure.

4. Carrots

Among the staple veggies, you shouldn't exempt from your blood pressure diet is sweet, nutritious carrot. They are rich in phenols like caffeic acids, p-coumaric, and chlorogenic, which are responsible for reducing inflammation and relaxing blood vessels. These are important in lowering blood pressure.

And if you want to benefit more from carrots, they are best eaten raw for heart health. They provide more benefits to the heart raw, but you can still eat them cooked. In research involving 2 195 individuals between the ages of 40 to 59, carrot intake was observed to enhance the lowering of blood pressure.

5. Tomatoes

Tomatoes are high in lycopene, a carotenoid pigment, and potassium. Evidence has shown that lycopene benefits the heart and helps decrease blood pressure.

A study of 21 researches concluded that eating tomatoes and their products enhance blood pressure. As a result, it decreases the risk of cardiovascular diseases and related deaths.