Eat more fruit and vegetables to lower blood pressure

 

 

Eating more fruit and vegetables has been proven to help lower blood pressure.

Fruit and vegetables are full of vitamins, minerals and fibre to keep your body in good condition.

They also contain potassium, which helps to balance out the negative effects of salt. This has a direct effect on your blood pressure, helping to lower it.

 

Eat at least 5 portions a day

To help lower blood pressure, adults should eat at least 5 different portions of fruit and vegetables per day. A portion is 80 grams, or roughly the size of your fist.

The following amounts represent a portion:

• A dessert bowl of salad 
• Three heaped tablespoons of vegetables 
• Three heaped tablespoons of pulses (chickpeas, lentils, beans)
• One medium-sized fruit (apple, orange, pear or banana) 
• Two smaller fruits (plums, apricots, satsumas) 
• One slice of a large fruit (melon, pineapple or mango) 
• Two to three tablespoons of berries or grapes 
• A glass (150ml) of fruit or vegetable juice 
• One tablespoon of dried fruit

 

What counts as a portion

All fruit and veg counts whether it’s fresh, frozen or canned. However if it is canned try to check it is in natural juices or water and doesn’t have added sugar or salt.

Pulses, unsweetened fruit juice and smoothies, and vegetable juice all count towards your five a day total. However they only count as one portion no matter how much you eat or drink. A 30-40g portion of dried fruit also counts but as it is so high in sugar it is recommended you only eat dried fruit at mealtimes to minimise tooth decay.

Potatoes, yams, cassava and plantain are starchy foods and so do not count towards your 5-a-day, however sweet potatoes and other root veg such as turnips, parsnips and swedes do count. 

 

Tips to increase your fruit and vegetable intake

• Add a handful of berries or stewed fruit to your cereal or have mashed banana or avocado and sliced tomato on your toast in the morning.
• If you’re having eggs for breakfast add a side of grilled tomatoes, mushrooms or wilted spinach.
• At lunch and dinner make sure you include a side salad or at least of two portions of veg.
• Add salad to sandwiches and wraps.
• Add grated or chopped vegetables and pulses to pasta sauces, soups and stews.
• If making a shepherd’s pie or Bolognese replace some of the meat with lentils.
• Snack on fruit and vegetable crudités during the day.

 

Get the most from your fruit and vegetables

• Don’t buy fruit and vegetable dishes that come with sauces. They often contain a lot of fat, salt and sugar. 
• Vary the types of fruit and vegetables you eat. Each has different health benefits and it will keep your meals interesting. By eating a wide range of fruit and vegetables, you will ensure that your body is getting all the nutrients it needs.
• Don’t add sugar to fruit or salt to vegetables when you cook or serve them.
• Try to eat fresh fruit and vegetables as soon as possible. They will lose their nutrients over time, so if you want to store your ingredients for a while, it is best to freeze them or buy frozen packets.
• Avoid leaving vegetables open to the air, light or heat if they have been cut. Always cover and chill them, but don't soak them because the vitamins and minerals can dissolve away.
• Vegetables keep more of their vitamins and minerals if you lightly steam or bake them, instead of boiling or frying them.  
• If you boil vegetables, use as little water as possible to help keep the vitamins and minerals in them.

 

Drink less alcohol to avoid high blood pressure

 

 

If you drink too much alcohol, this will raise your blood pressure over time. In addition, alcohol contains a lot of calories which can make you gain weight and as a result increase your blood pressure.

If you keep to the recommended limits for alcohol, this will help to keep your blood pressure down. The current UK guidelines are that all adults, men and women, consume no more than 14 units of alcohol a week.

Keeping within these guidelines will help you control your blood pressure.

One unit of alcohol is the equivalent of 10ml or 8g of pure alcohol. But because alcoholic drinks have different strengths and come in different sizes, knowing what counts as a unit is not always easy - it’s often a lot less than you think.

The alcohol content of wine ranges from 11%-14% which means a single 175ml glass can contain between 1.9 and 2.4 units and a 250ml glass can contain between 2.8 and 3.5 units.

 

What does 14 units look like?

• 6 175ml glasses of wine (13%)
• 6 pints of normal-strength beer or ale (4%)
• 5 pints of cider (4.5%)
• 14 single 25ml measures of spirits (40%)

Remember if your drinks are stronger than this (have a higher percentage of alcohol) then 14 units will be less.

You should aim to spread your drinking over a few days and avoid binge drinking which is classed as drinking more than six units in six hours – that’s less than three 175ml glasses of wine or three pints of beer in an evening.

 

Drinking less alcohol

Even if you are drinking less than the recommended limits, you will still benefit from drinking less alcohol. Here are some tips to help you have a good night out (or in) without having to worry about your blood pressure.

• Try low-alcohol options – there are now a number of lower-strength beers on the market
• Check the label – many drinks' labels now tell you how many units they contain
• Make your drinks last longer by adding mixers or water
• Don’t eat bar snacks like crisps and peanuts – the added salt will make you want to drink more, and will raise your blood pressure
• If you drink at home, buy a measure so that you know how much you are drinking.

 

Limit your intake of saturated fat

 

 

Your body needs a certain amount of cholesterol to work properly, but not too much. If there is too much cholesterol in your blood it can build up on the sides of your arteries, narrowing them and increasing your risk of a heart attack or stroke.

The type of fat that you eat is important as some types of fats are more likely to raise your cholesterol levels while other types of fat will help to lower it.

 

Saturated fat and cholesterol

Your body uses saturated fat to make cholesterol therefore eating too much saturated fat will raise your cholesterol. Too much cholesterol can raise your risk of heart disease and stroke, so if you have high blood pressure it is very important to keep your cholesterol levels low.

Saturated fat is usually found in animal products for example red meats, pork, butter, ghee and cheese. It’s also found in many baked goods such as pastries, cakes and biscuits and in the plant-based oils coconut oil and palm oil.

When shopping, try to avoid foods high in saturated fat – those that have a red traffic light.

 

Unsaturated fats

A diet that is rich in unsaturated fats can help lower the levels of unwanted cholesterol even further.

Polyunsaturated and mono-unsaturated fats are found in olive oil, rapeseed oil and sunflower oil. These fats don’t raise your cholesterol levels but can still make you gain weight if you eat too much of them.

TIP: When cooking use rapeseed oil or sunflower oil in place of olive oil as it shouldn’t be heated to very high temperatures.

 

Is all cholesterol bad?

Not all cholesterol in the blood is bad. Cholesterol is carried by the blood in two main forms: LDL (low density lipoprotein) and HDL (high density lipoprotein).

LDL is the main carrier of harmful cholesterol to your arteries – where it can build up and cause narrowing.

HDL picks up excess cholesterol in the arteries and takes it away.

So the ideal situation is to have a low LDL level and a high HDL level.

 

Eat your way to lower cholesterol

One of the best ways to keep your cholesterol levels in check is to enjoy a balanced diet. This means eating plenty of fruit and vegetables, with starchy wholegrain foods and low levels of saturated fat.

Try to eat fish at least 2-3 times a week. White fish is low in fat and high in vitamins and minerals. Oily fish is rich in Omega-3 essential fatty acids which may help reduce blood pressure, reduce the tendency of blood to clot, regulate the rhythm of your heart beat and reduce triglyceride levels.

Always choose lean meats, poultry (without the skin), and lower-fat dairy foods instead of the fatty meats and full-fat dairy products. When cooking, remove any visible fat from meat and skim off the fat from sauces, gravy and casseroles. 

Avoid saturated fats found in butter, ghee, lard, full-fat dairy foods and animal products. Replace them with products high in monounsaturated fat such as rapeseed and olive oil, or high in polyunsaturated fats such as sunflower and corn oil.

Oats, beans, nuts and soya are also good choices.

 

Simple cooking methods to keep foods low in fat

Some of the unwanted fat that we eat comes from the cooking oils we use when frying. Because of this, it is best to use other methods of cooking that don’t need cooking oil: 

• Instead of frying foods, steam, boil, poach, grill, bake, microwave, barbecue or stir-fry them. 
• Use only a small amount of oil when cooking and choose brands high in polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fat. Alternatively, try cooking in wine, water or tomato juice.
• Measure oil using a teaspoon or tablespoon rather than just pouring it into the saucepan or use an oil spray. Trim meat of all visible fat and remove skin from poultry before cooking. 

 The way we cook can also help to reduce fat:

• By preparing curries and stews in advance and chilling them overnight, unwanted fat becomes solid and can be removed.
• When grilling or roasting meat, use a trivet which allows the fat to drain off.

And finally, we can replace fatty ingredients with healthier alternatives for example  substitute low-fat yoghurt or low-fat fromage frais in recipes that call for cream. 

 

Cut down on 'free' sugars

 

 

We consume far too much sugar in our diets, especially ‘free’ sugars. Free sugars are any sugar that is added to food and drinks or found naturally in honey and syrups. The sugar found naturally in unsweetened fruit juice is also free sugar.

Free sugar isn’t sugar naturally found in fruit and milk.

Foods with added sugar tend to be high in calories but often provide very little or no nutritional value. Foods such as table sugar, jam, cakes, sweets and chocolate, biscuits, cakes and sugary drinks are the main sources of free sugar in our diets.

Eating and drinking too much sugar causes tooth decay and can lead to weight gain which increases your risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes and as a result stroke.

The government recommends that only 5% of our daily energy intake comes from free sugars. This is the equivalent of 30g for adults or 7 teaspoons or cubes – most sugary fizzy drinks contain more than this in a can. 

 

Tips to cut down on sugar

• If you regularly drink sugar-sweetened drinks, swap to water or sugar-free varieties.
• Try to avoid breakfast cereals with added sugars. Instead add some fresh or frozen berries which will naturally sweeten your breakfast and contribute to your 5-a-day.
• Swap toast with jam and honey with toast topped with mashed banana.
• Avoid pre-made jar sauces such as pasta sauce which can have sugar added to them.
• Seemingly healthy snacks such as cereal bars can often have lots of added sugar in them, check the labels – anything ending in –ose or labelled as syrup or molasses is added sugar.

 

Eat less salt to lower blood pressure

 

 

Eat less salt to lower blood pressure. Eating too much salt is the biggest cause of high blood pressure - the more salt you eat, the higher your blood pressure will be.

Salt makes your body retain water. If you eat too much, the extra water stored in your body raises your blood pressure. This can be a particular problem if you have high blood pressure. Also, eating too much salt may mean that blood pressure medicines, such as diuretics, don't work as well.

Therefore cutting the amount of salt you eat is one of the quickest ways to lower your blood pressure (especially if you have high blood pressure). However this is easier said than done as most of the salt we consume is already in food we eat.

 

How much salt is too much?

An adult should eat no more than 6g of salt a day, but most of us eat much more than this - the latest data shows we’re consuming around 8g a day. Although current intake is down from 8.5g in 2011 and 8.8g in 2005/2006 it’s still too high.

Most of the salt we eat every day is ‘hidden’ which means it’s already in processed foods like bread, biscuits and breakfast cereals, and prepared ready meals or takeaways. This ‘hidden’ salt accounts for around 75% of the salt we eat, only 25% comes from the salt we add while cooking or at the table. 

 

What salt levels mean

To avoid hidden salt and cut down your salt intake, it is best to eat foods that are low in salt and stop using salt when cooking or at the table.

By reading food labels, you can see if a food is low, medium or high in salt (do not confuse with sodium, see below):

• Low - 0.3g salt or less per 100g of food - Eat plenty of these.
• Medium - 0.3-1.5g salt per 100g of food - Eat small amounts occasionally.
• High - 1.5g salt  or more per 100g of food - Try to avoid these.

 

What sodium levels mean

By law companies have to list the salt content of a food on the packaging however for some imported foods the label may still list how much sodium it contains. Salt is sodium chloride and the sodium is the part that raises blood pressure.

1g of sodium is the same as 2.5g of salt. 

• Low - 0.1g sodium or less per 100g of food - Eat plenty of these.
• Medium - 0.1-0.6g sodium per 100g of food - Eat small amounts occasionally.
• High - 0.6 sodium or more per 100g of food - Try to avoid these. 

If the label does not say how much salt or sodium the food contains, look at the ingredients list. The closer to the top of the list salt appears, the more salt it is likely to contain.

 

Tips to eat less salt and help your blood pressure

• Don’t add salt when cooking. This includes salty foods like soy sauce, stock cubes and gravy granules.
• Get extra flavour with herbs and spices, and from seasonings like chilli, ginger, lemon or lime juice.
• If you really can't do without a salty favour, you could try using a small amount of low-sodium salt substitute. If you have kidney problems or diabetes, check with your doctor or nurse first.
• Jarred cooking sauces and table sauces like ketchup, mustard and pickles can contain a lot of salt. Check the label and choose low-salt options.
• Bread and breakfast cereals can contain a lot of salt. Check the labels to compare brands.
• Smoked and processed meats and fish contain a lot of salt. Limit your intake of these.
• If you are eating out, ask if your meal can be made with less salt. This may not be possible, but it is always worth asking.
• Look out for low-salt recipes. There are a number of low-salt cookbooks available, or you can search on the Internet.

At first, food without salt may taste bland, but don’t give up. After a few weeks your taste buds will adjust and you will start to enjoy food with less salt. 6g of salt a day is the maximum you should eat, and the less you eat the better.

 

Sodium in medication and supplements

Effervescent and soluble tablets, for example vitamin C supplements and soluble painkillers such as aspirin and Alka Seltzer, contain sodium carbonate or bicarbonate which makes them fizz.

However the sodium in these supplements is just as harmful and these tablets can contain the equivalent of 1g of salt so try to avoid these and use non-effervescent alternatives.