Health

Hypertension diet: The 3p food that helps lower blood pressure – 'packed with nutrients'


Hypertension is what’s known as a silent condition, often not spotted until it causes another health concern. Also known as high blood pressure, it can lead to serious health issues like heart disease and stroke, so if you are concerned getting checked out by your GP is the safest bet. One way to reduce your risk of high blood pressure is to exercise more and eat healthier.

Some people are more at risk than others when it comes to hypertension.

These include those who smoke, eat too much salt, are overweight and are over 65.

The NHS advises several key steps to reducing blood pressure, including limiting the amount of salt you eat and generally having a healthy diet.

You should also aim to cut back on alcohol, lose weight if you’re overweight, exercise regularly, cut down on caffeine and stop smoking.

Eating fruit, vegetables and some nuts and seeds are also highly beneficial to those at risk of high blood pressure.

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The latter of these, arginine, is an amino acid which aids in the production of nitric oxide, which Healthline explains “is essential for blood vessel relaxation and blood pressure reduction”.

Holland and Barrett writes of pumpkin seeds: “Pumpkin seeds are high in protein and fat, and low in carbohydrates: a single serving (28g) of pumpkin seeds contains around 1.7g or fibre, 13g of fats (the good kind!) with only around 5g of carbohydrates.

“This nutrient profile makes pumpkin seeds perfect for snacking or incorporating into your favourite recipes.”

Pumpkin seeds are relatively inexpensive, with a 100g bag costing £1 from Tesco.

This works out to roughly three pence per seed, with around 297 seeds in a single pack.

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Citrus fruits

Reach for the fruit bowl because citrus fruits could be key to lowering blood pressure.

One study carried out over five months found daily lemon juice and walking “was significantly correlated with reductions in SBP”.

This was put down to the citric acid and flavonoid content of lemons.

The study was of 101 women, and while more research is needed other studies have shown orange and grapefruit juice can also help lower blood pressure.

Beans and lentils

Beans and lentils are packed full of nutrients such as fibre, potassium and magnesium which can help regulate blood pressure.

Having a cup’s worth of peas, lentils, garbanzo beans, or beans can help regulate your blood pressure and even lower it.

WebMD writes legumes and beans can also “help ward off coronary heart disease”.





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