If you are someone who is suffering from hypertension, then here is a list of foods you need to avoid in order to reduce your blood pressure, without the need of medications, depending on the type and degree of hypertension you have.
Salty Foods
Foods with too much salt and table salt, in fact, is not good for people with high blood pressure. Too much salt also causes water retention, which also restricts blood flow to vital organs of your body. In order to regulate your blood pressure, you need to reduce your salt intake a lot.
The daily recommended salt intake for an average human being is 2000 mg. but for hypertensive people, the recommended intake of salt is almost 1000 mg, almost half of what normal people can safely consume. So, it is necessary for you to avoid too much intake of salt, otherwise, the results can be very altered.
Processed Foods
Processed and packaged foods, although they are very convenient for us to use, but they are not the healthiest option out there, especially for hypertensive patients. Processed and packaged foods are meant to last longer, so they contain a lot of additives, preservatives, and salt, which increase their shelf life and prevent the food from spoiling or going bad. This is not good for people with hypertension, because additives and preservatives are not good for their bodies. It can cause a lot of bad effects for the body, and you should avoid packaged and processed foods as much as you can because they can go inside your body and become silent killers.
The same caution goes for canned food as well. Canned foods usually contain brine, a mixture of salt and water, in which the food is submerged. This brine helps to preserve the food for a long time until you use it in your cooking. The brine, over time, settles into the food and is absorbed, which drastically increases the salt content in your food. So, canned food should also be avoided by people who suffer from hypertension, due to very obvious reasons.
Store-Bought Sauces
What goes better on the side with your French fries and nuggets? You guessed it, sauces! Sauces are a wonderful pairing with your side dishes, but they contain a lot of salt and additives, not to mention artificial colors and flavors as well. These additives are not good for hypertensive patients. If you must eat sauces, then you can try to make it at home, where you can control the amount of salt and other stuff you add in it. Making sauces at home is also super easy and takes no time at all. All you need are a few ingredients and you are good to go.
Processed Meat
Processed meat like deli meat, sausages, bologna, salami, etc. are processed meat and they also contain a lot of cure in them. Curing is basically the process of fermenting meat in salt and sugar. This increases the shelf life of meat. But it also prompts the meat to absorb a lot of the salt in it as well, because of moisture. Processed meat contains a lot of salt which is definitely not good for people who are struggling with regulating their blood pressure. Try to go for grass-fed and organic options of meat, like organic meat and chicken and no skin and fat. You can cook the meat according to your liking, add your own flavors and it will be nutritious for you as well.
Snacks
Who doesn’t love a good old bag of potato chips, salty crackers, rich chocolate, and sour candy? But they are not the ideal snacks for you if you are someone who suffers from high blood pressure. So, avoid eating these unhealthy snacks when hunger strikes you. Instead, go into the kitchen, get creative, and make yourself a healthy snack, which contains a lot less sugar and salt. You will feel better eating healthy snacks.
There you go! These foods, if you eliminate them from your diet, you will feel a significant difference in your blood pressure, and that too without medications. It’s always better to ask your physician which foods are better for you and which aren’t.
