Fruits That Lower Blood Pressure
The National Institutes of Health recommends the DASH diet to lower high blood pressure. The DASH diet plan is high in fruits, vegetables, and low fat dairy products. It is also high in potassium, calcium and magnesium which are useful in controlling high blood pressure.
Data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey indicated that higher dietary potassium intakes were associated with significantly lower blood pressures. The DASH trial provided further support for the beneficial effects of a potassium-rich diet on blood pressure. According to them, consumption of a diet including 8.5 servings/day of fruits and vegetables and 4,100 mg/day of potassium lowered blood pressure by an average of 2.8 /1.1 mm Hg in people with normal blood pressure and by an average of 7.2 /2.8 mm Hg in people with hypertension. Increasing dietary calcium intake by 800 mg/day in the DASH trial lowered systolic and diastolic blood pressure still further.
Since fruits contain many essential nutrients, vitamins and anti-oxidants besides potassium, it is one of the best types of food that can help lower your blood pressure. Here are some fruits that are high in potassium content and which help lower blood pressure.
is a very good source of potassium and vitamin A. With 2202 mg of potassium in a cup of dehydrated apricot, it is perhaps one of the best foods that have potassium in them. It is very low in sodium content as well as saturated fat and cholesterol.
| Food Groups |
| 26 |
Grapefruit Can Lower Triglyceride Levels
There’s another reason grapefruit can be good for your heart: It reduces levels of triglycerides, another type of fatlike “bad” LDL cholesterolwhich can quickly clog up your arteries.
The same study that found that adding one grapefruit a day lowered cholesterol levels also found that this simple daily regimen lowered triglyceridesby as much as 27%. This was in patients who already had coronary artery disease and so were at high risk for heart attacks and other complications.
Red grapefruit, in particular, surpassed its “blond” cousins in lowering triglycerides.
Talk To Your Healthcare Provider
Health care providers should be informed of which medications patients are taking, including any prescription and OTC drugs, herbal supplements and vitamins. Update your pharmacist any time you start or even stop taking a medication. It is important to check for potential drug interactions
Warnings labels on prescription bottles should be followed. If an interaction is found to occur, it may be possible that an alternative medication can be prescribed and the interaction can be avoided.
Don’t Miss: Spicy Food High Blood Pressure
What Side Effects Are Possible
Side effects can vary based on the interacting drug and possible side effects.
Side effects can range from abnormal heart rhythms, stomach bleeding, muscle pain, muscle breakdown, kidney damage, low blood pressure, difficulty breathing, sedation, and dizziness.
Other reactions may occur — it depends on the drug and the levels of the drug in the blood.
If you have been warned about a possible drug interaction with grapefruit, ask your healthcare provider to describe the possible side effect and learn how to recognize it.
Chew The Foods Properly And For Longer Time
Because the nitrate foods you chew gets mixed up with the saliva before making its way down to your stomach for further digestion, it only makes sense to ensure you chew thoroughly so that the surface area for proper digestion is increased. When you chew food slowly and properly, food is better digested.
Remember, the end goal of consuming nitrate foods is to get the needed nitric oxide so we can get our blood pressure lowered and controlled. So, when we chew our foods properly, theres a higher chance our saliva mixes properly with the food and its digested to nitrites which makes peeps it for further conversion to nitric oxide in the stomach.
So, the longer our food stays in our mouth during chewing, the greater the chance to get more nitric oxide from the nitrate food, and hence, we can get our blood pressure reduced.
Read Also: Does Cholesterol Raise Blood Pressure
Why Should I Avoid Eating Grapefruit If I Am On Blood Pressure Medication
A beta blocker with a grapefruit juice chaser may nix the effectiveness of the blood pressure medication, thanks to the chemical behind the fruit’s tart taste. Another chemical in that fruit may actually boost the effects of other blood pressure drugs. Either way, you’re not getting what you need, so keep grapefruit and blood pressure meds away from each other.
Grapefruit May Help Prevent Insulin Resistance And Diabetes
Eating grapefruit regularly may have the potential to prevent insulin resistance, which can lead to diabetes.
Insulin is a hormone that regulates many processes in your body. For example, its involved in many aspects of your metabolism, but its most commonly known for its role in blood sugar control .
Insulin resistance ultimately leads to higher insulin and blood sugar levels, two primary risk factors for type 2 diabetes .
Eating grapefruit may help control insulin levels and thus have the ability to reduce your likelihood of becoming insulin resistant .
In one study, subjects who ate half of a fresh grapefruit before meals experienced a significant reduction in both insulin levels and insulin resistance, compared to the group that didnt eat grapefruit .
Furthermore, eating fruit as a whole is generally associated with better blood sugar control and a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes .
Summary:
Grapefruit may help reduce insulin resistance, which can lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Recommended Reading: Onion Blood Pressure
The Fruit Is Better Than The Juice
Grapefruit juice has plenty of benefits, but the traditional fruit itself is going to give you more bang for your buck when it comes to nutrition and health benefits.
“When you take juice, you’re getting some of the nutrients but you’re losing all the fiber,” says Delbridge. “Grapefruit juice is great but at the end of the day, the entire fruit has pectin and rind and all the parts of it.”
Grapefruit juice can also spike your blood sugar more than the fruit itself. If you opt for juice of any kind, Delbridge recommends not drinking more than 6 ounces a day and going only for 100% juice products that don’t have added sugar.
Add These 20 Foods To Your Diet To Lower Blood Pressure
A staggering 108 million Americans thats nearly half of the population are struggling with high blood pressure, the CDC says, which means they are at an increased risk of heart attack, stroke, and other life-altering health consequences along the way.
Skipping the salt and squeezing in some regular workouts can help keep your blood pressure from reaching dangerous levels, but it takes a more proactive approach to keep your blood pressure under control in the long run.
Read Also: Do Onions Lower Blood Pressure
Is Cow Milk Good For High Blood Pressure
Is Cow Milk Good For High Blood Pressure? Milk products contain key blood pressurelowering nutrients, including calcium, potassium and magnesium. Milk products also contain a special type of proteins, called bioactive peptides, which have been shown to have a positive effect on blood pressure control, says Bourdeau.
Which milk is good for high blood pressure? Skim milk
Low-fat dairy products such as skim milk and yogurt are a key component of Dietary Strategies to Stop Hypertension, a science-based set of recommendations for preventing and treating high blood pressure.
Does cow milk increase blood pressure? Observational and clinical studies suggest that milk and dairy intake, particularly low-fat dairy, could have a beneficial effect on blood pressure and contribute to the prevention of hypertension.
Can drinking milk increase blood pressure? In a systematic review of the evidence published from 2004 to 2009, the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee concluded there was moderate evidence of an inverse relationship between the intake of milk and milk products and blood pressure.
What Food Sources Are Rich In Nitrates
Foods rich in nitrates can either be animal-based or plant-based. But it does not stop there. While animal-based sources are also rich in Nitrates, the route of metabolism that makes it beneficial for lowering high blood pressure is not the same for both. How and why is this so?
Firstly, animal based sources of nitrates contain potentially harmful chemicals alongside the nitrates. And so when the nitrates are metabolized, heme an iron-rich compound and other proteins found in animal products convert the nitrites to a harmful end product called nitrosamines. These nitrosamines are dangerous and may potentially become carcinogenic. Several studies have shown that animal-based products like processed meat are linked to certain kinds of cancers. This is not far-fetched as the route of metabolism animal-based nitrates take potentially creates harmful end products.
Plant-based sources on the other hand are broken down to nitric oxide the beneficial and vital chemical that lowers blood pressure. So, if you want to be eating foods rich in nitrates, it only makes sense to eat only nitrate-rich plant-based foods that will be beneficial to your health. You should avoid the ones that may cause harm.
Plant-based sources of nitrates include leafy greens and vegetables.
Recommended Reading: Do Onions Lower Blood Pressure
Why Is Grapefruit Bad For High Blood Pressure
Grapefruit contains compounds that may interfere with how your body absorbs some drugs, including some blood pressure medicines. It can leave too much or too little of the drug in your bloodstream, which may be dangerous. Always ask your doctor or pharmacist if grapefruit could affect the medicine youre taking.
What Foods Lower High Blood Pressure
Whether you have high blood pressure or not, there are special kinds of foods you should be eating and even more so, eating REGULARLY. However, if you have high blood pressure, it becomes even more imperative to consume these foods as much as and as regularly as you can.
The thing is, you may already know these foods or even already consuming them. The good news is that the foods that have been proven through research to naturally lower blood pressure are nitrate-rich foods. But what are nitrate-rich foods and why do they matter? How does nitrate foods help lower blood pressure? Well find out next.
You May Like: Omron Bp785 Calibration
How Green Tea Affects Blood Pressure
Green tea contains caffeine about 35 milligrams per eight ounces of brewed green tea, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest , so you might be wondering if green tea raises blood pressure.
Caffeine can raise your blood pressure temporarily. The small amount of caffeine in green tea may slightly raise blood pressure in those who already have high blood pressure and who are sensitive to caffeine, Angelone says. Caution may be warranted in these cases.
But otherwise healthy people may be in the clear. A February 2020 review of 24 trials in Medicine found that green tea or green tea extract significantly lowered systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The positive effects may be due to the catechins, or antioxidants, in green tea. However, researchers couldn’t pinpoint an optimal green tea dosage, and larger, longer-term trials are needed, the authors concluded.
And in an October 2014 meta-analysis of 25 randomized trials in the British Journal of Nutrition, short-term consumption of black or green tea didn’t appear to affect blood pressure. However, the researchers found that green tea consumption for at least three months helped lower both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and even more so than black tea.
Additionally, green tea has a chemical called L-theanine that is known to help promote relaxation, Angelone says. That can help lower your blood pressure as opposed to stressful events, which can raise your blood pressure.
What Instantly Lowers Blood Pressure
Here are some simple recommendations:
Don’t Miss: Onions And Blood Pressure
It Has Been Shown To Aid Weight Loss
17 ).
Additionally, grapefruit contains few calories but lots of water, which is another characteristic known to help with weight loss .
One study in 91 obese subjects found that those who consumed half of a fresh grapefruit before meals lost significantly more weight than those who didnt .
In fact, those in the group that ate fresh grapefruit lost an average of 3.5 pounds over 12 weeks, while the participants in the group that didnt eat grapefruit lost less than 1 pound , on average .
Other studies have found similar weight-reducing effects. For instance, one study found that participants experienced a reduced waist size when they consumed grapefruit daily with their meals .
This isnt to say that grapefruit will produce weight loss on its own, but adding it to an already healthy diet may prove to be beneficial.
Summary:
Eating grapefruit before meals may be helpful for weight loss. Its fiber and water can promote fullness and reduce calorie intake.
Eat This To Lower High Blood Pressure Immediately
What foods should you be eating if you have high blood pressure? Or rather, what do you need to eat to immediately lower your blood pressure? Well, if you have high blood pressure and your readings dont seem to improve despite medications and other natural remedies you undertake, there could just be one single thing youre not doing.
And that one thing is not eating the right food. The one simple thing you need to do to naturally and immediately lower your blood pressure is to eat nitrate-rich foods.
Well, as simple as it sounds, it is really not that simple. You may want to ask what are nitrate rich foods? Or rather what are nitrates? And how do they lower blood pressure?
Before we proceed, let me reiterate that I battled high blood pressure for 2 years before I discovered the alkaline vegan lifestyle. I was able to successfully reverse high blood pressure and have achieved regular normal blood pressure since then.
So, when it comes to dieting and what foods to eat, Ill practically reveal my experiences along with research I was able to carry out over the course of my journey.
Recommended Reading: Does Vodka Raise Blood Pressure
What Should I Do If My Blood Pressure Is 160 Over 100
Your doctor If your blood pressure is higher than 160/100 mmHg, then three visits are enough. If your blood pressure is higher than 140/90 mmHg, then five visits are needed before a diagnosis can be made. If either your systolic or diastolic blood pressure stays high, then the diagnosis of hypertension can be made.
What Are The Benefits Of Pineapple
Pineapple is a super healthy tropical fruit. It has a delicious sweet and a bit tangy flavor. Pineapple is known for its many benefits. The sweetness of pineapple is a perfect remedy for the tartness and bitterness of the grapefruit. Here are some of the many benefits of pineapples:
- Pineapple is low in calories and high in nutrients like Vitamin A, C, and K. it is also rich in calcium, zinc, and phosphorus.
- It is loaded with antioxidants and boosts immunity within the body. It also promotes cell growth and development. Also, anti-oxidants help in reducing inflammation and fighting chronic diseases.
- Pineapples contain an enzyme known as bromelain. This enzyme aids in digestion and helps in breaking down protein more efficiently.
- Because it reduces inflammation, pineapple helps in relieving joint pain caused by arthritis.
- Eating pineapples, after surgery, helps in fast recovery. It reduces pain, inflammation, swelling, and bruising. Also, it provides energy to the body to recover more quickly.
- Pineapple also helps in controlling the growth of cancer cells. As a result, it causes the death of cancerous cells and promotes the growth of white blood cells. Read More.
Don’t Miss: Does Hot Sauce Cause High Blood Pressure
Does Grapefruit Lower Blood Pressure
By : The Hale Groves Team| On : September 30, 2020 | Category : Fruit Facts
The Pros of the Citrus Super Food
Do you often take note of grapefruit for sale online or at your grocery store? If grapefruit isnt a regular part of your diet, it may seem at first like the oranges larger, tarter cousin, mainstay of dieters everywhere. But dont dismiss this citrus super food out of handapart from being listed among Health.coms 20 best foods to eat for breakfast, a sweet grapefruit can add a crisp, refreshing grapefruit taste to many recipes . And the fact that fresh grapefruit can add a lot of nutrition and hydration to your diet for very few calories makes it supremely good for you. But just how good for you is grapefruit? And do types of grapefruit help lower blood pressure?
Over 70 Million Americans Have High Blood Pressure
According to the Mayo Clinic, new cases of hypertension affect more than 3 million Americans each year. A common condition that develops over many years, nearly everyone will be affected by high blood pressure at some point as well as the problems that go along with it, which can include heart disease and stroke.
The good news is that high blood pressure is easy to detect and, once detected, controllable with medical supervision. Its also preventable, and thats where Florida grapefruit comes in.
The Best Grapefruits Affect on Your Blood Pressure
Grapefruit as a Preventative for High Blood Pressure
May Support Heart Health
In 2012, the American Heart Association published a report that suggested that a diet high in certain flavonoids, compounds found in citrus fruits including grapefruit, may lower a womans risk of stroke. However, more research is needed to understand exactly why this is.
Grapefruit is rich in potassium and fibre, as well as protective antioxidants which may help manage blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Human studies have demonstrated the beneficial role grapefruit, and specifically red grapefruit, may play in helping to improve cholesterol levels, particularly in those suffering with atherosclerosis.
You May Like: What Can You Do To Bring Your Blood Pressure Up