Here’s some more food ideas to keep your blood pressure under control (continued from part 1)…

4. Lots of fruit and vegetables

For healthy blood pressure we need less sodium and more potassium, magnesium and calcium. Potassium blunts the effect of sodium on blood pressure. The best way to get more potassium into your diet is to eat more fruit and vegetables. Aim for at least 2-3 serves of fruit and 4-5 serves (about 2-3 cups) of vegetables every day. Bananas, grapefruit, oranges, dried fruit, green vegetables, mushrooms, avocado and tomatoes are all high in potassium. And magnesium usually tags along in the same foods.

A word of warning about grapefruit: it can affect some blood pressure medications. If you are taking medication for high blood pressure, check with your doctor before splurging on grapefruit.

If you hope to by-pass the fruit and vegetables by taking a potassium supplement, think again. Too much potassium can be dangerous for your heart, and you will miss out on all the other health benefits of fruit and vegetables.

5. Low fat milk and yoghurt

Low fat dairy foods are important for strong bones and teeth and also for healthy blood pressure. If you don’t like dairy foods, eat sardines and salmon. The bones provide lots of calcium. There is no strong evidence that taking a calcium supplement will help lower blood pressure. It’s better to stick to real food. So whip up a banana smoothie, dollop some yoghurt on muesli or have sardines and sliced tomato on grainy toast for lunch.

6. Legumes, nuts and wholegrains

Dried beans, split peas, lentils, nuts and wholegrains are all rich in magnesium. Eat porridge or muesli for breakfast, snack on a small handful of nuts most days, and make a legume meal a couple of times a week – toss a few red lentils into stews and soups to thicken them, add a can of beans to mince or simply enjoy baked beans on grainy toast.

7. Omega-3 fats

Omega-3 fats found in oily fish, walnuts, flaxseed and canola oil help reduce high blood pressure. These fats help relax the blood vessel walls so they can expand as blood rushes through. One study of 46,500 people aged over 40, some with normal, some with high blood pressure, found that those who ate more omega-3 rich foods had lower blood pressure.  The NZ National Heart Foundation recommends that people get their omega-3’s from food. But if you don’t eat oily fish and are at risk for heart disease or stroke (this includes having high blood pressure) the New Zealand Cardiovascular Guidelines recommend taking an EPA/DHA supplement of 1 milligram per day. Be sure to let your doctor know if you take omega-3 supplements as the blood thinning effects are quite potent.

Part 3 here …