Top 10 Foods that Elevate Blood Pressure
Hypertension or
high blood pressure is killer disease, which has spread itself among a large
chunk of population. The scariest part of this condition is that it usually
goes undetected for years and can cause a lot of damage to the body during that
period of time. The symptoms of high blood pressure are very subtle, but the
consequences are grave, leading to serious health problems like heart disease,
stroke and kidney disease. Unhealthy diet, obesity, heredity, stress and
alcohol consumption are the chief causes of hypertension. A possible cause is
intake of diet high in sodium and low in potassium. On the other hand, having
more of whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low fat dairy products can help
prevent it. Thus, high blood pressure can be managed by making some
modifications in your diet.
Listed below are some foods which elevate blood pressure:
1. Salt
The main food
item which results in elevation of blood pressure is common table salt, which
is high in sodium content. For controlling blood pressure successfully, the
recommended daily limit for sodium intake for people with high blood pressure
should be up to 1500 mg.
2. Packaged Food
Another major
culprit for causing hypertension is processed and packaged foods like pickles,
canned soups, ketchup, chips, dried soup mixes, ketchup, salad dressing, chips
and frozen pizza. These items contain lots of salt as preservative, which in
turn elevates blood pressure.
3. Coffee
Coffee is a
hypertension inducing food item as its intake can result in a temporary surge
in blood pressure. 2-3 cups of coffee can result in significant rise in both
diastolic and systolic readings. The reason is that coffee contains caffeine,
which narrows blood vessels and releases hormones like adrenalin and cortisol,
contributing to rise in blood pressure.
4. Caffeinated Drinks
Just like
coffee, caffeinated drinks should also be avoided if you want to keep your
blood pressure in check. High caffeine levels can increase the risk of
hypertension by exerting pressure on arteries and also stimulatind adrenal
glands to release hormones. You can switch over to green tea, instead.
5. Alcohol
Alcohol is
another drink which can cause a sudden rise in blood pressure and cause damage
to blood vessels. Research has shown that long term hypertension is common
among regular drinkers while 3 drinks at a time can cause a sudden surge in
blood pressure. Heavy drinking also elevates the risk of obesity, which
aggravates the problem of hypertension.
6. Fatty food
Another food
group which increases blood pressure is fatty and fried foods. Such foods are
high in trans fats, which are instrumental in increasing LDL (bad) cholesterol
and decreasing HDL (good) cholesterol, besides being high in sodium. Both these
factors cause hypertension in the body. Similarly, you should avoid
non-vegetarian food and switch over to healthy cooking oils like olive oil,
mustard oil or canola oil.
7. Sugar
Next on the list
of foods which elevate blood pressure is the white poison called sugar. Excess
sugar becomes stored in body in the form of fat, which results in obesity. As
we know, obesity is directly linked with hypertension. It is best to avoid
sweet foods and drinks for this reason.
8. Chinese food
Chinese food is
high in a salt called MSG (monosodium glutamate) and also makes use plenty of
soy sauce and other sauces. All these cause an unprecedented rise in blood
pressure as they are loaded with sodium.
9. Whole milk/dairy products
Instead of usingfull cream milk and dairy products, one should switch over to skimmed and low
fat dairy. The reason for whole milk causing elevation in blood pressure is
that these products are high in saturated fats, which lead to obesity and thus,
an increased risk of hypertension.
10. Instant noodles
The market is flooded with many popular brands of instant noodles these days, but these are very
detrimental for health due to very high sodium content. You will be surprised
to know that a packet of instant noodles has 1580 mg of sodium, most of it inthe seasoning.
You need to be
aware about these food items which elevate blood pressure and make a conscious
effort to limit their intake in your every day diet. Regular exercise,
meditation and abstinence from alcohol and smoking are also helpful to control
this killer disease
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