Dietary Guide for Hypertension -- Food Therapy Section

by 60888888 on 2010-01-26 14:55:11

A few days ago, I wrote an article about the dietary therapy for hypertension. Some people asked me what hypertensive patients should eat. Today, I will introduce in detail the dietary strategy for hypertension. Hypertensive patients should eat more vegetables, which are beneficial and harmless to them. Vegetables contain a large amount of vitamin C and fruit acid, which can help the body expel excess cholesterol and effectively prevent the occurrence of arteriosclerosis. Vegetables contain very little sodium salt but more potassium salt, and potassium plays a certain role in lowering blood pressure.

Diet has a certain impact on hypertensive patients. Regular consumption of high-potassium low-sodium or no-sodium foods can play a synergistic role in lowering blood pressure. Such as celery, winter mushrooms, seaweed, winter melon, black fungus, peanuts, onions, bitter gourd, water chestnuts, garlic, sea cucumber, honey, apples, etc., all these are high-potassium low-sodium foods. In addition, seafood rich in iodine such as kelp, nori, shrimp skin, etc., has a certain improvement effect on arteriosclerosis because iodine is an important element in preventing arteriosclerosis.

Hypertensive patients should eat more vegetables, which are beneficial and harmless to them. Vegetables contain a large amount of vitamin C and fruit acid, which can help the body expel excess cholesterol and effectively prevent the occurrence of arteriosclerosis. Vegetables contain very little sodium salt but more potassium salt, and potassium plays a certain role in lowering blood pressure. Therefore, eating more vegetables can lower blood pressure by decreasing the proportion of sodium salt and increasing the proportion of potassium salt. Vegetables that are widely recognized as beneficial for lowering blood pressure include tomatoes, celery, kelp, water shield, black fungus, water chestnuts, broccoli, lotus root, seaweed, coriander, etc.

Fruits are beneficial to hypertensive patients. Like vegetables, fruits contain a large amount of vitamins and minerals such as potassium, magnesium, iron, calcium, etc. The content of vitamin P in fruits is relatively high, which can reduce the cholesterol content in the blood and increase the resistance of the vessel wall, having a certain preventive effect on hypertensive cerebral hemorrhage; Vitamin E is known as the medical anti-aging agent, it has the function of strengthening vessels and anti-coagulation, which is very beneficial to hypertensive patients with coronary heart disease and insufficient cerebral blood supply; Magnesium can not only prevent the occurrence of hypertension but also treat hypertension, etc. Many fruits have preventive and therapeutic effects on hypertension, such as watermelon, lemon, orange, hawthorn, persimmon, apple, kiwi, mango, grape, jujube, etc.

Hypertensive patients should follow a low-salt diet. High salt intake can increase blood pressure. Therefore, the World Health Organization suggests that daily salt intake should be controlled below 5 grams.

Hypertensive patients should control their fat intake. Because high-cholesterol foods are related to the occurrence and development of arteriosclerosis, hypertensive patients should control animal fats with higher cholesterol and their processed foods. Plant oils mainly contain unsaturated fatty acids, which after a series of changes in the body, are absorbed and utilized, causing vasodilation and blood pressure reduction, preventing thrombosis formation, and having an anti-arteriosclerosis effect.

Hypertensive patients should drink less alcohol. Studies have shown that there is a relationship between drinking and hypertension. As alcohol consumption increases, so does blood pressure; the mortality rate of cerebrovascular accidents in heavy drinkers is three times higher than those who do not drink regularly. Therefore, the World Health Organization recently proposed again the slogan "the less you drink, the better" to warn patients with hypertension.

Hypertensive patients should drink light tea instead of strong tea. Tea contains tannic acid, tea alkali, tea polyphenols, vitamin C, P, B, and caffeine, which have the effects of stimulating nerves, enhancing myocardial contractility, enhancing vascular toughness and elasticity, and diuresis, which are beneficial for lowering blood pressure. However, drinking large amounts of strong tea can accelerate heart rate and increase cardiac burden, posing a potential danger to patients with cerebral arteriosclerosis and hypertension, possibly leading to the occurrence of cerebrovascular accidents. In addition, hypertensive patients often suffer from insomnia, and drinking strong tea before sleep may affect sleep.