Best Hypertension Guidelines

The following minerals play a crucial role in the prevention and management of hypertension.

1. Sodium
Excess sodium intake can be a problem because when we eat a lot of salt we retain a large volume of fluid in our blood vessels that needs to be moved around. This causes the heart to work harder to send blood to all our body cells and as a result hypertension or high blood pressure develops.

Salt is made of sodium and chloride. The new recommendation for sodium, is about 1,500 milligrams a day (1.5) but American public consumes between 4,000 and 8,000 milligrams per day (4.0 and 8.0 grams). How do we manage to ingest so much sodium in our diets? Because we eat lots of processed foods and very few fruits and vegetables.

The sodium content of a piece of fruit ranges from 0 to 5 and from 1 to 70 milligrams in vegetables. An average portion of vegetables contains about 10 milligrams of sodium. At the same time, when you eat fruits and vegetables, you are replacing other foods in your meals that may be high in sodium.

2. Potassium

Potassium is a mineral that plays a major role in maintaining fluid balance in our body. Diets low in potassium seem to play a role in the development of hypertension; low potassium intakes raise blood pressure, while high potassium intakes appear to both prevent and correct hypertension.

3. Calcium and magnesium

Calcium and magnesium are quite important to maintaining normal blood pressure. These two minerals seem to be useful in protecting against hypertension, even in salt-sensitive people. Adequate intake of calcium and magnesium can lower blood pressure, superseding the effects of a high sodium intake. For this reason, just restricting sodium to treat hypertension is narrow advice, especially considering that low-sodium diets are often low in calcium as well.

One of the best ways to get your body minerals into balance to lower hypertension is to get back to the basics: eat fruits and vegetables. You can do that by applying the principles of the Authentic Mediterranean Diet.

Needless to say that to bring down your hypertension you also need to walk briskly most days of the week. But that is another subject; we'll talk about it next time.

Scientific studies have associated the Mediterranean diet with a healthy heart. To learn the ins-and-outs of the Authentic Mediterranean Diet and the Mediterranean Cuisine, check out my book; It can help you apply these hypertension guidelines into your life and those of your love ones.

Have a Healthy Day

Emilia Klapp, BS, RD

Dear Visitor,

I am really happy you are reading this article; it means you are interested in lowering your hypertension to enjoy a better health. As you may know, hypertension is a major risk for a stroke.

So, I wrote this article because prevention and management of hypertension is quite easy when we follow certain healthy practices such as eating adequate amounts of fruits and vegetables, along with walking briskly most days of the week.

I hope this article reinforces your faith in fruits and vegetables and they become a regular at your table.

If you would like to further read on the benefits of fruits and vegetables, check out this article on Lose Lbs Eating Fruits and Vegetables

I wish you the best in your pursuit of health and happiness.

Emilia Klapp, BS, RD.