Fruits and Vegetables Can Provide the Best Tools to Bring Down Hypertension
When it comes to hypertension guidelines to lower your blood pressure or hypertension, increasing the consumption of fruits and vegetables in your diet can be one of the best roads you can take. In fact, making fruits and vegetables part of a lifestyle that includes regular physical activity, as well as a diet low in saturated fat, can help you prevent or in some cases, get rid of high blood pressure.
Hypertension or high blood pressure appears when our arteries start narrowing or contracting. This factor increases the resistance the arteries offer to blood flow that travels through them, forcing the heart to work harder to send blood to every cell in our body.
This hardening first takes place in the smaller blood vessels and through the years, it extends to larger blood vessels, reaching the arteries that wrap the heart.
As you can see, hypertension is not a condition to be taken lightly since its consequences can be fatal. So, how can fruits and vegetables help you maintain your blood pressure at healthy levels?
Hypertension or high blood pressure appears when our arteries start narrowing or contracting. This factor increases the resistance the arteries offer to blood flow that travels through them, forcing the heart to work harder to send blood to every cell in our body.
This hardening first takes place in the smaller blood vessels and through the years, it extends to larger blood vessels, reaching the arteries that wrap the heart.
As you can see, hypertension is not a condition to be taken lightly since its consequences can be fatal. So, how can fruits and vegetables help you maintain your blood pressure at healthy levels?
Minerals: The Crux of the Matter when it Comes to 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.
Tips to Include Fruits and Vegetables in Your Daily Routine
If you are not sure how to include fruits and vegetables during the day in your diet, here are some practical tips:
- Have a piece of fruit for dessert after your main 3 meals.
- Have a piece of fruit or some veggies as snack if you are hungry during the day.
- Have your veggies as part of your main dish with your two main meals.
- Eat salads with your meals. And by salads I don't mean macaroni or potato salad.
Hypertension Guidelines Poll
Eating Fruits and Vegetables is a crucial hypertension guideline to follow if you want to prevent or manage hypertension. Are you eating adequate amounts of fruits and vegetables? See for yourself. Health experts recommend 3-5 portions of fruit and 5-7 portions of vegetables a day.
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Final Thoughts on Hypertension Guidelines
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
Why I Wrote an Article on Hypertension Guidelines
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.
Product Section on Hypertension Guidelines
Live longer by following a healthy Mediterranean lifestyle
Experience has shown that Mediterraneans have kept a healthy heart for centuries and have lived longer lives than people in some other countries. Many scientific studies have also corraborated these findings by studing their lifestyle. Now is within your reach to learn how Mediterraneans do it.
Here's my favorite link:
Great Hypertension Guidelines Links
- About Emilia Klapp
- Emilia Klapp has a bachelor in Nutrition Science. She is certified as a Registered Dietitian by the American Dietetic Association and the author of the book Your Heart Needs the Mediterranean Diet.
For more information on an Authentic Mediterranean Diet and to get a FREE list of the 10 Top Mediterranean Curative Foods, click the link above.
Suggesting Reading on Hypertension Guidelines
Your Heart Needs the Mediterranean Diet
Learn How Mediterraneans Have Kept a Healthy Heart for Centuries
Your Heart Needs the Mediterranean Diet: Learn How Mediterraneans Have Kept a Healthy Heart for Centuries
Amazon Price: $18.95 (as of 12/02/2009) 
MediterraneanHeart's Weblog
A step by step guide on how the Mediterranean Diet and lifestyle helps you prevent and control chronic disease, including heart disease.
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by emilia921
My name is Emilia Klapp. I was born and raised in Spain and I currently share my time between Los Angeles, California and Madrid, Spain, where I am at... (more)
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