How to Beat Hypertension With Proper Diet

So you go to the doctor and he finds your blood pressure is high (above 139/89). The doctor ordered the test and he now tells you that you have officially high blood pressure. There is little doubt that he will tell you to go on a low salt diet, get more exercise, and lose weight. That's standard advice for patients with hypertension. He can also prescribe blood pressure medicine for you.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is most often the result of a common suspect - overweight, obesity, and smoking. Obesity can also play a big role in the onset of high blood pressure, and high-pressure work can be a factor as well.

Here, let's talk about how you can control your blood pressure by making some changes to your diet. That's the easiest lifestyle change you can make, and it's probably the most effective overall. Research has shown that losing weight even less than 10 pounds reduces blood pressure.

The first thing to consider when changing your diet for the purpose of lowering your blood pressure is that you need to reduce your calorie intake by about 500 calories a day. Five hundred is not a lot of calories. That's like two pieces of bread and about half the dessert you have after dinner. Get a calorie book that counts and counts calories.

The second thing to consider is reducing your salt intake. It's really not that difficult. Of course you need to give up snacks like chips and popcorn, but lowering the salt in your diet is relatively easy. You substitute salt for another spice.

Remember ..... losing only 10 pounds can lower your blood pressure!

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