High blood pressure happens when the force of blood pushing against a persons artery walls is consistently too high. Over time, the force and friction of high blood pressure damages the delicate tissues inside the arteries. This can lead to deadly cardiovascular complications. Fortunately, making simple dietary tweaks can lower a persons reading and according to experts there is a diet one can follow to help keep blood pressure readings normal.

What a person eats could majorly affect their chances of getting high blood pressure.

A healthy eating plan can both reduce the risk of developing high blood pressure and lower a blood pressure that is already too high.

For an overall eating plan, experts agree that the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet can help with the condition.

READ MORE: High blood pressure: Add this oil to your diet to lower your reading

The DASH diet contains foods that are low in saturated fat, total fat, cholesterol and high in fruits, vegetables and low fat dairy foods.

The DASH diet includes whole grains, poultry, fish and nuts and how low amounts of fats, red meats, sweets and sugary beverages.

The diet is also high in potassium, calcium and magnesium, as well as protein and fibre.

Eating foods that are lower in salt and sodium also can help in reducing blood pressure.

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Cut down on salt

An important part of healthy eating is choosing foods that are low in salt and other forms of sodium.

Using less sodium is key to keeping blood pressure at a healthy level. The recommended daily amount of salt intake is that it should not be more than 2.4 grams of sodium.

This equals to 6 grams of table salt a day.

For those who suffer with high blood pressure, your GP may recommend having less than that.

Choosing the right foods to help with lowering blood pressure

For those who have high blood pressure, paying close attention to food labels is key.

Sodium is found naturally in many foods. But processed foods account for most of the salt and sodium one consumes.

Processed foods that are high in slat included regular canned vegetables and soups, frozen dinners, lunchmeat, instant and ready-to-eat cereals and salty chips.

Its strongly advised that one should check food labels to help choose which products contain less sodium.

Alongside eating a healthy diet, the NHS recommends regular exercise to prevent or reduce high blood pressure.

It states: Being active and taking regular exercise lowers blood pressure by keeping your heart and blood vessels in good condition. Regular exercise can also help you lose weight, which will also help lower your blood pressure.

"Adults should do at least 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, such as cycling or fast walking, every week.

"Physical activity can include anything from sport to walking and gardening.

Limiting alcohol intake, losing weight, cutting down on caffeine, stopping smoking and getting a good nights sleep are also recommended.

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High blood pressure: What is the best diet to follow to help lower readings? - Express

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by Katie Bryan | November 3, 2019

A long-time staple in homes around the world, bread seems to go with just about everything! From quick on-the-go meals like sandwiches to more elaborate dishes such as french toast, this is a food as versatile as it is popular. Oh, and did we mention its delicious?

Whether its slathered with nut butter and topped with banana slices or piled high with avocado, veggies and herbs, it can be nearly impossible to resist.

That said, its got a pretty controversial reputation. While some say its part of a healthy breakfast, others condemn it, lumping it in with sugary cereals, donuts, and other not-so-great-for-you carb sources.

Bread can be packed full of fiber, flavor, and nutrition and has been fueling humans for over 30,000 years!

That said, the way in which technology, lifestyle, and culture have evolved over time has changed how we get most of our food bread inclusive. Because of this, people are likely to flock to the grocery store or bakery to get their local and not-so-local loaves, but to they still pack a valuable nutritional punch?

When reading the ingredients on bread these days, youre likely stumble across a few things you cant pronounce, let alone recognize. You will often see much more than just the four traditional ingredients of flour, salt, yeast, & water. Products such as soybean oil, monoglycerides, and DATEM are increasingly prevalent in packaged bread products.

Suffice it to say not all bread is created equal, and many of the ingredients lists are enough to leave most of us feeling unsure.

Aside from the worries around (perhaps unnecessary) additives, theres the flour to consider. Many loaves pass up hearty whole grain flour for bleached, refined or enriched flours which arent the best option when it comes to our health. These ingredients can cause a spike in our blood sugar, lead to weight gain, or even promote diet related ailments such as type 2 diabetes.

To help you avoid all these less-than-ideal results, many nutrition experts recommend that you bring yourself back to the basics. Search for loaves that are as close to the traditional four-ingredient recipe as possible, and ask how the bread is baked. Be sure flours are unbleached and not refined or enriched. The idea is to keep the grain as close to how it was harvested as possible with the least amount of processing which can make the difference between bread being hinderance and help.

In fact, whole grains are one of the things included in the 6 foods Michael Greger, M.D. recommends eating every day for a long life. Things like oatmeal, rice, amaranth, buckwheat, quinoa, cooked pasta, corn kernels, ready-to-eat cereal, tortillas, bread, bagels or even English muffins are all endorsed by the plant-based diet expert, so looks like your toast stays!

You might just want to make it whole wheat.

True whole grains are nutrient-dense and satiate your hunger for longer. But also be aware of packaging keywords like multigrain, whole grain and whole wheat. They show up on nearly every package of bread these days, but may not be truly representative of whats inside.

So, how do you break through the jargon? Well, one route recommended by Dr Gregor is to examine the nutrition facts to ensure a ratio of carbs to fiber equal to or less than five-to-one or, in other words, to follow what he calls the five-to-one fiber rule. When the fiber is higher, its reasonable to assume that the wheatgerm and bran are still included in your bread, making it a true whole-grain option.

Bread can play an important role in your diet, but those focused on health should pay close attention to the kind of bread they are putting in your body.

Remember to read ingredients, dont give into gimmicks, use the 5:1 rule by dividing carbs and fiber, and dont be afraid to ask questions!

Follow these simple steps, and for those without special dietary restrictions there shouldnt be any reason to give bread the boot.

What are some great bread brands have you found in your local grocery? Leave a comment below and keep the conversation going!

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Bread: A "Bad Carb" or Part Of A Healthy Diet? - Raise Vegan

High blood pressure means a person's blood pressure is consistently too high and that their heart has to work harder to pump blood around their body. It is easy to ignore high blood pressure as the condition doesnt reveal any symptoms initially, but, if left untreated, it can lead to heart and circulatory diseases such as heart attack or stroke. Lifestyle factors strongly influence a persons risk of developing high blood pressure, with poor diet being a key contributor.

Salty foods are particularly risky, as Blood Pressure UK explained: Salt works on your kidneys to make your body hold on to more water. This extra stored water raises your blood pressure and puts strain on your kidneys, arteries, heart and brain.

As the health body explains, an adult should eat no more than six grams of salt a day, but most people eat much more than this.

The problem often lies in hidden salts, which are found in processed foods such as bread, biscuits and breakfast cereals, and prepared ready meals or takeaways.

While it is important to cut down or avoid processed foods altogether to lower blood pressure, certain dietary choices have been shown to lower a persons reading.

READ MORE:High blood pressure: Five exercises proven to lower your reading

Studies suggest including pumpkin seed oil in ones diet can help to lower blood pressure and promote good heart health.

Animal studies investigating the effects of pumpkin seed oil on high blood pressure have shown that pumpkin seed oil may reduce high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels major risk factors for heart disease.

Research also suggests that pumpkins ability to increase nitric oxide generation in a persons body may be responsible for its positive effects on heart health.

Nitric oxide is a compound in the body that causes blood vessels to widen, and narrowing blood vessels is the primary cause of high blood pressure and its associated risks.

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Pumpkin seed oil can be taken in supplement form and Holland Barrett recommends taking one to three 1000mg soft gel capsules daily, preferably with meals.

Certain snacks have also been linked to lowering a persons blood pressure, including walnuts, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

In a randomised, controlled trial, researchers examined the effects of replacing some of the saturated fats in participants' diets with walnuts.

They found that when participants ate whole walnuts daily in combination with lower overall amounts of saturated fat, they had lower central blood pressure.

Saturated fats can raise cholesterol levels, and too much cholesterol in a persons blood can build up on the sides of a persons arteries, narrowing them and increasing their risk of a heart attack or stroke.

It is therefore important that people swap out saturated fats for unsaturated fats, such as nuts, as unsaturated fat helps to improve blood cholesterol.

In addition, another way to lower blood pressure and keep cholesterol levels in check is to try to eat fish at least two to three times a week, advises Blood Pressure UK.

The health site said: Oily fish is rich in Omega-3 essential fatty acids which may help reduce blood pressure, reduce the tendency of blood to clot, regulate the rhythm of your heart beat and reduce triglyceride levels.

It is also important to exercise regularly to reduce the risk of developing high blood pressure, and if a persons blood pressure reading is already high, exercise can help a person lower it.

As Mayo Clinic explained: Regular physical activity makes your heart stronger. A stronger heart can pump more blood with less effort. If your heart can work less to pump, the force on your arteries decreases, lowering your blood pressure.

Furthermore, becoming more active can lower your systolic blood pressure by an average of four to nine millimetres of mercury (mm Hg) - thats as good as some blood pressure medications, notes the health body.

High blood pressure is measured with two numbers - systolic and diastolic. Systolic is the highest pressure when your heart beats and pushes the blood round your body and diastolic blood pressure is the lowest pressure when your heart relaxes between beats.

As Blood Pressure UK explained: Systolic blood pressure is more important than diastolic blood pressure because it gives the best idea of your risk of having a stroke or heart attack.

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High blood pressure: Add this oil to your diet to lower your reading - Express

While resisting food might be quite a task, decreasing and limiting the intake helps both humans as well as animals to better theirhealthin old age and extend the lifespan.

To do so, the pattern of diet consumption must be established earlier in life in order to improvehealthin old age, according to a study published in the journal Nature Metabolism.

Researchers showed that mice only become healthier if they start food reduction early and eat less before entering old age. They concluded that healthy behaviour must be established earlier in life in order to improvehealthin old age and extend lifespan.

How can we stay fit and healthy in old age for as long as possible? Researchers into ageing have a simple answer: eat less and healthily.

But when do you have to start and is it enough if you only manage to do this for a short time? To investigate this, researchers led by Linda Partridge, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, in an animal study have put young and old mice on a diet with varying degrees of success.

Mice live longer and are healthier in old age if they are given 40 per cent less to eat after reaching adulthood than animals who are allowed to eat as much as they want.

The dieting mice are fed with food enriched with vitamins and minerals to prevent malnutrition. But if food intake is first reduced in mice first start eating less food when they are already seniors, the researchers observe little or no effect on the life expectancy of the mice.

On the other hand, when mice are allowed to eat as much as they like after a period of reduced food intake, they have no long-term protection, so reduced food intake has to be sustained for mice to reap the benefits.

Reduced food intake must, therefore, be implemented early and be sustained until the end of their lives to have positive effects on health in old age.

One should establish healthy behaviours early in life. It may not be as good for your health to change your diet later in life. Health in old age is a lifelong affair, explains Linda Partridge from the Max Planck Institute for the Biology of Ageing and UCL.

But why do older mice no longer react to the change in diet? Oliver Hahn, the first author of the study and doctoral student in the Partridge department, investigated gene activity in different organs.

While the gene activity in the liver quickly adapted when mice are transferred to a restricted diet, researchers observed a memory effect in the fat tissue of older animals.

Although the mice lose weight, the activity of the genes in the fat tissue is similar to that of the mice that continue to eat as much as they want.

In addition, the fat composition in old mice does not change as much as in young mice. This memory effect mainly affects mitochondria, which play an important role in the ageing process.

Usually, reduced food intake leads to increased formation of mitochondria in fatty tissue. But the study showed that this is no longer the case when older mice are switched to a lower calorie diet. This inability to change at the genetic and metabolic levels may contribute to the shortened lifespan.

Michael Wakelam, co-corresponding author and Director of the Babraham Institute commented, The experimental power of integrating data about lipid metabolism and metabolic pathways with the tissue-specific understanding of gene expression in mice of different ages and diets has allowed us to demonstrate clearly the importance of a nutritional memory in contributing to healthy ageing.

Published : November 4, 2019 8:28 am

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Diet reduction can improve health and prolong life - TheHealthSite

The Mavs are 3 2 after five games, and looking like a playoff contender in the crowded Western Conference. The return of Kristaps Porzingis is a major upgrade comparing to last years roster, but the biggest thing has been Luka Doni going to another level from a Rookie of the Year season Whats the secret?

Pasta. Well, lack thereof. Lukas rookie year came after a long season in Europe, a lot of minutes on his legs and a different level of physicality. Nobody doubted his basketball IQ, basketball skillset or love of the game. Luka faced skepticism most European players face when arriving in the NBA. Is he committed to matching his opponents athletically? It was obvious a change in diet and dedication to the weight room was needed.

Luka will probably never be ripped like Caruso. Shaq explained it by saying some guys are not salad eaters. meaning as much as they eat right and work out, they wont get ripped. But, it became obvious Luka needs to improve his conditioning and strength to reach his maximum. This is where playing next to Dirk helped (via ESPN):

I was so happy to get drafted to Dallas to be with Dirk. It was one of the best experiences of my life. I would say there are two things (I learned): his leadership and his work ethic.

Luka went on to talk about professionalism several times. He said changing his body and being a professional was hard at first, but he fell in love with it during the process. You realize every meal you have isnt off hours but directly impacts your performance on the court. The key for him? Saying farewell to pasta.

Luka never based his game on athleticism (even though he is more athletic than youd think), but for him getting in shape is just removing obstacles to do what he does best. If hes not thinking about his spleen or his lungs, he can think about the game. More minutes of Luka on the court means more games in the win column for the Mavericks.

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Luka reveals the hardest change in his diet - Basketball Network