Nanny to Mommy

Do you know that 1 in 3 adults is affected by high blood pressure in the UK? In England, 35% of men and 26% of women have high blood pressure. The astonishing part is that half of those patients are not diagnosed or getting treatment. Around 5 million people in England alone are not diagnosed, costing the NHS around $2 billion every year.

Blood pressure is the measure of the strength by which your heart pumps the blood around your body. High blood pressure is associated with an unhealthy lifestyle such as smoking, being overweight, drinking, not exercising etc.

When it comes to the physical symptoms of high blood pressure, there aren’t any. For most, high blood pressure is something that develops over the years due to the lifestyle they have. There is no single reason as it is an accumulation of several factors.

If you have high blood pressure, you already know that you have an increased risk of heart disease, kidney failure and stroke. Unfortunately, high blood pressure often runs in the family, so you cannot do anything to change your genetics or the fact that you are ageing. You can however tackle the situation by losing weight, adding regular exercise to your life and amending your eating habits.

Remember, there is no instant cure for high blood pressure, but you can do little and continuous things to lower it naturally without medicine. It starts with a healthy lifestyle. Simple common sense changes can make a huge difference, and one of those things is what you eat.

While you munch on certain foods and still expect that your blood pressure will drop is not something you will achieve. Instead, you will have to change your eating pattern to lower your blood pressure and maintain it.

Sweet potato has the essential minerals, i.e. calcium, potassium, and magnesium. They will keep the blood vessels of your body relaxed and lower the blood pressure. You should add sweet potatoes to your diet to have a good intake of dietary potassium.

Bananas are also one of the best sources to keep your blood pressure at a lower level. They will help you in regulating your blood pressure. Bananas are full of potassium which helps reduce the sodium in your body. Eating 2 bananas for a whole week may lower your blood pressure by 10 per cent.

Yoghurt is loaded with minerals such as magnesium and calcium. As a result, people who have two or more servings of yoghurt in a week as part of their diet will have lower risks of higher blood pressure.

Avocados can do wonders for your high blood pressure. They are a rich source of potassium and packed with oleic acid, which can help reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Rocket or Arugula is a green and leafy vegetable that has a significant amount of nitrate in it. Nitrate dilates the blood vessels resulting in lowering the blood pressure. In addition, it has calcium, magnesium, and potassium in it.

It is also one of the great sources of nitrate, which relaxes and widens the blood vessels resulting in lowering the blood pressure.

Salmon has high omega 3-fatty acid content and potassium that helps in lowering blood pressure and cholesterol.

Berries, especially blueberries, have rich reserves of anthocyanins, which help with blood flow and blood pressure regulation.