Oh, the pressure of this blood pressure makes the heart beat faster and leaves lifespan shorter. We all have heard about blood pressure being thrown every now and then in health conversations like you can’t do without it. Which is true, after all, we all know not maintaining the ideal pressure puts undue pressure on the heart and can lead to heart attack and stroke. Frequently you hear eat this, eat that, to lower or raise your blood pressure. Golly! Just the confusion sometimes raises my BP. So if you also face such dilemmas read along to get more clarity on BP and the foods that increase it.
The force with which the blood moves around in blood vessels reaching all body organs is blood pressure. The ideal BP is 120/80. The first reading is ‘Systolic’ i.e. the highest pressure it reaches when the heart beats, the second reading is ‘Diastolic’ the lowest pressure it reaches when the heart rests between beats.
So next up is the list of foods that raise blood pressure level in the body, you may be aware of some of them, and may find hard to resist a few:
- Salt: We all know that sodium is the big culprit related to hypertension. The dietary guidelines recommended doses of salt intake per day is a maximum of 2400mg. But thanks to the food these days, this levels goes way up. Adding extra salt to your dishes may just push it beyond the edge.
- Deli Meat: The scrumptious ever ready deli meat, makes for wonderful quick healthy sandwiches. Right? No, they are far from healthy, to keep them fresh and preserved, lots of salt is added to it, which shoots up the sodium intake and blood pressure.
- Bakery Goods: Who doesn’t love a piece of cake, or that doughnut, cookies with their tea or coffee, yum. But they have to go if you wish to maintain the ideal blood pressure. It has saturated fats, sugar, somewhat sodium, all nemesis of normal blood pressure. Also, they lead you to obesity which is a major risk factor for hypertension.
- Chinese Food: Did you know that just a spoonful of soya sauce has 1000 mg of sodium, add a spoon of teriyaki sauce and you have touched your sodium limit for the day. Imagine all the other stuff in there takes it to two days’ worth of sodium intake. Definitely, needs restriction.
- Processed Items: They are never good when you talk about being healthy. In terms of BP, it has high levels of sodium.
- Dairy Products: Although good for health, still a tab needs to be maintained, whole milk has a lot of saturated fats, which leads to obesity and unhealthy heart. Various cheeses have different amounts of sodium levels, so it can’t be left unchecked. Include them wisely.
- Sugary Drinks: The higher the sugar intake, more risk for the heart increases, so cold-drinks, canned juices etc. etc. no no.
- Alcohol: It couldn’t be left out, too much of it is bad for any disease. It is a risk factor for many including hypertension, so definitely limit it if you can’t avoid it altogether.
Now that you know what foods to avoid, I hope it helps you maintain a good heart and the right blood pressure. After all, in the matters of the heart, we need a smooth flow and not volcanic eruptions. Stay healthy, by eating well, exercising and staying happy.