What to eat to lower blood pressure
Here are some great foods and drinks ideas that one of our Registered Dietitian, Jong Min Lee, recommends for people with high blood pressure. Scroll down to the end to find out the easy homemade recipes!
1. Foods: More Potassium, Less Sodium
It is widely known that consuming more sodium leads to a rise in blood pressure. But did you know that consuming more potassium has been shown to decrease blood pressure? The modern western diet, which we are accustomed to, is rich in processed foods and dietary sodium, but low in potassium, which means a decreased potassium-to-sodium ratio. The ratio is important because these two specific electrolytes are essential to our bodies and are meant to interplay with each other, allowing for physiological balance (known as homeostasis).
◆ Potassium
A higher intake of potassium has been shown to decrease blood pressure. [1, 2]
Americans ages 20 and over consume 3.016g (men) and 2.320mg (women) on average of potassium per day. [3]
The DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) recommends a daily intake of 4.7g of potassium for healthy adults.
Foods such as fruits and vegetables, dairy, legumes, meats, poultry, and fish are rich in potassium. Whole wheat and whole grains possess higher amounts of potassium than their white counterparts.
Potassium rich foods include (1 g = 1000 mg):
Dried apricots (1900mg), dark chocolate (830mg), dates (696mg), salmon (628mg), white beans (561mg), spinach (558mg), baked potato with skin (535mg), cod (516mg), avocado (485mg), pork chop (449mg), Brussels sprouts (389mg), bananas (358mg), low-fat yogurt (234mg), orange juice (200mg), and low-fat milk (154mg) [4]
A sample meal of spinach salad (558mg) with a half avocado (485mg), grilled salmon (628mg), and half of a medium baked potato with skin (535mg) would include 2206mg of potassium (excluding the consideration of dressing or the way it is cooked—preferably this meal should be cooked with minimal salt). This meal would provide 47% of the recommended daily potassium intake.