Blood pressure naturally rises and falls, but when it reaches excessively high levels due to various factors and causes the phenomenon called hypertension, it can become the trigger for heart, kidney and even brain problems.
Don't store avocado like this: it's dangerousBlood pressure naturally rises and falls, but when it reaches excessively high levels due to various factors and causes the phenomenon called hypertension, it can turn into the trigger for heart, kidney and even brain problems.
Doctors usually advise those with high blood pressure to reduce their consumption of salt at the table. It is found in numerous foods, some of which should be eliminated, limited or replaced with less harmful products. Here are some useful tips in this regard.
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Avoid frozen ready meals
I frozen ready meals they may appear to be the most convenient solution for those who don't have time to cook when it's time for lunch or dinner. Especially if you have high blood pressure, you should pay particular attention to their salt content, which could reach 1800 mg per serving, compared to the 2300 mg recommended as the maximum daily sodium intake. The solution could be to freeze portions of home-cooked dishes to use when you don't have time to cook.
Replace the salt with aromatic herbs
In addition to cooking salt, there are other foods that can flavor your dishes and that are able to replace salt very well. It is about the aromatic herbs and spices, such as rosemary, parsley, marjoram, horseradish, thyme, paprika, chives, but also dried garlic and onion, which have the natural property of lowering blood pressure.
Avoid ketchup and soy sauce
Ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard and especially soy sauce can help raise blood pressure due to their sodium content. It would therefore be good to avoid the commercial versions of the most common sauces, and replace them with low-salt homemade preparations for dressing salads and sandwiches, or simply with oil and vinegar.
Limit canned foods
Other foods that it would be good to limit consumption are canned foods to which salt has been added for conservation. You need to pay attention to the sodium content found in canned peas, corn and legumes, under glass or packaged in tetra pak containers. Canned legumes can be easily replaced with their frozen variant (with no added sodium) or dried, to be cooked and simply seasoned with aromatic herbs.
Limit pickles and pickles
We refer specifically to orlive, spring onions, capers, gherkins and mushrooms, whose liquids conservation are often particularly rich in sodium. Often it is not enough to rinse them thoroughly to eliminate most of them. Salt is also used for the preparation of homemade preserves, but in this case you can independently adjust the quantity. Pickled onions can be replaced by borettane onions to be prepared stewed or baked, while mushrooms in oil can be replaced by their fresh or dried variant.
Pay attention to cold cuts and preserved meats
Not only the ccanned arne, tuna or mackerel in oil they may contain a high sodium content, but also cured meats, with particular reference to their smoked and / or vacuum-packed version. Those who suffer from high blood pressure and habitually consume such foods should always pay attention to the sodium content indicated on the packaging. 100 gr of raw ham they can contain up to 2600 mg of salt. Its content can reach 1600 mg for the salami and 1500 mg for the cup.
Avoid chips and salty snacks
Chips, pretzels, crackers, bread sticks, popcorn and other snacks that have a high salt content should be carefully avoided by those with high blood pressure. They can be replaced by dried fruit and oil seeds as long as they are chosen in their variant without added salt. Popcorns can be easily made at home without adding salt. Crackers and breadsticks can also be prepared at home or purchased in their low-sodium variant.
Cooking without salt
It is one of the options that doctors recommend in case of hypertension and that most often frightens patients, who fear they will have to enjoy completely tasteless food from then on. In reality, cooking without salt or with very little salt, preferably opting for the whole sea salt, will lead everyone to rediscover the true flavors of food. Salt, by itself, must not be demonized. Without it, our bodies would dehydrate. However, it is necessary to use it with caution, especially if you have hypertension.
Beware of cheeses
Those suffering from high blood pressure will have to learn to take into account the sodium content present in cheese which he usually buys. Some of them may be, without their knowledge, particularly rich. In saltier cheeses the sodium content can reach 8%. Among the cheeses with the highest sodium content there are Taleggio cheese (870 mg of sodium per 100 g) e grana (700 mg every 100 gr). It is therefore good for those suffering from hypertension to adjust accordingly.
Indulge in dark chocolate and bananas
After a long series of renunciations, here is a small consolation, from indulge in small quantities. It is the dark chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa. Its rich flavonoid content can in fact help keep blood vessels dilated and lower blood pressure. Due to their content of potassium, bananas they contribute to the maintenance of cardiovascular health and help to counteract hypertension by bringing blood pressure to better values.
Read also:
- Ipertensione: that's why salt increases the pressure
- Thehypertension it is fought at the table with fruit and vegetables
- Pistachios to combat high blood pressure, stress and cholesterol
