Dietary options for high blood pressure management: Illustrations and additional insights
High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a common health issue affecting a majority of American adults. The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, endorsed by health authorities and medical experts, is recommended for preventing and managing high blood pressure.
The majority of sodium in people's diet comes from processed foods and restaurant meals. Manufacturers may list sodium as salt, sodium glutamate, sodium bicarbonate, or monosodium glutamate on food labels. Common sources of high sodium include pizza, processed meats like burgers, bacon, frankfurters, chicken nuggets, sausages, cold cuts and cured meats, breads, rolls, and buns, sweet treats such as cookies and cakes, mixed meat dishes, poultry, ready-made soups, burritos and tacos, cheese, savory snacks, pasta dishes, salted vegetables, and salted snack foods.
Preparing meals at home using whole foods can help manage hypertension. Examples of low sodium meals include oatmeal with low fat milk, fat-free plain yogurt with blueberries, buckwheat pancakes with plain soy yogurt, tuna salad on whole wheat pita bread, mashed avocado on low sodium rice cakes, lentil dahl with brown rice, chicken or tofu stir fried with vegetables, and steamed salmon with vegetables.
People with high blood pressure should avoid adding regular table salt, sea salt, and kosher salt to their meals and instead use alternative seasonings such as herbs and spices. Sodium may also be present in over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription drugs. Healthcare professionals can advise about the medications they prescribe, and pharmacists can inform about the sodium content in OTC medications.
High blood pressure is a risk factor for heart disease, stroke, and vision loss. Potassium can help in lowering blood pressure as a person who eats more potassium excretes more sodium through urine. Foods rich in potassium include fresh fruits like oranges, apricots, and melons, dried fruits like prunes, apricots, raisins, and dates, fresh juices like orange, prune, and tomato, fresh vegetables like spinach, mushrooms, green peas, and potatoes, low-fat dairy foods like yogurt and milk, fish like halibut and tuna, beans like lima and kidney, and some fruits and vegetables are high in potassium but can be harmful for those with kidney disease or conditions affecting mineral processing, or those taking certain medications.
Eating a healthy diet that includes plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, reducing salt intake, staying physically active, quitting smoking, limiting alcohol, and getting enough sleep are lifestyle modifications that can help control blood pressure. The DASH diet includes limiting sodium intake to help reduce blood pressure. Doctors diagnose stage one hypertension when readings are between 130-139 mm Hg systolic and 80-89 mm Hg diastolic. Elevated blood pressure is defined as readings consistently between 120-129 mm Hg systolic and less than 80 mm Hg diastolic.
People can find sodium content information on medication labels or inserts. For those with high blood pressure, a quarter teaspoon of table salt contains 575 milligrams of sodium, exceeding one-third of the 1,500 mg daily amount the AHA recommends. The organization that gives recommendations on daily sodium restriction for people with high blood pressure is the DASH diet.
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