Healthier Blood Pressure Diets | Corewell Health

Your doctor says your blood pressure reading is too high.

So, what can you do to improve your numbers? Diet can be a powerful tool.

What do the numbers mean

For most adults, the ideal systolic number is less than 120 and the diastolic number should be less than 80.

The systolic number is the top number. It measures the force the heart exerts on the walls of the arteries each time it beats.

The diastolic number, the bottom number, measures the force the heart exerts on the artery walls between beats.

Depending on how far outside of the ideal range your numbers are, your doctor may prescribe medications to lower your blood pressure.

But you can do so much to lower your blood pressure that you may not need medication — or avoid it altogether.

how? Diet matters, said Kristi Weltkamp, ​​RDN, Corewell Health registered dietitian.

“There is one rule that seems obvious in any diet: eat your vegetables. The Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet seem to be the most popular and easiest to follow.”

Go to the Mediterranean

Research has shown that following a Mediterranean diet can not only lower blood pressure, but may also prevent deaths from heart disease and cancer.

The Mediterranean diet includes nine food groups:

• Vegetables: 2 to 3 cups a day
• Legumes: 2 cups per week
• Fruits and nuts: 1.5 cups of fruit per day; 0.25 cups of nuts per day
• Cereals and whole grains: 1.5 cups per day
• Fish: two 4 oz. servings per week
• Oils and fats: vegetable, not animal fats
• Dairy products: less than 1 cup (8 ounces) per day
• Meat: 1 serving (3-4 ounces) per day of grass-fed pork, chicken, or beef
• Alcohol: no more than one glass per day for women, and two glasses per day for men, with a meal

There are variations to the Mediterranean diet, Feltkamp said, but its general focus is on increasing fruits and vegetables.

“You can’t go wrong with greens. Vegetables contain natural nitrates that help dilate blood vessels and keep them flexible,” she said.

Make a dash for her

Another diet, the DASH diet, is probably the most popular option her team sees for people who want to improve their blood pressure, Feltkamp said.

It is similar to the Mediterranean but perhaps easier to follow. The main focus of DASH is to reduce our sodium intake – and the American diet can be very high in sodium.”

DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. Hypertension is the medical term for high blood pressure.

“Blood pressure can be caused by excessive sodium intake, but it can also be genetic,” Feltkamp said. “Our bodies regulate minerals through different hormonal processes. Some people are affected by sodium and some are not.”

The DASH diet recommends less than 2,300 mg of sodium per day — about 1 teaspoon.

“If you already have high blood pressure, DASH recommends 1,500 mg of sodium per day,” Feltkamp said.

The DASH diet includes eight food groups:

• Whole grains: six to eight servings per day
• Vegetables: five to six servings per day, preferably fresh or frozen
• Lean meat, poultry, fish, and eggs: 6 oz. or less per day
• Fruits: four to five servings per day
• Low-fat or fat-free dairy products: two to three servings per day
• Fats and oils: Two to three teaspoons per day – olive, canola or butter
• Nuts, seeds and beans: four to five servings per week
• Desserts: Five or fewer servings per week, 40 grams of sugar (or less)

“American diets tend to be deficient in three minerals important for regulating blood pressure — potassium, magnesium, and calcium — and the DASH diet is based on those,” Feltkamp said.

fasting

“Both of these systems can help a person lose weight,” Feltkamp said. “Losing just 10 pounds can make a huge difference in your blood pressure numbers.”

Another way to shed pounds is intermittent fasting, or skipping meals altogether.

“There are many ways to fast,” said Weltkamp. “It can be difficult to know which method is best, but research has shown some residual benefits that include lowering blood pressure.”

One relatively simple technique for fasting, Feltkamp said, is to eat dinner earlier in the day and count the evening and night hours before breakfast the next day as your fasting period.

The goal is to leave at least 12 to 16 hours between meals.

Other techniques include following a typical meal schedule one day and alternating fasting the following days. Or eat normally five days a week and fast for two days.

“There is some research that suggests that fasting can reduce inflammation in our bodies, and inflammation leads to many different types of diseases,” Feltkamp said.

She said talking to your doctor about what type of diet or fasting might work best for you is always a good way to start your journey to better health.

Your doctor can also refer you to a Corewell Health dietitian who can guide you in achieving your goals.