Nearly half of the adult population in the US takes medications for high blood pressure, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s a serious condition, and your diet has a big role to play in both prevention and treatment. So is a plant-based diet good for high blood pressure?
Is hypertension high blood pressure? You’ll often see the term hypertension, which is another name for high blood pressure. Hypertension can lead to serious complications, such as heart disease and stroke. That’s not all, as it’s also responsible for a host of other diseases and medical conditions.
There is mounting research and evidence that links diet with high blood pressure. A bad diet can result in high blood pressure, which is why it’s all the more important to monitor what you eat. A plant-based diet may just be the best one for hypertension.
What is Hypertension?
Hypertension or high blood pressure is a condition where blood exerts pressure against your artery walls. It also defines the amount of blood your heart pumps. Usually, higher blood flow in narrow arteries results in high blood pressure.
High blood pressure may not show symptoms, especially in the early stages. That does not mean it does not do any damage. The damage to your blood vessels and heart may keep happening in the background.
Some people do show symptoms, which include headaches, nosebleed, and shortness of breath. You may not have all these symptoms at once.
There are four blood pressure stages and two hypertension stages:
- Normal
- Prehypertension
- Stage 1 (High) Hypertension
- Stage 2 (Severely High) Hypertension
Hypertension Causes and Risk Factors
High blood pressure can occur over a period of years. While we know the risk factors, it’s hard to pinpoint what may be the main cause in a particular person’s case.
In some individuals, the cause can be another underlying condition or disease. Such hypertension is called secondary hypertension. These conditions include birth defects, obstructive sleep apnea, thyroid problems, and kidney problems.
Hypertension during pregnancy is not dangerous per se but can lead to complications. Some women develop hypertension after 20 weeks of pregnancy, which is called Preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is dangerous for both mother and child and requires immediate treatment.
As for the risk factors, there is a mix of controllable and uncontrollable factors. Here are the main hypertension risk factors:
Age or Race
Risk factors of high blood pressure that are beyond your control include age and even race. As you get older, the risk of developing high blood pressure is higher. In older men, it’s even more common than women.
Similarly, data suggests that African-American men and women have a higher risk of hypertension. According to a study published in the American Journal of the Heart Association, African-Americans have twice the risk of developing hypertension by the age of 55.
The higher rates of obesity in African-American communities may be an underlying cause. However, there’s also evidence that this could be genetic.
Family History
We have seen that blood pressure runs in families. So if your parents or other immediate family members have high blood pressure, you may be at risk as well.
Obesity
Obesity has been directly linked to hypertension. According to the Framingham Heart Study, obesity accounted for 28 percent of cases of hypertension in women, while in men, it’s 26 percent.
As your weight increases, so does your risk of high blood pressure. This is because the excess weight demands more oxygen, which results in more blood flow. As a result, the increased blood flow exerts pressure on the artery walls.
Diet and Lifestyle
Your diet and lifestyle choices can seriously affect your heart health and may result in hypertension. There are a host of poor diet and lifestyle instances that have been proven to cause high blood pressure.
Less Physical Activity: If you’re not physically active, you have a higher heart rate. This basically means that your heart has to work twice as hard as active people. Similarly, you also increase weight, also increasing hypertension risk.
Too Much Salt: Sodium is a mineral you need to be careful with. If your diet has too much sodium, more than what you need, it can lead to higher blood pressure. Salt, as a matter of fact, instantly increases blood pressure.
Less Potassium: A deficiency of potassium can also lead to hypertension. Every day you need 3000 mg of potassium. It actually balances the sodium in your diet.
Too Much Alcohol: Hypertension and alcohol have a strong connection. Heavy drinking can slowly damage the blood vessels and the heart, causing high blood pressure. More than one drink a day for women and more than two drinks a day for men can result in hypertension.
Smoking: Cigarettes and other tobacco products increase blood pressure almost immediately. However, their use also damages the lining of arteries. Therefore, it leaves the arteries more susceptible to pressure. Even secondhand smoke can cause damage.
Stress
Stress is marked by an increase in blood pressure. When you’re stressed out, your blood pressure rises temporarily. However, if you take a lot of stress constantly, it can result in hypertension.
Moreover, people often smoke or drink more under stress, compounding the negative effect on blood pressure and heart health.
Can a Plant-based Diet Prevent Hypertension?
Let’s talk about prevention first, given that there are so many risk factors leading to this conditioning. Your diet directly influences your chances of developing hypertension. From high-sodium foods that raise blood pressure to processed foods that make you fat, all can lead to permanent high blood pressure.
On the other hand, a plant-based diet is inherently rich with foods and nutrients that keep blood pressure lower. So consuming a plant-based diet will preemptively keep your blood pressure normal and your heart healthy.
Generally, diets high in saturated fats, cholesterol, and sodium are a leading cause of hypertension. Red meat, dairy, and even some fish can raise your blood pressure and increase the risk of hypertension. In fact, new research out of Harvard has found that well-done meat may just be even worse for blood pressure.
Is a Plant-based Diet Good for High Blood Pressure?
Those who have hypertension are sort of on thin ice when it comes to diet. Bad choices of food will only make the situation worse. A plant-based diet may just be the best option for you in managing your blood pressure and avoiding the many complications it eventually leads to.
Most people rely on medications to treat hypertension, but there’s evidence that simply avoiding foods that raise blood pressure can do the trick. According to a paper published in the Journal of Geriatric Cardiology, a vegan diet lowers blood pressure even for those who are not necessarily active.
This paper references a study that followed a group on a vegan diet and another on a traditional Western diet with some physical activity. Even despite the latter group being active, the vegan group showed lower blood pressure.
Dr. Michael Greger of NutritionFacts.org compares several diets in this video, including those recommended by the American Heart Association and the CDC. Plant-based diet comes out on top with proven data. He cites examples of rural China where people have the perfect blood pressure measurements, and they follow a strictly vegetarian diet.
Moreover, we know that a plant-based diet can reduce weight. That’s all the more important for people with hypertension. Obesity, along with hypertension, is a recipe for disaster, resulting in life-threatening diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.
Plant-based Foods That Lower Blood Pressure
So, what foods exactly should you be eating if you have hypertension? Well, unlike diets with animal products, there aren’t virtually any foods that raise blood pressure. However, some are extraordinarily powerful when it comes to lowering blood pressure.
Here are the best foods for hypertension:
Leafy Greens
It’s no surprise that leafy greens top the list when it comes to foods that lower your blood pressure. Leafy greens like arugula, kale, romaine lettuce, collard greens, Swiss chard, and beet greens are high in potassium. This potassium essentially gets rid of excess sodium.
Fresh or even frozen leafy greens can provide you with healthy nutrients that keep blood pressure normal. More importantly, they are extremely good for your heart health.
Banana
As you know, bananas are rich in potassium, so they are obviously great for treating high blood pressure. This fruit is dirt cheap and easily available all year long, so there shouldn’t be any problems eating it ever so often.
Berries
While all berries are good for people with hypertension, blueberries may just be the best. A study out of Kings College London found that eating 200 grams of blueberries every day for a month can significantly improve blood pressure.
Berries, including blueberries, contain flavonoids that reduce blood pressure. Also, these berries are super-rich in antioxidants that fight free radicals in the body.
Garlic
If you’re hypertensive, you ought to add more garlic in your diet. One review study from India states that garlic can help treat people with hypertension with nitric oxide. This compound basically widens your arteries, consequently reducing the pressure on them.
Olive Oil
You have to be wary of the oils you consume. Most oils will increase your cholesterol and further worsen your blood pressure. On the other hand, olive oil has the opposite effect.
Olive oil counts as a healthy fat, which also fights inflammation and reduces blood pressure. As your diet is supposedly lower in fat, this is one way to get some healthy fat without compromising other parts of your diet.
Oatmeal
For breakfast, consider eating more of oatmeal. This high-fiber meal will set you for the day energywise, while also keeping your heart healthy. It’s particularly beneficial for prehypertension and stage 1 hypertension patients, according to one research study from the Journal of Family Practice.
Seeds
Adding seeds to your diet adds important minerals like potassium and magnesium that are good for high blood pressure. Seeds like sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, and squash seeds can be a healthy snack that doubles as hypertension treatment.
Can Hypertension Be Cured?
People assume that hypertension is something they’ll have to live with for the rest of their lives. Medications can only go so far as to keep blood pressure lower, but most don’t do much about curing it permanently.
A plant-based diet has the potential to reverse or cure hypertension. This story from Forks Over Knives is a glimpse of hope in curing hypertension completely. The power spring from the fact that this type of diet fights the very causes and risk factors behind high blood pressure.
Once patients are following a plant-based diet, their blood pressure improves, and they get off medication. This NutritionFacts.org video references several studies that culminated in hypertension patients getting off meds. That’s how effective a plant-based diet is in treating hypertension completely.
Can Hypertension Kill You?
Does hypertension cause stroke? Can hypertension cause diabetes? Yes, it can cause all those and heart disease, which is the number one killer in the US.
According to the CDC, half a million deaths in the US were associated with high blood pressure. It serves as the leading risk factor for death in the world. That’s because hypertension leads to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and even cognitive decline, especially for those in middle ages.
High blood pressure may not seem like a life-threatening condition when you first get it, but it shouldn’t be taken lightly. If something is a risk factor for some of the most common death causes, it warrants some attention.
You can stop it from becoming deadly by lowering your blood pressure through lifestyle changes. Following a plant-based diet, reducing alcohol consumption, and getting adequate exercise are keys to preventing death from hypertension.
Wrap Up
Is a plant-based diet good for high blood pressure? Yes, not only is it good, it has the potential to cure it. Beating hypertension is possible, but it requires work and patience.
It’s important to regularly measure your blood pressure at home, and not just when you visit a doctor. Keep track of your blood pressure and see how your diet is playing out. As you consume more plant-based foods, you’ll see your blood pressure reach the magic 110 and 70 measurements.
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