Include plenty of fibre in your diet. Good sources include oats, prunes, vegetables, fruit, seaweed, lentils and pulses. When increasing fibre intake, it’s important to maintain sufficient fluid intake. Drink two litres of water daily – taken away from meals and sipped slowly to avoid stress on the kidneys.
Certain nutrients are especially helpful for hypertension. These include Vitamin E found in nuts and seeds, fish, eggs, avocados and green vegetables; Calcium found in dairy products, eggs, seeds, pulses, dark green leafy vegetables; Magnesium from fish, lentils, nuts & seeds, dried fruits, green leafy vegetables and potassium, from muesli, dried fruit, molasses, raw vegetables, buckwheat, nuts & seeds. High blood pressure can have a severe affect on the body but as you can see by looking after yourself and eating a healthy diet and obtaining all the nutrients the body requires.
Risk Factors
There are a number of risk factors which could suggest a tendency towards high blood pressure:- Age – hypertension is most common in older people as blood pressure naturally increases as we get older.
- Weight – being overweight puts a strain on your heart, making it work harder to pump the blood around your bod . It’s especially risky if you are an “apple” shape, and tend to store your fat around your tummy area. This is because this area houses vessels that run to and from the heart.
- Smoking – this can cause your blood pressure to rise as it constricts the arteries, again making the heart work harder to pump blood.
- Stress – constant stress can lead to elevated blood pressure. If you have a very busy lifestyle, it’s worth getting checked out.
- Contraceptive pill – some papers suggest that prolonged use of the oral contraceptive pill can be a risk factor for high blood pressure, so your GP should check your pressure regularly if you are on this.
(published with permission in writing from:http://weblog.healthydirect.co.uk)


