Lower Your Blood Pressure with Fiber Foods
In America, 45% of all adults have hypertension, or high blood pressure. It is well-known that high blood pressure increases the risk of two leading causes of death in the US: heart disease and stroke.(1) A new danger is being recognized: increased risk of dementia in later life if you have hypertension in mid life.(2)
Taking medication to lower blood pressure may be part of the solution, but comes with side effects and less than optimal efficacy. For many, making lifestyle changes is equally or more important because of the potential of reducing high blood pressure, thereby decreasing the amount of medication needed.(3)
This article focuses on one lifestyle change that can help lower blood pressure--diet.
Reduce sodium
Ever since the groundbreaking Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) trials(4), the message has been: eat less sodium to lower blood pressure.(5),(6),(7) The main source of sodium in the typical American diet is salt, sodium chloride.
About 60% of people with high blood pressure are salt sensitive, meaning their blood pressure rises even higher with more salt. About 25% of people with normal blood pressure are also salt sensitive, which may not show up as high blood pressure until their later years. A third of people with high blood pressure are salt resistant, meaning they can eat a lot of high sodium foods and their blood pressure remains low, while 4-5% of people have reverse salt sensitivity, meaning their blood pressure gets lower when they eat salt.(8)
As illustrated in the graph below, the sodium intake across all age groups is above the maximum recommended amount for adults of 2300mg a day.(9)
(9)
The main sources of sodium in the typical American diet are processed and restaurant foods. According to the CDC, the top 10 processed food sources of sodium are breads and rolls, pizza, sandwiches, cold cuts and cured meats, soups, burritos and tacos, savory snacks (chips, popcorn, pretzels, snack mixes, crackers), chicken, cheese, eggs and omelets.(10) Restaurant food contains a lot of sodium, with regular menu items averaging about 2196 mg sodium per 1000 calories regardless of the type of restaurant.(11)
Increase potassium
Sodium and potassium have opposite effects in the body. While high sodium intake can increase blood pressure, high potassium intake can relax blood vessels, eliminate sodium and lower blood pressure. Our bodies require more potassium than sodium every day, but the typical American diet is the opposite--too high in sodium and not enough potassium. In fact, potassium is considered an underconsumed nutrient of concern.(9) US adults who eat high-sodium, low-potassium diets have been shown to have a higher risk of dying from heart attack or any cause, regardless of gender, ethnicity, BMI, hypertension status, education or physical activity.(12)
The very best sources of potassium are whole, unprocessed fiber foods because they are naturally high in potassium while being low in sodium. Examples include bananas, oranges, apricots, melons, raisins, dates, dark greens like spinach and broccoli, mushrooms, sweet and white potatoes, all beans and peas, nuts, brown and wild rice, whole wheat bread and pasta. Good sources of potassium without fiber include fish, like tuna, halibut, cod and trout.(13)
Recommendations
In order to help optimize your blood pressure and, therefore, your health and longevity, work on eating more whole, unprocessed fiber foods at every meal, while decreasing your intake of high-sodium processed foods: breads and rolls, pizza, sandwiches, cold cuts and cured meats, soups, burritos and tacos, savory snacks (chips, popcorn, pretzels, snack mixes, crackers), chicken, cheese, eggs and omelets.
Full Plate Living has several resources in the free membership, including an easy visual, to help you do this.
It would also be prudent to minimize the number of times you eat restaurant food to once or twice a week, choosing low-sodium options on the menu as much as possible.
If you are under medical supervision for any reason, consult with your doctor before following these recommendations.
References
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/dash-eating-plan
Grillo A, Salvi L, Coruzzi P, Salvi P, Parati G. Sodium Intake and Hypertension. Nutrients. 2019;11(9):1970. Published 2019 Aug 21. doi:10.3390/nu11091970
He FJ, MacGregor GA. Effect of modest salt reduction on blood pressure: a meta-analysis of randomized trials. Implications for public health. J Hum Hypertens. 2002 Nov;16(11):761-70. doi: 10.1038/sj.jhh.1001459. PMID: 12444537.
He FJ, Li J, Macgregor GA. Effect of longer term modest salt reduction on blood pressure: Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised trials. BMJ. 2013 Apr 3;346:f1325. doi: 10.1136/bmj.f1325. PMID: 23558162.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/salt-sensitivity-sorting-out-the-science
Yang Q, Liu T, Kuklina EV, Flanders WD, Hong Y, Gillespie C, Chang MH, Gwinn M, Dowling N, Khoury MJ, Hu FB. Sodium and potassium intake and mortality among US adults: prospective data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Arch Intern Med. 2011 Jul 11;171(13):1183-91. doi: 10.1001/archinternmed.2011.257. PMID: 21747015.
