Day by Day Nutrition

One of the best ways to lower your blood pressure is to lose weight if you are overweight.  This can be accomplished by eating smaller food portions and also being active every day.  You can reduce your blood pressure by eating foods that are low in total fat, saturated fat, eating lots of fruits vegetables and choose calcium rich foods like low fat dairy products.  Fruits & vegetables are high in potassium and fiber which helps to lower one’s blood pressure.   Choosing whole grains and lean protein foods are also helpful in controlling high blood pressure. Too much sodium can help to increase your blood pressure if you are sodium sensitive. The American Heart Association recommends eating less than 2300 milligrams (mg) of sodium (Na) per day. A ¼ teaspoon (tsp) of salt (including sea salt) has about 590 mg of Na. You can find the sodium information for a product on the food label.  For more information go to http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/hbp_low/hbp_low.pdf.