High blood pressure can be very devastating for your health. It can cause heart disease and can damage your kidney severely. Knowingly or unknowingly your eating habits are the main culprit for your blood pressure and cholesterol.
You might have been eating crispy chips or pizza on a regular basis. Do you know these fast foods causes an increase in fat stored in your body and ultimately cause diseases like high blood pressure and cholesterol?
Hypertension can lead to stroke, heart failure, coronary artery disease, and other serious health conditions. In a study, it is reported that more than 50% of males in India are suffering from high blood pressure.
In this article, we will be uncovering some daily food items which you should avoid to keep your blood pressure and cholesterol in control.
What foods should you avoid if you have high blood pressure and high cholesterol?
Salt
You might be horrified by knowing how bad your “one pinch” of salt can affect your blood pressure. Salt is commonly known as table salt or sodium salt in different parts of the world. We are consuming it every day in our cooking or you might love to sprinkle it a little on your food item to satisfy your tastebuds.
Salt is just unavoidable, yes I do agree. But if you are suffering from hypertension then it has to be reduced in your daily diet. According to the world health organization, you should be using salt not more than 1,500 mg a day (less than half a teaspoon).
Most of the sodium in our regular lifestyle routine comes from various packed food items we eat. We can not avoid the presence of salt in cooking but you can avoid its overconsumption from packed items like chips, sauce, evening snacks and other items. Just reducing your salt intake can do a miracle for your high blood pressure problems.
Caffeine
We all love morning hot mug of coffee. But do you know that beverages which contain caffeine in it can dramatically increase your blood pressure?
Caffeine can be a cause for your blood pressure spikes. Although it is unclear how it affects your blood pressure level. Some researcher thinks that it causes a reduction of hormones which help to keep arteries widen. On the other side, some scholars think that it increases adrenaline in the body which increases blood circulation for a while.
People who are consuming caffeine-containing beverages regularly can be seen with high blood pressure. It is proven that a long time consumer usually develops tolerance towards blood pressure increase due to caffeine.
If you do not have high blood pressure caffeine is just fine for you. However, if you have blood pressure then you should consider reducing its consumption as much as you can.
Alcohol
Drinking alcohol in moderation impact on your blood pressure slightly but heavy consumption can lead to serious problems for you.
If you are suffering from high blood pressure then your doctor must have advised you to keep yourself away from alcohol. If you can’t keep it away, limit your alcohol consumption to no more than two drinks per day for men and no more than one drink per day for women. A drink is one 12 oz. beer, 4 oz. of wine, 1.5 oz. of 80-proof spirits or 1 oz. of 100-proof spirits.
Alcohol can block the effect of your ongoing medications. Also, most of the alcohol drinks come with a lot of added sugar and calories. Which ultimately contributes to weight gain and obesity which are one the prime reason for hypertension.
Sauce
Yes, you read it right. It’s your regular tomato or other sauces which should be avoided if you have high blood pressure.
I am telling you why, because they contain salt or sodium in it. Basically, you are consuming salt when you are enjoying your meal with sauce. Every sauce from tomato ketchup to white pasta sauce, they contain sodium in it which we called as Hidden Salt.
It is suggested to use herbs and fresh tomato, which are rich in an antioxidant, to make a salt free homemade sauce to lower your blood pressure.
Processed food items with trans or saturated fat
If you are serious about your health and want to avoid heart diseases then keep yourself away from any proceed food items available in the supermarket.
Processes food items contain trans and saturated fat. Trans fats not only increase levels of bad (LDL) cholesterol but they also reduce the levels of good (HDL) cholesterol. They are widely being used in packed food items to make their shelf life longer.
Saturated fats also lower good (HDL) cholesterol level while increasing bad (LDL) cholesterol in the body.
Trans fats severely affect your body and cause diseases like heart failure, stroke, diabetes and cholesterol. Packaged food items like chips, biscuits and namkeen usually contain a high amount of trans and saturated fats.
Saturated fats are mostly found in animal products like:
- Fatty beef
- Pork
- Poultry with skin
- Dairy products made from whole or reduced-fat milk
- Butter
Doctors advise reducing both trans and saturated fat intake. You can replace them with healthy natural alternatives rich in fibre.
Meat
Research shows that a higher intake of red meat, proceed red meat can increase the risk of high blood pressure.
If you are eating it occasionally then try to eat in a moderate quantity. Red or processed meat contains saturated fat and sodium, which can increase your blood pressure and cause cholesterol related problems.
Add these into your “sometime-list” or switch to fresh meat option from your local market which is free from additional sodium.
Pickles
The Indian market is full of different kind of pickles. They are definitely one of the best things to company your meal.
Pickles are made with spices, preserving liquids and lots of salt to make it taste better. The longer they dip in the preserving liquid the more they absorb salt in them. A small size pickle can contain up to 800mg of sodium. This extra sodium intake apart from your regular diet can put you in trouble when you are already suffering from hypertension.
Refined White Sugar
High intake of refined white sugar can be dangerous for your health in several ways. It can cause you weight gain and obesity which ultimately cause cholesterol and high blood pressure.
Basically, the higher the intake of added sugar, the higher the risk for heart disease. You can switch to a natural alternative like coconut sugar instead of refined white sugar to make your diet complete.
