Nutrition and hypertension

Hypertension or high blood pressure is a term that is used to refer to the fact that blood travels through the arteries at a pressure higher than is desirable for health.

blood pressure is determined by the amount of circulating blood and the caliber of the artery. The more circulating blood volume and the smaller the diameter of the artery, the higher the blood pressure.

The kidneys are the organs that control the volume of circulating water and the amount of salt that the body contains, directly affecting blood pressure. The more salt the body contains, the more water is retained in circulation and therefore the more likely it is that blood pressure will increase.

Treatment for hypertension requires a change in lifestyle and is aimed at maintaining healthy habits such as: stopping smoking, practicing moderate and regular physical exercise, avoiding excess weight, achieving a low level of stress and carrying a healthy diet low in sodium and low in saturated fat.

The diet in the prevention of hypertension is based on a diet rich in: fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, white and blue fish, lean or less fat meat and olive oil. It is recommended to reduce canned or precooked products (rich in salt), salted foods, tanned foods and foods rich in saturated fat (whole dairy products, sausages, fatty meat products (hamburgers, sausages, ...), pastries, pastries, etc. for being harmful to the heart and, consequently, altering blood pressure.

Here are a number of dietary recommendations for reducing sodium in your daily diet, along with a chart to guide you.

• Skip table salt (normal, marine, iodized) and cooking food with salt. The habit of bringing the salt shaker to the table should be avoided.
• To enhance the flavor of the dish, use aromatic herbs and seasonings: basil, fennel, cumin, tarragon, bay leaf, thyme, parsley, pepper, ...
• Avoid precooked products due to their high percentage of salts. A very healthy alternative is to freeze food after cooking.
• Reduce the consumption of foods that use a large amount of sodium as a preservative and in their processing (preserves, pickles, salted or smoked meats, sausages, bacon, French fries, nuts, pickles ...)
• Read the labels carefully. There are foods on the market that include sodium (Na) as an additive:
  • Salt or sodium chloride (NaCl)
  • Baking soda or soda (sparkling water, carbonated soft drinks, ice cream, cakes, baked goods)
  • Sodium carbonate (butter, creams, ice cream, pickles)
  • Monosodium glutamate (meats, seasonings, pickles, and soups)
• To reduce sodium in food, you can use prolonged soaking (more than 10 hours) or double cooking (change the water halfway through cooking). These techniques can be used on canned vegetables, canned legumes, frozen fish, and canned foods.
• Avoid cooking techniques with excess fat such as stewing, battering, and deep-frying. Choose healthier cooking such as griddle, grill, boil, stew, steam, or oven.
• Steaming maintains the properties of the food better than boiling, and avoids seasoning with salt because it preserves the flavor.
• Alcohol consumption should be moderate. Abusing it triggers blood pressure figures.
• Choose plain water or mineral water with low mineralization and avoid sparkling water and carbonated drinks as they contain sodium.
• Physical exercise practiced regularly and with a moderate intensity helps to improve blood pressure.
• Maintained stress produces elevations in blood pressure, therefore it is necessary to learn to relax.