Foods To Avoid With High Blood Pressure - What Do I Have To Give Up?

One time, a very heavy man was looking for a list of foods he would need to avoid because of his high blood pressure. When he asked his doctor what foods he should avoid, the doctor said, "that's easy you should avoid all of them." Actually, this doctor gave some very poor advice. In order to lose weight, you have to eat to keep your metabolism from shutting down. However, to reduce blood pressure or weight, there are certain foods you have to avoid but not all of them.

The first thing you will be told when it is time to start working on your blood pressure is to avoid sodium. Of course, when we speak of sodium we are talking about salt. So, avoiding table salt is a first step. However, there is salt in a lot of foods. In particular, you will find salt in lunch meats. Meats such as baloney and hot dogs should be avoided because of the huge amount of salt they contain. Lunch meats should be eaten sparingly though there are lower sodium turkey cuts available that will not hurt your plight to reduce blood pressure very much.

Hidden Salt and not so Hidden Fat

Speaking of salt, there is a lot of it hidden in the foods you find in your favorite fast food restaurants. Their lunch and dinner menus are not at all good for anyone with hypertension, and their breakfasts are even worse. For the most part you should avoid going to these places very often. Other than the fact their foods are laden with salt, fat is also an issue when you are on a blood pressure lowering diet, and fast food restaurants certainly have fat.

I know some people who would rather give up living than drinking. While popping open a beer every now and then is certainly not going to give anyone hypertension, crossing over the line into alcoholism will give the healthiest person in the world a bad case of hypertension. Do your best to avoid alcohol at least in excess.

Sugar: Nothing but Trouble

When on any kind of a diet, it is important to avoid sugar for the most part. Sugar is an empty source of calories and foods that are sugary will not fill anybody up. In fact, they will make you hungrier. Replace sugary foods with high fiber foods. For instance, you can replace sugary cereals with all bran types of cereal.

For some people, just avoiding some foods will be all they will need to lower their blood pressure. For others, they will need to greatly cut down on portions, and add exercises to their routine. In some cases, none of these things will work all by themselves. So, if this is the case with you, your doctor will have to administer blood pressure lowering medication.