Did you know that certain foods can raise your blood pressure?
Did you know that certain foods can raise your blood pressure? There are 5 foods that you should be careful of consuming that can raise your blood pressure too high.
A List of Foods to Avoid with High Blood Pressure
1. Deli meat
Lunch is an easy time to lose sight of watching your diet. Sandwiches are often a go to option for lunch, but they are high in sodium, fat and calories. This means that deli meats are not the best option for those who are fighting high blood pressure. The combination of the sodium in deli meats, and the sodium content and high level of carbohydrates in bread make “lunchmeat sandwiches” a poor option.
2. Frozen foods
especially pizza. Did you know that frozen foods contain a high amount of sodium? Frozen foods are always high in sodium due to the chemicals and level of salt needed to preserve them. This is especially true of frozen pizza. The sauce is already loaded with sodium and carbs, and along with the salt in cheese and crust make it a poor option for those with high sodium.
3. Pickles
Pickles may seem healthy in theory, because they come from cucumbers. However, they aren’t as healthy once they become pickles. The average size pickle, a medium-sized pickle contains as much as 800 mg of sodium. The more salt that is added to your diet the more pressure that is put onto your blood vessels. When sodium has increased in the blood stream, more fluid goes through the blood vessels to dilute the sodium. Press on these blood vessels is what raises the blood pressure altogether. Pickles should be consumed in moderation, as should be the case with other high sodium foods.
4. Packaged foods
like chips, pretzels, and more. Packaged foods like snack foods are a poor choice for those who have high blood pressure. These foods are known for their link to high blood pressure. This is because they are loaded with preservatives and high levels of salt. Research has shown that 75% of the salt in the average American diet comes from packaged foods. Packaged foods includes a rather large selection of modern day options including canned vegetables, fruits, soups, beans, chili, grain dishes, chips, and a wide variety of other snacks, even crackers too.
5. Alcoholic beverages
There are so many beverages that can boost your sodium level. Alcoholic beverages is one of the worst beverages you can consume for high blood pressure. More than three drinks in one outing at a bar can begin to increase your blood pressure to unhealthy levels. There are many reasons that drinking is unhealthy for your body, but it’s dangerous to risk raising your blood pressure as well as drinking alcohol while taking certain medications. There has also been evidence that consuming alcohol on a consistent and daily basis sustains an increase in blood pressure.
Increasing the intake or consistent intake of foods with higher calories, fat, salt, and carbohydrates, can lead to an increase in body fat. An increase in anything that is unhealthy, like fat, calories, and carbohydrates, will continue the vicious cycle of increased blood pressure.
Making healthy choices is important, whether you are consuming food or beverages. All of the unhealthy choices that lead to increased body weight or body fat, are the same ones that lead to increased levels of salt.
High blood pressure is triggered by all of these unhealthy choices and changes in your body. Consistent alcohol use not only leads to high blood pressure, but if it is not handled responsibly, it can lead to coronary artery disease. Slowly making changes in diet and alcohol consumption can help your body adjust properly as you make healthier changes.
Weight gain is a major factor in boosting blood pressure to unhealthy levels. Keeping blood pressure, blood sugar, and diet in check under healthy levels will make a difference in how your body responds to everything you do in the future.
Watch the foods that you consume, and make good choices daily to avoid the risk of increasing blood pressure. Should your doctor get you started on blood pressure medications, you’ll need to consider that many medications may be impacted negatively by alcohol consumption.