Unfortunately, hypertension is a fairly common disease in the modern world. And it should be noted that it overcomes not only people who are in old age - it can manifest itself even in young people.
How does hypertension affect human health? How to deal with it and what should be the nutrition for hypertension? About all this - further.
What is hypertension?
In short, hypertension is a problem of high blood pressure. How is it characterized? During the course of this disease, the formation of the so-called vicious circle, which is characterized by short-term spasms of the vessels. In the process of their reduction, an uneven supply of blood through the arteries occurs, as a result of which an insufficient amount of blood can be observed in vital organs, especially in the heart and brain. Such factors have negative consequences, which very often lead, if not to death, then to disability.
Absolutely all doctors claim that the diet for hypertension is the main treatment that helps get rid of the problem or significantly alleviate it. Also, proper nutrition in the process of life helps prevent the occurrence of such a disease.
Why does the disease appear
What reasons contribute to the appearance and development of the disease? First of all, genes are “to blame” for this. So, if any of the next of kin had a problem with blood pressure, then there is a very high risk that the child will not be considered healthy in this area.
In addition to heredity, the development of hypertension is also affected by addiction to alcohol and smoking. It is also affected by various stresses, frequent and abrupt changes in weather conditions and, in addition, the experiences that many people in the country are exposed to.
What else are the causes of hypertension? Very often, this disease is observed in people who lead a passive lifestyle, do not play sports. Also, this problem can affect people who do not eat proper nutrition.
General nutritional guidelines for hypertension
All doctors in the field of cardiology, gastroenterology, as well as nutritionists present the same nutritional requirements for people suffering from the disease in question. They unanimously declare that people suffering from such a problem must exclude salty foods from their daily diet. The main reason for this prohibition is the ability of salt to retain water in the body, which is one of the reasons for high blood pressure. This rule does not apply to food that is slightly salted as permitted, since only excessively salty foods have a negative effect.
Also, doctors of different specializations argue that the best foods for hypertension are smoked, fried, and simply fatty. They are especially not recommended for people who are predisposed to this problem at the genetic level or have excessive body weight. The best way to prepare food for hypertensives is boiling, braising or steaming.
Patients should pay attention not only to food. With hypertension, it is also not recommended to drink a large amount of liquid, which will be very poorly excreted from the body. Also, such persons should completely exclude from their diet tonic drinks that have invigorating properties.
As for the frequency of nutrition, during the course of the disease, special attention should be paid to the frequency of food intake. So, if the average person takes food three times a day, then hypertensive patients are advised to do this a little more often (about 5 times), and in small portions.
What not to eat
Specialists have long identified a list of products contraindicated in hypertension. Among them, fatty meat is always distinguished, as well as broths made from it. Also, in accordance with the recommendations of doctors, it is advisable to exclude broths made from fatty varieties of fish from your daily diet.
Hypertensive patients should pay special attention to their diet, and if you adhere to the correct regime and menu, then the stabilization of the state of the whole organism as a whole is guaranteed. So, at the first appearance of the symptoms of the disease, chocolate, smoked meats, and also salted foods should be completely excluded from your diet. In addition, the use of alcoholic beverages is strongly not recommended. Among the prohibited foods are all kinds of pickles, marinades, as well as canned goods and many favorite pastries.
What foods should be significantly limited? These include hard-boiled and fried eggs. In addition, you should significantly limit yourself in the intake of butter, cheeses, mushrooms, as well as seasonings such as pepper, horseradish and mustard - their presence in the dish will also not positively affect the general health of the patient.
Allowed Products
In addition to the prohibited, there are also products useful for hypertension. These include, first of all, natural fruits and vegetables, which contain a large amount of minerals, vitamins and useful compounds that help stabilize blood pressure. Also, those that have a high protein content are among the products for normalizing pressure in hypertension - it is this substance that gives the vessels a tone and is involved in the active structure of new body tissues.
Particular attention should be paid to foods that contain lipotropic substances - they are involved in the removal of excess cholesterol from the blood. In addition to all this, all foods consumed during the course of the disease should be saturated with fiber - its action is aimed at improving the digestive tract, as well as the removal of unnecessary toxins and weight loss.
So what foods are recommended for hypertension? What should I pay special attention to when compiling a menu for the patient?
First of all, it is necessary to include in the daily diet of a person suffering from high blood pressure, dairy and sour-milk products, presented in any form. Their content contains a huge amount of not only protein, but also calcium - these components are incredibly important during the course of the disease. In addition, you should definitely pay attention to seafood, including squid, oysters, shrimp and even inexpensive seaweed - an excellent source of iodine. In addition to such seafood, the menu should also include fish, but in this situation, you should choose only low-fat varieties.
The list of products for hypertension will also perfectly complement the greens of various types, which contain a huge number of trace elements necessary for the vital functions of the human body and stabilize blood pressure. Especially in this case, parsley and basil are good. Dried fruits, green peas, corn, pumpkin, zucchini, Jerusalem artichoke, as well as berries and fruits are also excellent sources of vitamins and rare minerals (for hypertonics, those related to acidic varieties are especially important - they usually have a high level of pectin) .
In the process of the disease, it is not recommended to drink coffee - it can be replaced with imitating drinks (ground chicory, barley), as well as tea with lemon or a variety of fruit decoctions, which also contain a huge amount of vitamins. As for spices, during the course of the disease, many of them are recommended for use. Among these are bay leaf, cinnamon, caraway seeds, dill, and citric acid.
What will happen if you continue to eat wrong
Despite the presence of the disease, some people continue to lead the wrong lifestyle and make up their daily diet incorrectly. What happens in such cases?
In fact, adhering to a diet for hypertension is a very important element of treatment, almost the main one. Its observance in most cases guarantees a quiet course of the disease or even its complete elimination.
In the case of non-compliance with the patient's required diet, the deplorable consequences expressed by atherosclerosis, hypertensive crises, circulatory failure, angina pectoris can occur. In addition, during an exacerbation of the disease, a fatal outcome is also possible, associated with the occurrence of heart problems (heart attack) or as a result of hemorrhagic stroke.
What to include in the menu for hypertension
What can hypertensive people include in their menu? Consider an approximate list of dishes that can be prepared for patients at different times of the day.
When compiling a menu for hypertension for a week, you should remember about some of the main features of nutrition in case of illness. First of all, it should be remembered that overeating is strictly prohibited. That is why all servings should be small and as low in calories as possible. Many doctors recommend seasoning dishes with spicy spices and herbs, however, in no case should you overdo it with such ingredients. Special attention should be paid to salad dressings: it is undesirable to use a large amount of oil in their role, and especially mayonnaise and store sauces should be excluded. Instead, it is best to use lemon juice or, for example, apple cider vinegar.
What can I use hypertension for breakfast? An excellent option would be an omelet made on the basis of chicken eggs and a small amount of milk (with a minimum percentage of fat content). Also a good morning dish is oatmeal or buckwheat porridge, baked apples or, for example, fruit salad seasoned with a small amount of yogurt. As a drink in the early morning, you can use juice, jelly, decoctions of healthy fruits, as well as compotes.
Between breakfast and lunch, nutritionists recommend a small snack. For this, a small amount of yogurt, an apple, an orange or a small sandwich made with healthy products (fish, fruits, etc.) is quite suitable. The same rules apply for a midday snack, which should be made between lunch and dinner.
During lunch, meals prepared from foods that relieve hypertension should also be served. In addition, it should be understood that at noon the patient should eat not only correctly, but also that food that will saturate his body with a large number of useful components. An excellent version of the dish at this time will be cereal from healthy cereals, soup based on low-fat broth or, for example, sautéed vegetables. In addition, you can also experiment - cook a vegetable pilaf, fish soup or, for example, a light salad with a piece of boiled meat (low-fat).
Dinner should be slightly dense, but rather nutritious. In the evening, you can eat a small amount of cottage cheese or, for example, steamed fish. A very tasty and appropriate option for this time will be aspic from fish, rabbit meat or turkey, as well as cheesecakes, which can be served with sour cream (necessarily low-fat).
Carrot and nut salad
As part of this dish, there are no foods that provoke hypertension. Rather, on the contrary, it has all those elements that are enriched with useful components that allow you to deal with the problem.
To prepare this salad for hypertensive patients according to the recipe presented here, grate 200 g of peeled and washed carrots on an average grater. After that, you need to add a couple of apples crushed in the same way, and then mix the ingredients well. After that, add a very useful dressing made from 50 ml of freshly squeezed orange juice, combined with a tablespoon of honey. A small amount of pre-chopped walnuts and washed raisins should be added to the finished salad.
Borscht
Without using foods prohibited for hypertension, you can cook a very tasty and original borsch. However, be sure to remember that for its creation it is necessary to use a broth cooked on lean meat. Ideal option is chicken or veal.
To prepare the dish, you should take 100 g of finely chopped cabbage, cut into cubes the same amount of potatoes and send all this to a previously prepared boiling broth. Meanwhile, you should prepare the frying, which is made from vegetables cut into strips or grated (30 g of carrots, 80 g of beets, 60 g of tomatoes). Vegetables should be sautéed in a pan (with the addition of a small amount of oil) for 10 minutes, after which they should also be sent to the pan. After all the products are ready, you should remove the pan from the heat, season with spices and let the contents brew. After all this, the dish can be served at the table.
Chicken Breast Soup with Vegetables
In your diet for hypertension, you should definitely include such a healthy dish as chicken breast soup, prepared with vegetables.
To create it, you should take 300 g of bird fillet, wash it and cut into cubes. After that, the chicken should be poured with a couple of liters of cold purified water, salt and put to boil. After the water boils, add bay leaf, ground black pepper and salt to taste.
While the meat continues to cook, you can start preparing vegetables. To do this, take a couple of potatoes, 200 g of zucchini, onion and carrots. All vegetables must be peeled and, coarsely cut, placed in a pan. If desired, carrots and onions can be fried, which should be put in the soup at the very end of cooking - so it will turn out more rich.
At the very end of cooking, add a small amount of dill greens to the pan.
Carrot and Pea Puree
As you know, one of the products that reduce blood pressure during hypertension is green peas and carrots. Using just these two ingredients, you can make an excellent second course.
To do this, take 200 g of fresh peas and boil it in slightly salted water. The same should be done with 300 g of carrots, which must first be peeled and washed. After the vegetables are cooked, you need to grind them with a blender, add a couple of tablespoons of low-fat sour cream, salt and pepper to taste. All combined ingredients must be mixed thoroughly. Many doctors recommend including this particular dish in the diet for hypertension, as it is not only healthy and dietary, but also very tasty and yet simple.