Did you know you could keep your blood pressure under control by just visiting a doctor? According to a new study published in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation, doctor visits were the strongest predictors of hypertension control after diabetes, health insurance, body mass index, smoking and other factors. It suggests that visiting the doctor twice in a year could help those at risk to control BP.
Brent M. Egan from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in Greenville, author of the study highlighted that this also worked in obese people, who could keep their blood pressure under control just with doctor visits, probably because doctors were able to recognise the need to control risk factors and prescribe BP medicines on time.
Here are some diet tips to control blood pressure
1. Reduce intake of all animal products like meat, fish, eggs, poultry and dairy. These foods are loaded with animal fat, this fat is absorbed faster than vegetablefats in our body, leading to faster plaque formation.
2. Eat less oil, ghee, margarine, Vanaspati etc. Fats occurring in plants are less harmful than animal fats, but all the same it can cause damage to the body. If you do feel that oil is an important part of your diet, then you could choose to eat nuts like peanuts etc since their fiber content reduces the speed at which the fat is released into the body.
3. Avoid all processed foods. Eating homemade food is best for your health. Packaged foods are usually loaded with fats. This is usually done by manufacturers to increase their shelf life, while reducing ours.
4. Reduce salt intake as excess salt intake holds on to the water in the body raising the blood pressure. Try not to consume more than 1tsp (6 gm salt)/day. Use herbs like pepper, jeera powder, oregano, chilli flakes, lemon juice etc for adding flavor to your foods. Avoid processed foods like breads, biscuits, ketchups, ready to eat options, canned meats etc as they are loaded with salt.
