Cardiovascular disease is responsible for almost one-third of all deaths worldwide each year, making it generally the leading cause of death.
Blood pressure is one of the main risk factors for heart disease, perhaps more even from cholesterol and smoking, and certainly the main modifiable cause of death in the world today.
Blood pressure is one of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Existing statistics show that 62% of strokes and 49% of cardiovascular diseases worldwide are attributed to blood pressure higher than normal.
Diet plays an important role, directly and indirectly, in the prevention of blood pressure disorder and the onset of high blood pressure, through the following parameters:
1. Weight control (both by increasing and decreasing it).
2. The increase in potassium intake, mainly from fruits and vegetables, in an amount that reaches 3.5 - 4.6 g. potassium daily.
3. Reduction in sodium intake, from salt and foods that contain salt (Recommendations for the average person are 2.3 g / day, of sodium consumption).
4. Reduction of saturated fat consumption.
5. Adequate consumption of omega-3 fatty acids.
Of the "environmental factors", the main role in the prevention of hypertension is certainly played by the regulation of body weight and the avoidance of obesity.
From official studies it has been shown that a weight loss of 5 kg is able to reduce systolic (large) by 4.4 mmHg and diastolic pressure (small) by 3.6 mmHg, while at the same time it can play a decisive role in preventing the occurrence of hypertension in overweight individuals.
Hypertension and Body Mass Index are directly related to each other and the increase of one leads to an exponential increase of the other, while correspondingly the reduction of body weight leads to a decrease in blood pressure.
Existing scientific data show that 60% of hypertension is overweight and that 20-30% of hypertension is related to obesity.
There’s nothing worse than swallowing a cocktail of pills to try and control your high blood pressure only to find out they’re not as effective as doctors once said.
Let’s also not forget the plethora of dangerous side effects that come with them.
But new research carried out by scientists at Queen Mary University in London states that the answer to lowering your blood pressure by a whopping 11 points naturally lies in your salad.
Researchers have stated that there are certain types of vegetables that contain a natural chemical that controls high blood pressure.
The study involved 1500 participants – 800 women and 700 men – all of whom suffered from systolic high blood pressure ranging from 140 to 159mm Hg. They were not suffering from complications as a result of their condition nor were they on blood pressure medications.
After drinking a glass of nitrate-containing water or beetroot juice, the participants’ blood pressure was taken, and the results were astounding – there was a whopping 11.2 mmHg decrease on average.
The biggest drop was measured after 3-6 hours, but it was still significantly lower than the baseline after 24 hours. Thus, proving the hypothesis – optimal choices in diet and lifestyle can positively affect blood pressure.
The amount of nitrate used in the study was equal to consuming either two beets or a bowl of lettuce, showing that just ONE meal high in nitrate is enough to lower your blood pressure.
Remember, when it comes to high nitrate foods, you aren’t limited to beetroot – you can also eat carrots, fennel, lettuce, radishes, cabbage, spinach, or green beans for the same results.
Salad is great, but if you want permanent results to lower your blood pressure and see results starting today, you need to do these simple exercises that take no time at all..
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