High blood pressure, like a silent killer hidden in his body, threatens people’s health silently. Diet plays a vital role in the long confrontation with hypertension. Understanding the dietary taboos of high blood pressure patients is like building a strong line of defence for health at the tip of the tongue, avoiding the loss of control of blood pressure due to the wrong dietary choices, leading to a serious health crisis.
I. High-salt foods: the “back-to-back” of rising blood pressure
Salt, which is an indispensable odour in the daily diet, plays a “negative role” in the system of high blood pressure. When humans consume too much salt, sodium ion is left in the body in large amounts, leading to increased blood capacity, like the injection of too many “liquid bombs” into the vascular system, which increases blood pressure. In addition, high-salt diets can cause damage to vascular inner-skin cells, make the vascular walls rough, make it more likely that the aneurysm will harden, further exacerbate hypertension and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Common high-salt foods such as pickles, pickles, hams, salted fish, and various high-salt spices such as sauce, sauce, odor, etc. should be placed on the “black list” by high-tension patients. These foods often contain very high salinity, if only a small amount of consumption, and can lead to significant fluctuations in blood pressure. For example, a common pickled ham may contain more salt than the one-day recommended intake of high blood pressure patients. Therefore, high blood pressure patients must strictly control salt intake, and daily salt intake should be below 5 g, which is equivalent to a beer bottle cap. In cooking, the use of salt and high-salt spices should be minimized, with more use of low-salt spices, such as vinegar, lemonade and spices, to add to the taste of food and gradually adapt to light diets.
High-fat foods: “Associators” of blood vessels clogged
High-fat food is rich in saturated fatty acids and cholesterol, which, like “greasy killers”, can cause serious damage to vascular health. Saturated fatty acid increases cholesterol levels in blood, resulting in low-density protein cholesterol (LDL-C) sedimenting on the vascular wall, forming an avial porridge sample to harden the plaque. These are like “time bombs” within the veins, which have grown over time, thickening, hardening, narrowing the cavity of the veins, hindering the normal flow of blood and leading to increased blood pressure. Furthermore, when the speck breaks, it can also cause the formation of a clot, leading to acute cardiovascular events, such as myocardial infarction and moderate brain failure.
Animal fats (e.g., pig oil, butter, goat oil), fried foods (e.g., fried chicken, fries, fries), animal internal organs (e.g., liver, head, belly), cream products, crab butter, fish, etc., are “mined areas” where high blood pressure patients need to stay away. For example, the fat content of a single fried chicken may be as high as 20 – 30 grams, which, when consumed, can cause a sharp increase in the fat levels in blood. When choosing food, high blood pressure patients should give priority to foods rich in unsaturated fatty acids, such as olive oil, seed oil, fish oil, and foods such as fish, nuts and beans. These unsaturated fatty acids help to reduce cholesterol levels, improve vascular elasticity and benefit blood pressure control.
High sugar foods: the “health trap” behind sweetness
High sugar food seems to give people a sense of pleasure, but for people with high blood pressure, there are significant health risks. When too many sugars are ingested into the human body, they become fat in the body, resulting in increased weight and obesity. Obesity is an important risk factor for hypertension, which increases the heart burden and makes blood pressure difficult to control. In addition, high sugar diets can cause blood sugar fluctuations, stimulate insulin inoculation, and long-term insulin haemorrhage can promote sodium absorption and further increase blood pressure.
Sugary foods such as candy, chocolate, cake, ice cream and sweet drinks should be the object of restraint for patients with hypertension. For example, a can of ordinary Coke has a sugar content of about 35 g, and a bottle of 500 ml of juice can also have a sugar content of over 50 g. These high sugar foods are not only very hot, but also have little nutritional value, and over-eating can only place a burden on the body. High blood pressure patients should reduce sugar-added intake and choose fresh fruit as a source of sweetness. The fruits, although they contain natural sugar, are also rich in vitamins, minerals and dietary fibres, which are good for the body.
Spicy irritation of food: A “catalyst” of blood pressure fluctuations
Spicy irritating foods such as pepper, pepper, mustard, curry, etc. can provide a strong stimulus to the nervous and cardiovascular systems of the human body. When eaten, the body is exposed to physiological reactions such as increased blood pressure and increased heart rate, which is extremely detrimental to high blood pressure patients. Especially in cases where blood pressure control is unstable, spicy food stimulation can lead to a sharp rise in blood pressure and increase the risk of cardiovascular accidents.
While spicy food can, to some extent, enhance appetite, high blood pressure patients should be careful to eat. If it is difficult to untangle, it is possible to eat in small quantities occasionally and to observe changes in blood pressure after consumption. At the same time, when eating spicy foods, the combination of high-salt and high-fat foods should be avoided in order to avoid exacerbating adverse effects on the body.
V. Alcoholic beverages: a double-edged sword of vascular expansion and contraction
The effect of alcohol on blood pressure is more complex, as it has a degree of vascular expansion that can reduce blood pressure in the short term, but can then lead to vascular constriction that increases the reeling of blood pressure. Prolonged drinking causes damage to multiple organ systems such as the liver, the heart and the blood vessels, weakens the vascular elasticity and promotes the sclerosis of the aneurystic porridge, thus aggravating hypertension.
Whether it be white, beer or red, high blood pressure patients should limit alcohol consumption. Men should not drink more than 25 grams of alcohol per day and women should not exceed 15 grams. For example, the alcohol content of white wine is high, men do not drink more than 50 ml per day and women do not drink more than 30 ml; beer alcohol levels are relatively low, but do not drink more than 500 ml per day. For patients already suffering from hypertension, it is advisable to stop drinking in order to avoid further alcohol damage to blood pressure and body.
The dietary taboo for high blood pressure patients is a health-related “tip-to-mouth defence war”. Free from foods such as high salt, high fat, high sugar, spicy irritation and alcoholic beverages, in accordance with the principles of low salt, low fat, low sugar and light diets, a reasonable mix of foods, more nutritious foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains and high-quality proteins, helps to stabilize blood pressure, reduce the vascular burden and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Every prudent choice at the table is a strong safeguard of our health, so that while we enjoy good food, we can also make blood pressure work and celebrate healthy lives.
