Healthy Breakfast Diet: High blood pressure is not a disease but an alarm to set the system of the body right. High blood pressure leads to many dangerous diseases like paralysis, Kidney failure, heart diseases, anemia, eye defects, cognitive problems sleeplessness, etc.
These days due to stressful life and unhealthy eating practice more and more people are coming into the category of high blood pressure patients. One in three Indians is getting affected by it. If this will continue then in the near future it could be one on one. As it affects health silently without giving any major indication, so is also called a silent killer. Our heart keeps on working up to 75% of its blockage, but with pain. It gives us a sudden surprise when the condition gets worsened more. For this, it is always better to prevent from it.
So, it is always advised to keep checking BP reading regularly even if one is young.
High blood pressure can often be prohibited or reduced by eating healthy food; maintaining a normal weight, doing regular exercise, drinking alcohol in moderation if one is in habit of taking it and no smoking.
Healthy Breakfast Diet to keep away High Blood Pressure
Doctors often recommend for DASH diet to lower high blood pressure.
The Dash diet
DASH stands for “Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension” Trusted Source diet. One has to reduce intake of fat, sodium, and alcohol. Then following the DASH diet for two weeks can positively lower the systolic blood pressure.
Serving suggestions for the DASH diet include:
| Foods | Serving per day |
| sodium | Should not exceed 2,300 mg on a traditional diet or 1,500 mg on a low-sodium diet |
| dairy (low-fat) | 2 to 3 |
| healthy fats (avocado, coconut oil, ghee) | 2 to 3 |
| vegetables | 4 to 5 |
| fruit | 4 to 5 |
| nuts, seeds, and legumes | 4 to 5 |
| lean meat, poultry, and fish | 6 |
| whole grains | 6 to 8 |
One can make gradual changes. Say, start by limiting to 2,400 milligrams of sodium per day (about 1 teaspoon). Once the body has adjusted to this salt intake, cut back to 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day (about 2/3 teaspoon).
In general, one should eat more low-fat protein sources, whole grains, and plenty of fruits and vegetables rich in potassium, calcium, and magnesium (Healthy Breakfast Diet).
- Cut back on foods that are high in saturated fat, cholesterol, and Trans fats
- One should eat more fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy foods
- One should eat more of whole-grain foods, fish, poultry, and nuts
- Cut down sodium, sweets, sugary drinks, and red meats
In research studies, it was found that people who were on the DASH diet lowered their blood pressure within 2 weeks.
Diet Tips (Healthy Breakfast Diet)
One serving of vegetables at lunch and one at dinner.
One serving of fruit to one’s meals or can take as a snack. Preserved fruits are easy to use, but one must check that they don’t contain added sugar.
Use only half the typical serving of butter, margarine, or salad dressing, and use low-fat or fat-free condiments.
Drink low-fat or skim dairy products any time one would normally use full-fat or cream.
Limit meat to 6 ounces a day. Make some meals vegetarian.
Add more vegetables and dry beans to the diet.
One can eat unsalted pretzels or nuts, and fat-free yogurt, frozen yogurt, unsalted plain popcorn with no butter, raisins, low-fat and raw vegetables if felt like having snacks on chips or sweets.
Always check food labels to select products that are lower in sodium.
The DASH diet suggests getting:
Grains: 7-8 daily servings
Vegetables: 4-5 daily servings
Fruits: 4-5 daily servings
Low-fat or fat-free dairy products: 2-3 daily servings
How Much Is a Serving?
When one is trying to follow a healthy eating plan, it helps to know how much of a certain kind of food is considered a “serving.” One serving is:
1/2 cup cooked rice or pasta
1 slice bread
1 cup raw vegetables or fruit
1/2 cup cooked veggies or fruit
8 ounces of milk
1 teaspoon of olive oil (or any other oil)
3 ounces cooked meat
3 ounces tofu
Lose weight
- One should lose weight as being overweight forces the heart to work harder to pump blood around the body, which can raise our blood pressure.
- One can find out from the BMI healthy weight calculator how much one has to lose weight.
- If one needs to lose some weight, it’s worth remembering that just losing a few pounds will make a big difference to one’s blood pressure and overall health.
Tips on losing weight safely
Be active
- Being active and taking regular exercise lowers blood pressure by keeping one’s heart and blood vessels in good condition.
- Regular exercise can also help one to lose weight, which will also help lower the blood pressure.
- Adults should exercise at least 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, such as cycling or fast walking, every week.
- If not aerobics then one can do physical activity which can include anything from sport to walking and gardening.
More ways to get active
- Cut down on caffeine
- Drinking more than 4 cups of coffee a day may increase one’s blood pressure.
- If one is a big fan of coffee, tea or other caffeine-rich drinks, such as cola and some energy drinks, do cut down.
- Its fine to drink tea and coffee as part of a balanced diet, but it’s important that these drinks are not the main or only source of fluid.
- Stop smoking
- Smoking does not directly cause high blood pressure, but it puts one at much higher risk of a heart attack and stroke.
- Smoking, like high blood pressure, will cause arteries to narrow.
- If one smoke in high blood pressure, the arteries will narrow much more quickly, and the risk of heart or lung disease in the future will be increased.
Stop smoking
- Take a good night’s sleep with a peaceful environment
- Sleep deprivation will be leading to rising in blood pressure and an increased risk of hypertension.
- Try to take at least 6 hours of sleep at night.
- One can also read various health-related books to learn which foods can help one to fight hypertension.
Always it is advisable to consult your doctor before implementing the above suggestions.
“DASH Diet Is the Best Healthy Breakfast Diet for Hypertension Sufferers”
