Take life without a pinch of salt

One of the quickest ways to lower your blood pressure is to eat less salt

A rise on the blood pressure can pose serious health hazards like strokes (heart and the brain), damage to the kidneys, and blindness. Risk factors are smoking, diabetes, elevated lipids, hereditary obesity and wrong nutrition, especially sodium rich foods and high protein diets which damage kidneys. The DASH Eating Plan helps in lowering pressure:

D-Dietary
A-Approach
S-Stop
H- Hypertension

It is said Prevention is better than cure, here are some methods:

Over use of sodium is one of the major causes of hypertension, so one has to get into a habit of eating foods that are low in sodium and decrease sodium levels. Also reducing stress levels, weight and increasing exercise will overall reduce hypertension. A basic life style change is what one requires.

Excessive salt can aggravate such a condition, so buying fresh food is of the highest importance. As packaged foods have a lot of salt. Avoid pickles, canned and ready-to-eat packets of soups, salad dressings, and sauces. Instead make your own sauces and salad dressings by using herbs lemon and spices. Most sauces and dressings including soy sauce are high in salt shift to lemon, herbs and low sodium salt instead.

Research shows that people with low levels of calcium are prone to hypertension. Calcium rich food found in leafy greens, finger millet (ragi), sesame seeds and dry figs should be consumed regularly as a preventive measure.

Easy fixes for Hypertension:
Fruits can really satisfy your sweet cravings and not only lower pressure, but also prevent its rise due to their high potassium and vitamin C content. They are good replacements for candies and biscuits which have salt and sugar which increase stress levels. So add fruits from bananas, orange, sweet lime, awala (Indian gooseberry), strawberries, grape fruit, peach, coconut water and bananas. Add the cherries too; they contain no sodium plus 320 mg of potassium that helps lower sodium.

Likewise, vegetables like tomatoes, potatoes, parsley, celery, spinach, onions, avocados, raw vegetable juices e.g. spinach and tomato, are also beneficial to the treatment of hypertension. Include no sodium vegetables to your cart cabbage, cluster beans, drumsticks, water chestnuts and low sodium ones like onion, bitter gourd, bottle gourd, brinjal and lady finger.

Squeeze lemon on all your food to naturally cut down on overall sodium intake. Garlic, ginger and turmeric are said to reduce spasms of small arteries and lower pulse rate, enhance taste of daily food with them so add it daily in your diet. This is easy to do in your vegetables and dal. Condiments like dry garlic, ginger, cumin, turmeric cut down your requirement for salt.

Herbal infusions like basil (tulsi), peppermint and chamomile can relax you and help lower blood pressure. Spices like cardamom and cinnamon help reduce blood pressure, include them in your diet as mouth fresheners or digestives (after meals) or add them to your soups or herbal infusions/tea.

Most importantly:
Of primary importance in controlling hypertension is a diet which has higher fruit and vegetable content, and lower protein content, as well as completely refraining from consuming meat. Meat and eggs can cause blood pressure to rise. Vegetarian protein sources such as green gram, split red gram, moth beans are very high in potassium. So add them in your daily diet. Add milk and especially curd is low in sodium thus can be added to your diet.

Hypertension can be controlled by:
Reducing body weight
Enjoying Soothing music
Indulging in Prayers
Performing Yoga

30 - 45 minutes daily of walking
The key health tips are increase physical activity as well as the intake of fresh fruits and vegetables. Combine lower salt intake, alcohol and body weight with a positive state of mind reduce the risk of hypertension.