Diet for people with high blood pressure

Hypertension (HTN) is a common disease and tends to increase in our country. Stress due to life and work pressure, diet too much salt, meat and animal fat, little physical exercise, little green vegetables...

Hypertension (HTN) is a common disease and tends to increase in our country. Stress due to life and work pressure, diet too high in salt, meat and animal fat, lack of physical exercise, lack of green vegetables... are the main causes of the high number of people with hypertension in Vietnam.

High fat diet and hypertension

The effects of fats and oils on the cardiovascular system vary greatly. Most animal fats contain cholesterol and contain 60-90% saturated fatty acids (except for fish fat or some bird fat which contains less), so animal fats are not beneficial for preventing hypertension. Vegetable oils do not contain cholesterol and contain little (less than 40%) saturated fatty acids (except for coconut oil and palm kernel oil), so vegetable oils are beneficial for preventing and treating hypertension.

Each person eats about 300-500mg of cholesterol per day. Foods containing a lot of cholesterol are meat, liver, brain, egg yolk, testicles, small intestine... When cholesterol increases in the blood, it will be deposited and accumulated excessively in endothelial cells to gradually form lipid plaques and develop into atherosclerotic plaques. Making the blood vessel wall less elastic, leading to hypertension.

Pig intestines and shrimp paste is a dish that contains a lot of cholesterol and salt, people with high blood pressure should avoid it.

Salt contributes positively to high blood pressure

Speaking of table salt (NaCl) actually refers to the role of Na ions in table salt because it affects water retention in the body. Under normal conditions, hormones and kidneys work together to regulate the excretion of Na intake. When the body's regulatory capacity exceeds, the arterial system can become more sensitive. Arteriolar smooth muscle cells with Na retention will affect the permeability of calcium through the membrane, increasing the ability of arterioles to constrict, causing high blood pressure.

The World Health Organization recommends that older people should not consume more than 6g of salt per day (of which 40% comes from processed foods, 40% comes from cooking, and 20% comes from natural foods). Surveys show that in places where people eat a lot of salt, the rate of high blood pressure is higher than in other places. To prevent and treat high blood pressure, it is necessary to reduce salt intake to less than 4g of salt per day (1.5g of Na) or less, which means eating very bland food, using less fish sauce and salt when cooking, or choosing foods that contain less salt.

Principles of diet building

Low sodium, high potassium: limit salt to less than 6g/day, eat lots of vegetables and fruits to increase potassium unless you have little urine. Do not eat salty foods such as pickles, pickled eggplants, shrimp paste, sea fish...

Limit foods that stimulate the nervous system and mind: alcohol, coffee, strong tea.

Increase the use of foods and drinks that have sedative, antihypertensive, and diuretic effects such as vông leaf soup, lotus seeds, lotus shoots, vông lotus tea, vegetable juice, corn broth...

Limit fat, sugar, candy, eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.

According to SK&DS