Raise blood pressure on the thought of a very interesting patient, old Zhang, 52 years old, told me: “a few days ago the unit checkup a blood pressure: bad 160/100, and then the physical examination report shows that blood lipids are also high, blood uric acid is also high, this is not high blood sugar is also high, I want to ask you, this high blood lipids, high uric acid, high blood sugar is eaten out I know, this high blood pressure is also eaten out? I know, this high blood pressure is also eaten?”
Hypertension is related to genetics, mental factors, and reduced exercise, while hypertension is also closely related to dietary factors.
Among the dietary factors in the occurrence of hypertension, excessive salt has the greatest relationship, of which excessive sodium intake is one of the culprits of hypertension, sodium can be increased blood volume, can make the blood vessels edema, peripheral resistance increases, but also can make the blood vessel contraction, thus increasing blood pressure. Numerous surveys have shown that the incidence of hypertension in areas with high salt intake is greater than in areas with low salt intake.
One of my patients, an elderly woman who lived in the Hangu district of Tianjin, was diabetic and had good blood sugar control, but her blood pressure remained high, and the combination of three types of antihypertensive drugs did not stabilize her blood pressure. It was understood that the patient had a high salt intake and ate very salty food. As we all know, the diet in Hangu District of Tianjin is very heavy in taste, and the traditional characteristic foods are all salty. After my patient explanation and detailed guidance on her diet, the old lady’s blood pressure basically reached the standard after passing a low-salt diet. Numerous studies have shown that a low-salt diet can increase the antihypertensive effect of antihypertensive drugs. For a significant number of patients, a low-salt diet can make it easier to achieve the blood pressure standard.
We also need to pay special attention to invisible salt: salt in small foods, sauce products, cookies, bread, plums, condiments, noodles, instant noodles and other foods. Also pay attention to sodium other than salt: monosodium glutamate (monosodium glutamate), sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate in alkaline noodles), preservatives (sodium benzoate), etc.
Sodium is one of the essential nutrients for human beings, a healthy human body must have sodium, but too much sodium intake can be harmful, WHO and the Chinese Nutrition Society recommends that each person should consume less than 6 grams of sodium per day, less than 3 to 4 grams for hypertensive patients, so that most of the residents of our country must feel that the meal is very tasteless, but for the sake of health we must try to change dietary habits. What should be the physiological requirement of sodium for a normal person? The daily dietary intake recommended by the Nutrition Society of China is 2.2 grams. A healthy person who can eat normally will generally not be deficient in sodium.
In the human body needs minerals potassium, calcium, magnesium can lower blood pressure, milk and soybeans are rich in calcium, often drink milk, often eat soy products is conducive to stable blood pressure. Hard water is rich in calcium, magnesium plasma is good for preventing high blood pressure
Potassium has a good antihypertensive effect: potassium can promote the elimination of water and sodium, dilation of blood vessels is conducive to reducing blood pressure.
Potassium-rich foods include: parsley, yucca chips, yams, beans, kelp, fungus and mushrooms are very high, cabbage, onion, celery, parsley, lettuce and other vegetables; and black dates, red dates, bananas, olives and other fruits; in addition, lotus seeds contain high potassium. In addition low sodium salt is also a good way to supplement potassium.
High fat, high protein, excessive carbohydrate intake, so that the body excess energy and cause overweight. Overweight can cause insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, which in turn causes blood pressure to rise. An old classmate of mine is a cab driver. I haven’t seen him for a few years, but he got fat when we met, with a figure of 6.8 meters, weighing 60 kilograms before, but now 75 kilograms, and his blood pressure also increased. I gave him a detailed explanation of the causes of hypertension, asked him to combine work and rest, mental relaxation, balanced diet, and efforts to reduce weight. He followed my request to keep exercising every day, control his appetite, and eat a balanced diet. By reducing his weight, his blood pressure stabilized and he stopped taking antihypertensive drugs.
We all know that proper and easy exercise, regular life and mental relaxation are conducive to stable blood pressure.
Different fatty acids in dietary fat have different effects on blood pressure. Polyunsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids have the effect of lowering blood pressure, so you can choose fats rich in unsaturated fatty acids when choosing cooking oil.
Vitamin C, carotene, dietary fiber and phytochemicals are beneficial in stabilizing blood pressure. The diet should pay attention to the intake of fresh vegetables and appropriate fruits. The staple food should pay attention to the coarse and fine mix, and eat some coarse grains appropriately.
In conclusion, the principles of prevention and treatment of hypertension are as follows.
1.Control the total dietary energy and maintain the appropriate weight.
2.Limit salt.
3.Increase the intake of potassium.
4.Increase calcium and magnesium intake.
5.Limit total fat and cholesterol, appropriate fat ratio.
6.Appropriate high quality protein, increase the intake of vegetable high quality protein.
7.Limit the consumption of alcohol.
8.Drink hard water.
9.Appropriate exercise.