Foods That Increase Blood Pressure

Posted by Healthfitline On Sunday, September 30, 2012
If you are suffering from high blood pressure and you are looking for ways to decrease it, high blood pressure is usually treated through lifestyle changes. Medications is usually prescribed for individuals who still experience high readings even after a lifestyle change.

The food that we choose to eat have a significant influence on our blood pressure readings. For example, if you are fond of eating junk food, you will most probably end up with increased high cholesterol. Without proper treatment, increased cholesterol can lead to heart diseases (artery blockage) which increases the blood pressure.

What can increase blood pressure? or what foods raise blood pressure?. In my previous post, I discussed about food for high blood pressure which when consumed in adequate amount can help in lowering the blood pressure.

In this post, I will discuss some of the foods that individuals suffering from hypertension or high blood pressure should avoid as much as possible;

Refined Sugars
We all like the good taste of cakes, doughnuts, chocolates, among others but eating too much of foods with refined sugar will do you more harm by increasing your blood pressue. Refined sugar are not utilized by our bodies and most of it is stored as fats.

Too much stored fats leads to overweight or even obese requiring your heart to bump harder to supply the rest of the body with blood. This increases the blood pressure. If you are already overweight or obese, avoid using foods that are rich in refined sugars.

Salty and Processed Foods
All processed foods contain more salt than what is needed by our bodies. Salt is the number one enemy of blood pressure and can make your readings to  go very high. Salt not only raises the blood pressure but it is also associated with other illness like; stomach ulcers and increases the risk of developing heart diseases.

Coffee
We all like having 3 or more cups of coffee everyday but too much coffee may not be good for your health. There are various studies that have suggested that, drinking too much coffee can lead to narrowing of blood vessels by blocking the effects of adenosine (a hormone that is used to maintain the normal size of blood vessels). Too much caffeine also causes the adrenaline glands to produce more hormones (adrenaline) which is responsible for increasing the blood pressure.

Alcohol
The negative effects of alcohol on our health is overwhelming with each other day. Alcohol is a strong depressant that slows down our reaction times  interfering with normal physiological function of our bodies. However, even though alcohol is a depressant, too much alcohol can increase blood pressure to unhealthy levels. Some other individuals when drunk become very violent or very active which raises the blood blood pressure further.

Alcohol also contains empty calories which is responsible for weight gain that eventually lead to increased blood pressure.

These are some of the foods that you should avoid. These food are not only meant for individuals suffering from high blood pressure but should be taken in minimal amount by healthy individuals in order to maintain optimal level of health and fitness.  If you are suffering from high blood pressure, consult your physician about the right diet for you.
 

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