Heart Healthy Tips – 3 Key Minerals to Lower Blood Pressure
1. Reduce your SODIUM intake.
Too much sodium in your diet can contribute to high blood pressure and make your blood pressure treatment less effective. Simply reducing your sodium intake to 2.3 grams (6 g table salt) daily can decrease your blood pressure.
The average American consumes 6-18 grams of table salt daily (about 3 teaspoons). The body only needs 200 mg daily. That is 30 times less than what American’s typically consume.
To be heart healthy, sodium intake should be reduced to less than 2300 mg (1 teaspoon) daily.
Quick tips to cut back on sodium:
- Don’t add salt when boiling water.
- Leave the salt shaker off the table.
- Read food labels to avoid foods high in sodium.
- Avoid foods high in sodium, such as gravies, cheese, and soy sauces.
2. Increase your POTASSIUM intake.
Potassium works to balance out the sodium in your diet. An adequate potassium intake can lower systolic pressure ~4.4 mm Hg and diastolic pressure ~2.5 mm Hg.
Good potassium sources:
Cantaloupe, bananas, dates, nuts, oranges, and green leafy vegetables
Maintaining an adequate intake of potassium is especially important if you are taking diuretics. Some diuretics increase potassium loss via the kidneys.
3. Add more MAGNESIUM to your diet.
Research has shown an inverse relationship between magnesium and blood pressure. In other words, individuals with a high magnesium intake, typically have a low blood pressure.
Good sources of magnesium include:
Peas, beans, whole grains, nuts, seeds, lima beans, squash, broccoli, spinach, and seafood
Supplemental magnesium of ~500 mg can effectively lower blood pressure. Some studies have found magnesium supplements to reduce systolic blood pressure 2.7 mm Hg and diastolic 3.4 mm Hg. Discuss all supplements with your MD!
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
Heart Healthy Tips
Lisa, appreciate you mentioning supplemental magnesium for the heart. However, most people don’t realize that ~500mg at once will almost certainly cause diarrhea since magnesium is an osmotic and draws water into the digestive tract leading to loose stools. Yikes!
Jigsaw Magnesium w/SRT (sustained release technology) is the only magnesium supplement I know of that will not cause diarrhea at 500mg because the SRT spreads out the release over a 6 hour period. Let me know if you’d like to try a sample.
[...] important that your potassium, calcium, and magnesium intakes are adequate. Studies show that potassium can reduce diastolic [...]
[...] to lower high blood pressure usually includes a combination of medication, diet, and lifestyle changes. The treatment plan appropriate for you depends on your blood pressure [...]
[...] A high potassium intake is needed to balance out sodium in the diet in order to lower blood pressure levels. [...]
Health and fitness and Weight problems, however total opposites, physical fitness can often fight being overweight. Being overweight is speedily as a possible outbreak. Adults and children both equally have problems with obesity, little ones a lot more specifically. One out of each all 5 kids suffers from being obese. It is time for many people for this and also combat this increasing epidermic.