About one in three American adults have high blood pressure. And, unfortunately, there’s no magic- bullet food that can lower it. However, certain foods can help. Start with walnuts. Eating a half cup of walnuts daily has been shown to help lower blood pressure, improve blood flow and even shrink your waist.
Walnuts contain healthy fats, magnesium, and fiber, which may be why they’re good for blood pressure. Second, beets and beet juice are rich in nitrates, which can help widen your blood vessels and improve blood pressure. In one study, drinking just eight ounces of beet juice lowered participants’ blood pressure for 24 hours, so drink up.
Flaxseed is a third good choice. People with hypertension who ate just three tablespoons of flaxseed daily for six months lowered their blood pressure by an average of 10 percent.
Not sure how to eat flaxseed? Grind it up and add it to yogurt or a smoothie. Fourth, try gazpacho. Scientists looked at the diets of nearly 4, 000 people and found that those who regularly ate gazpacho had healthier blood pressure. The tomato-based cold soup is loaded with carotenes, vitamin C, and polyphenols, which researchers think may help lower blood pressure.
Finally, don’t forget about potassium-rich foods like bananas, salmon, and plain yogurt. Potassium relaxes the walls of blood vessels and helps counteract the effect of sodium, which raises blood pressure. All these foods not only help your blood pressure, but they’re good for your body in other ways too…
