Blood Pressure | Health Advice | Nutrition Advice | The Food Doctor http://www.thefooddoctor.

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Blood Pressure

How high is yours?

High blood pressure is a condition that affects over 60% of people over the age of 65. High blood pressure, or
hypertension, is considered to be a blood pressure reading of over 140/90 mmHg (millimetres of mercury),
and factors that contribute to high blood pressure include: being over-weight, exposure to long-term stress,
smoking, and a high-fat diet. The danger with high blood pressure is that it greatly increases your risk of
cardiovascular disease, stroke and heart attack. The good news is that you can take steps to prevent high
blood pressure by adopting a healthy diet and lifestyle.

Narrowing and hardening of blood vessel walls

Progression from normal to high blood pressure follows a series of events by which the same volume of blood
is forced through a transport network, which has become narrower, resulting in an increase in blood pressure.
Blood is forced around your arteries, veins and capillaries by the pressure generated from the muscular
contractions of your heart. Each beat acts as a pump forcing blood out of the heart at high speed to be
propelled though blood vessels around the body, delivering nutrients to cells and taking waste products to the liver and lungs as it goes, only to
return to the heart ready for the next circuit.

Over time, the system of arteries, veins and capillaries can become weakened simply due to the wear and tear created by the sheer force at
which blood hits the blood vessel walls as it travels, or as a result of attack by harmful toxins or free radicals which actively disrupt blood vessel
wall strength and integrity. Eventually small holes can appear in the blood vessel walls and small amounts of blood are in danger of leaking out,
just like water spurting out of a hosepipe that has sprung a leak.

Just as you would put a patch on a leaky hosepipe, your body also repairs its’ leaky system by sticking a layer of fibrous material from the blood
over the developing hole. This fibrous material is very tacky, and sticky components of the blood tend to get stuck to it resulting in the build-up of a
secondary layer of sticky, fatty, deposits.

This process of repair and fatty deposition results in a narrowing of the blood vessel diameter at the site of repair, a process called
atherosclerosis, which is directly responsible for increasing blood pressure. The fatty plaque containing accumulated cholesterol and triglycerides
(blood fats) can continue to build up over time and could eventually completely block the blood vessel resulting in serious health implications. A
plaque can also result in hardening of the arteries. Once a fibrous fatty plaque has developed, calcium from the blood can be deposited into this
plaque and onto blood vessel walls causing hardening of the arteries and making them inflexible and contributing to further complications with
blood pressure and heart disease.

Sticky triglycerides
The types of fats that are travelling round the body in your blood have quite a substantial impact on blood pressure and cardiovascular health.
Triglycerides are types of fats that make the blood very viscous and sticky, increasing blood pressure. Having a diet high in saturated fats or
animal foods such as red meat and cheese is known to increase the quantity of triglycerides carried in the blood. This is certainly to be avoided if
you already have high blood pressure.

Cholesterol balance
When you have your cholesterol checked you should be given figures for HDL and LDL cholesterol and the ratio between them. This information
is very useful to understand as it gives you a much better picture of your health than just the total cholesterol figure. Your blood is a water-based
transport system and since fats and water do not mix, fats are attached to a protein carrier in order to gain access into the blood. Cholesterol is
carried in the blood as two substances - High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) and Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL), and the ratio between the two plays a
part in healthy blood pressure maintenance. HDLs represent cholesterol which is being carried from body cells to the liver for excretion. LDLs
represent cholesterol that is being carried from the liver to body cells for metabolism. A healthy cholesterol picture is considered to be twice as
many HDLs to LDLs, which means that you are effectively clearing more cholesterol out of your body than you are making and dumping into the
blood. LDLs are very sticky and push blood pressure up, so keeping LDLs to be fewer than HDLs is an important part of blood pressure
management.

Top five nutrients for healthy blood pressure

1. Magnesium
This mineral helps to reduce high blood pressure in a couple of ways. Firstly, magnesium helps protect against stress-induced blood pressure by

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Blood Pressure | Health Advice | Nutrition Advice | The Food Doctor http://www.thefooddoctor.com/Blood-Pressure-Ahealth_fdw_bloodpress/

having a calming effect of the nervous system. Secondly, it is also known that good levels of magnesium in the blood actually help to prevent and
inhibit the deposition of calcium onto blood vessel walls (which contributes to plaque development). It is in this way that magnesium helps to
maintain healthy blood pressure by protecting blood vessels from becoming ‘furred up’ and contributing to high blood pressure.
Best magnesium food sources include: green leafy vegetables, nuts and seeds

2. Vitamin C
Vitamin C and sulphur are vital ingredients for the body to build a strong collagen matrix within the blood vessel walls, making them strong,
resilient, and resistant to wear and tear. Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, which means that it is essential to meet daily needs through the diet
since very little can be stored within the body for reserves. Good levels of vitamin C are the first step in preventing high blood pressure as building
and maintaining strong blood vessel walls prevents the development of those tiny holes and tears which when repaired lead to narrowed arteries
and increased blood pressure.
Best vitamin C food sources include: fresh parsley, oranges, lemons, limes, redcurrants and blackcurrants

3. Oily fish
One of the best ways to prevent your blood from becoming too thick and sticky is to increase your intake of oily fish or to take an Omega-3 Fish
Oil supplement. Studies have shown fish oil supplementation to be effective at reducing high levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides and for
restoring HDL / LDL cholesterol balance. Fish oils can literally ‘thin the blood’ and rebalance blood fats, resulting in beneficial effects for blood
pressure, whilst reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Best oily fish food sources include: fresh tuna, mackerel, sardines, salmon and herrings

4. Fibre
It may seem strange that something that doesn’t even get absorbed into the body can have a positive influence over your blood. However, soluble
fibre affects blood pressure by helping to maintain healthy cholesterol levels. Cholesterol is passed to your liver where it is broken down and
processed into one of the components of bile and then passed out into the intestine for elimination from the body. Once in the intestine, the
cholesterol break-down products bind with soluble fibre in order to be carried out of the body. If you are constipated, or your diet is low in soluble
fibre, then there is a strong chance that the broken down cholesterol will just be re-absorbed and re-circulated back around the body. As elevated
cholesterol can contribute to high blood pressure, increasing dietary intake of soluble fibre to maintain bowel regularity is an important factor for
maintaining healthy blood pressure. A good way to do this is to start the day with porridge or oat-based muesli to which you can add one
teaspoon of oat bran.
Best soluble-fibre food sources include: oats, oat bran, apples, pears, lentils and pulses such as butter beans, pinto beans and chickpeas

5. Antioxidants
All fats that travel in the blood, whether they are derived from saturated fat or omega-3 oils, are vulnerable to oxidation and once oxidised they
become harmful and make the blood thicker and stickier. Antioxidants such as vitamin C and vitamin E help protect blood fats from this oxidation.
Other antioxidants such as flavanols and proanthocyanidins, found in highly coloured fruits and vegetables, protect blood vessels from wear and
tear produced by free radical damage. Increasing foods rich in antioxidants can help to protect your cardiovascular system and maintain a healthy
blood pressure.
Best antioxidant food sources include: red peppers, orange peppers, carrots, peas, broccoli, sweet potato, beetroot, purple cabbage,
blueberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants and blackberries

Tips to reduce blood pressure

Reduce salt

Reduce red meat

Reduce high-fat cheese

Reduce tea and coffee

Reduce alcohol

Lose excess weight

Maintain a healthy BMI

Reduce stress

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GENERAL HEALTH WARNING: The information and advice provided by The Food Doctor™ is not intended as a substitute for medical advice. Any person suffering from conditions requiring medical attention, or who have
symptoms that concern them, should consult a qualified medical practitioner.

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