Gino (my husband) got diagnosed with high blood pressure. So for this Kitchen Tip Tuesday I’m going to reverse it and ask for any recipes that could help us. His doctor has decided that he is going to give Gino 4 weeks to lower it on his own or Gino’s going on blood pressure medicine for the rest of his life. We went out and bought a ton of fruits & veggies and we’ve recently started using Mrs. Dash seasonings. I have the basic idea of what he needs to stay away and what he needs to eat, but I would love some recipes that we might be able to try in our home.
For other Kitchen Tip’s head over to Tammy’s Blog.
Amanda,
We went through the same thing once…. the secret for my DH was getting the weight off.
I cut every tiny bit of fat that I could, using olive oil and replacing meat dishes with ground turkey or chicken.
The only red meat he had was extra lean ground beef and I used just enough to flavor a dish and for him to know that it was there.
But I had him on a nearly fat-free diet and he dropped 14 pounds the first 2 weeks–and from his own lips “he ate like a king”.
I got very creative with dishes–using lots of colored foods, etc. Along with lots of beans… made lots of things from oats and oat flour (whirl oats in the blender), whole grains, up-ing the fiber.
His weight and BP went down…. but one year later; he was eating poorly again, had put the weight back on, and is now on BP meds.
The secret for him was in the weight and a lifestyle change in his eating…but you have to stick to it….must be determined!
Some folks love the golden arches more than life without meds!;-)
Places to look for help and recipes: library, local Health Dept., American Heart Assoc. online, there are lots of places online! Local health food store may have a number for a homeopathic doctor who may have a nurse who can give advice too.
Best wishes to you and your family!
My mom and I cooked for my grandmother the last several years of her life. The key for her was to cut every bit of salt…she could not estimate accurately how much she was eating, so the rule was NO salt. She had no table salt at all…even the “low sodium” stuff was still dangerous! She also had to give up processed meats, TV dinners, and fast foods. Everything else we made homemade, and without salt…spaghetti with extra spices, hamburgers with big slices of tomato and mustard, chicken salad…anything she loved to eat to start with, so that not having salt wouldn’t be so hard. The first time I went shopping for her, it took me 3 hours, because I triple read every package, compared every item, and bought a ton of new spices and veggies. Once we got the hang of it, it wasn’t hard to adapt our family recipes to be salt-free. It really does get easier after the first week or two…you just have to be careful from the get go. Start with a few recipes and build up from there, and use the power of Google…it is your friend! Good luck!
Hi,
My dh is in the same boat. The way I keep his BP down is a low fat diet. We eat what they call Clean. No processed foods. Lots of fruits,veggies and whole grains. If you would like drop by my blog and visit me. I posted lots of recipes there. Also I cut out all white foods. I use evaporated cane juice for my sugar. For breakfast oatmeal and 5 grain cereal is great. Email me on my blog and I will be happy to help you. I have done a lot of research in this area.
Hugs,
Elizabeth
Several people we know have had fantastic success with “slow niacin.” Their family just has high blood pressure period, so the diet and excercise helps, but doesn’t lower it to the doctor’s expectations.
I would recommend you research this and incorporate it into his daily vitamins. It is really cheap at Costco or Walmart. Much better than a prescription.
Blessings,
denaye
There are a lot of great recipes on http://www.lowsodiumcooking.com/free/Archive.htm including “Seasoned Un-Salt”, a great alternative to seasoning salt.
Check out the DASH diet plan – designed to help lower blood pressure http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash/new_dash.pdf
Jenny
Eating salt does not cause high blood pressure unless you, as a person, are salt-sensitive. I love salty foods, and my bp is low-normal; hubby’s is high, and he never salts anything or buys potato chips. So, cutting out all salt might just taste funky, without doing any good. Sad, but true.
OTOH, losing weight will almost always lower high blood pressure. Does your hubby need to drop a few pounds? That could really make a difference.
Also, walking every day, whether or not it causes weight loss, will lower bp.
I’ve heard that organic red palm oil is wonderful for reducing high blood pressure–along with MANY other things. I first heard about it in an article in the
Above Rubies magazine.
Good luck and God Bless!
Shelly, TN
Amanda,
My sister, who is a nurse, told me that they have found that if you eat a celery stalk everyday it will slowly lower blood pressure! Worth a try! It does take time to work, so keep that in mind. 🙂
I agree with BlossomTeacher. Cut out all salt and processed anything; make foods from scratch. Try using fresh herbs to flavor food – a lot of summer food (farm-fresh fruits and veges) need very few embellishments.
Take walks; exercise lowers BP.
Drink tons of water to flush junk from your bodies. Add slices of cucumber, citrus, or melon to perk up the taste, if needed.