Before you can understand how you can eat food to lower your blood pressure, you’ll have to understand what helps your blood pressure in the first place. While most people know that eating less sodium is a powerful way to increase blood pressure health, researchers are beginning to tell patients to consume more magnesium, potassium, calcium, and nitric oxide.

All of these chemicals and minerals help blood vessels relax, and in calcium’s case, helps them effectively contract too. By helping the vessels relax, these chemicals promote vasodilation (the degree to which vessel walls widen), which lowers blood pressure. As a result, by no means is our list today an exhaustive one. It includes several foods and ingredients to help you lower your blood pressure, but any food that contains magnesium, potassium, calcium, and nitric oxide will help you achieve a healthy cardiovascular system.

Vegetables & Leafy Greens

Leafy greens contain plenty of the vasodilating minerals, as well as a few more that are good for you in other ways. In fact, what makes these green foods extra effective is that they contain more than one of these chemicals, which are more effective when you eat them together. Magnesium and potassium, for example, are extra effective when they are grouped together.

Eat these vegetables and greens to control your blood pressure:

●Kale

●Spinach

●Watercress

●Bok choy (Chinese cabbage)

●Okra

●Broccoli

●Beetroot

●Green beans

●Sweet potatoes

●Garlic

Fruits, Seeds, & Nuts

●Kiwis

●Bananas

●Peaches

●Nectarines

●Almonds

●Cashews

●Pistachios

●Pomegranates

●Flaxseeds

●Quinoa

●Avocado

●White beans

Meat & Dairy

●Plain yogurt

●Pork tenderloin

●Tilapia

●Mackerel

●Sardines (canned too!)

●Salmon

●Any source of omega-3 fatty acids

Ingredients, Spices, & Other Blood Pressure-Friendly Foods

●Olive oil

●Turmeric

●Green tea

●Stevia

●Green (unroasted) coffee

●Dark chocolate

These foods have all been researched, and their consumption has been tied to low blood pressure in multiple studies. Thankfully, none of these are “medications” with side effects or warning labels—each of these foods are natural parts of diets worldwide! As you can see, there’s no restrictive diet when it comes to promoting healthy blood pressure. Simply create recipes and meals from this long list of ingredients.

With the list of fruits, yogurt, and dark chocolate, having a dessert that lowers your blood pressure is not out of the question! If you are taking blood pressure medication and would like to supplement it with your diet, or if you’re looking to prevent needing them in the first place, bookmark or share this blog as a reference for the next time you go grocery shopping!

Explore the rest of Roosevelt General Hospital’s blog and website for more tips, health advice, and updates on hospital-sponsored events like the Warrior Wellness Challenge!

This article contains general information about medical conditions and treatment. This information is not to be treated as medical advice. Inquiries about your health should be consulted with a healthcare provider.