List Of Superfoods To Help You Reduce High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a serious health problem. Over time, it causes blood vessel damage that can lead to heart disease, kidney disease, stroke, and other problems.

When it comes to lowering your blood pressure, these foods are among your best bets.

1.   Skim Milk
It truly does a body good! Drinking heart-healthy low-fat milk will provide you with calcium and vitamin D — the two nutrients work as a team to help reduce blood pressure by 3 to 10 percent. Although this doesn’t sound like much, it could add up to about a 15 percent reduction in risk for cardiovascular disease.

2.   Bananas
Bananas are a great way to add potassium to your diet. Adding foods that are rich in this mineral to your diet is better than taking supplements, and it’s easy. Slice a banana into your breakfast cereal or oatmeal, or take one to work every day for a quick, easy, and inexpensive snack.

3.   Avocado
One-half of an avocado provides 1% of the calcium, 5% of the magnesium, and 10% of the potassium you need every day.

4.   Potatoes
Potatoes are high in both potassium and magnesium, two minerals that can help to lower your blood pressure. They are also high in fiber, which is necessary for an overall healthy diet. Enjoy a baked potato as the centerpiece of your dinner. Instead of fattening and salty butter and sour cream, try adding plain yogurt or salsa for flavor.

5.   Spinach
A green leafy delight,spinach is low in calories, high in fiber, and packed with heart-healthy nutrients like potassium, folate, and magnesium — key ingredients for lowering and maintaining blood pressure levels. Need an easy way to eat more of this great green? Try mixing fresh spinach leaves into salads or adding them to sandwiches.

6.   Fat-free plain yogurt
One cup of fat-free plain yogurt provides 49% of the calcium, 12% of the magnesium, and 18% of the potassium you need every day.

7.   Berries
Berries, especially blueberries, are rich in natural compounds called flavonoids. One study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that consuming these compounds may prevent hypertension, and possibly help to reduce high blood pressure as well.

8.   Dark chocolate
Eating about 30 calories a day of dark chocolate — just one tiny square — was shown to help lower blood pressure after 18 weeks without weight gain or other adverse effects. Choose dark chocolate consisting of at least 70 percent cocoa powder. Because chocolate is also high in calories, you’ll want to be very careful not to overdo it.