no. 9.318

Diet and Hypertension

Quick Facts...

• Calories and body weight go hand in hand. Excess body fat leads to an increased risk of health problems.
• Potassium has an important role in blood pressure treatment.
• Low calcium intake may increase risk of hypertension.
• Excessive sodium intake is linked with high blood pressure or hypertension in some people.
• Dietary recommendations suggest avoiding too much sodium. The suggested range is 1,100 to 3,300 mg per day.
• Table salt is 40 percent sodium. One teaspoon has about 2,000 mg sodium.

Hypertension (high blood pressure) affects one in four adults in the United States. Another 25 percent of adults have blood pressure readings considered to be on the high end of normal.

Your blood pressure is the force exerted on your artery walls by the blood flowing through your body. A blood pressure reading provides two measures, systolic pressure and diastolic pressure, which are expressed as millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), or how high the pressure of blood would raise a column of mercury. Systolic pressure is measured as the heart pumps. Diastolic pressure is measured between beats, as blood flows back into the heart.

High blood pressure is often called the “silent killer” because it has no symtoms and can go undetected for years. It is important to have your blood pressure checked regularly. Table 1 below shows how to classify blood pressure readings.

Hypertension cannot be cured, but it can be controlled through lifestyle changes and prescriptive medication. While medications to treat hypertension are available, research has shown that modest lifestyle and dietary changes can help treat and often delay or prevent high blood pressure.

People trying to control hypertension often are advised to decrease sodium, increase potassium, watch their calories, and maintain a reasonable weight.

For sodium-sensitive people, reducing sodium is a prudent approach to reducing the risk of hypertension. The recommendation for daily sodium intake is 1,500 to 2,300 mg a day.

The amount of potassium in the diet is also important. Potassium works with sodium to regulate the body’s water balance. Research has shown that the more potassium and less sodium a person has in his/her diet, the greater the likelihood that the person will maintain normal blood pressure. However, the evidence does not suggest that people with high blood pressure should take potassium supplements. Instead, potassium rich foods should be eaten everyday.

A newer area of interest is the relationship between calcium and high blood pressure. People with a low calcium intake seem to be at increased risk for hypertension. Everyone should meet the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) for calcium every day. For adults, this is 1,000 mg per day. For adults over 50, 1,200 mg is recommended.

Maintaining a reasonable weight is important to minimize the risk of several major diseases, including hypertension. For people who are overweight, even a small weight loss can dramatically reduce or even prevent high blood pressure.

Use Table 2 to assess sodium, calorie, calcium and potassium content of foods. Learn to read labels to identify differences between brands of food. Be a wise shopper.

Untreated hypertension causes damage to the blood vessels over time. This can lead to other health complications such as strokes, kidney failure, impaired vision, heart attack, and heart failure.

The DASH Diet

A landmark study called DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) looked at the effects of an overall eating plan in adults with normal to high blood pressure. Researchers found that in just eight weeks, people following the DASH diet saw their blood pressure decrease. A subsequent study called DASH 2 looked at the effect of following the DASH diet and restricting salt intake to 1500 mg per day. Under the DASH 2 diet, people with Stage 1 hypertension had their blood pressure decrease as much or more than any anti-hypertensive medication had been able to lower it.

Recommended by the American Heart Association and the National Cancer Institute, the DASH diet is an overall eating plan that focuses on what people should eat, rather than what not to eat. Similar to the low-fat version of the Food Guide Pyramid, the DASH diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, complex carbohydrates and low-fat dairy products. The DASH diet is lower in fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium, and higher in potassium, magnesium, and calcium than the typical American diet. The high levels of potassium, magnesium, and calcium in the DASH diet are thought to be at least partially responsible for its results. Table 3 below outlines the DASH eating plan.

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