Medical App & Medical Advice with Hello Doctor

Foods that fight high blood pressure

A high salt diet is linked to a number of serious health conditions, most commonly hypertension (aka high blood pressure). If left undetected and untreated, this can put you at risk for even more serious health conditions, such as stroke and heart disease. This is why it’s so important to limit your salt intake to no more than 5g (1 teaspoon) of salt a day – this includes any salt you add to your food when cooking and before eating.

Managing your salt intake also means cutting down on processed foods, most of which are high in salt, even if they don’t taste salty. Some of the top culprits of hidden salts in processed foods include bread, breakfast cereals, hard margarine, stock cubes, gravy and soup powders, seasoning salts, chips, instant noodles and other convenience foods, tinned, processed and cured meats, take-away foods, hard cheeses, salted nuts and pickles.

Diets to decrease blood pressure

Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (aka DASH) is an eating plan that emphasises foods which are predominantly unprocessed and naturally low in salt, while limiting salt, unhealthy fats and sugar. The eating plan is rich in fruit and vegetables, whole grains, fish, poultry, lean meats, nuts, legumes and low-fat dairy. These foods are high in key nutrients such as potassium, magnesium, calcium and fibre, which are known to reduce blood pressure.

Guiding principles

  • Aim to have at least 5 servings of fruit and vegetables a day, and 2-3 servings of low fat dairy products. The more fruit and vegetables you include, the better it is for your blood pressure
  • Cut back on foods that are high in unhealthy saturated and trans fats, and eat less red meat and processed meat
  • Eat more whole grain products, fish, poultry, nuts and legumes
  • Cut down on sugar and other foods and drinks high in sugar
  • Instead of adding salt to a meal, make use of fresh and dried herbs, salt-free spices, vinegar, lemon juice and garlic – they all add great flavour
  • Aim to choose foods from the “green group” (you’ll find the table on our blog post) most of the time, as these are naturally low in salt

Remember, your diet isn’t the only thing you can use to manage your blood pressure. It’s also important to:

  • Maintain a healthy body weight
  • Make exercise and physical activity a part of your daily life. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise 5 days a week
  • Stop smoking

Foods which are lower in salt

Eat these more often

Foods where some brands are higher in salt

Eat sometimes

 

Foods which are very high in salt

Eat seldom

Fruit and vegetables (fresh, frozen, dried, tinned with no added salt)Unsalted nuts and seeds

Legumes (beans, lentils, peas)

Mealie meal

Pasta and rice

Plain popcorn

Oats

Fresh fish

Fresh poultry and meat

Eggs

Yoghurt, maas

Plain cottage cheese

Vinegar, spices and herbs (dried and fresh)

Baked beansPeanut butter

Salted nuts

Breakfast cereals

Bread and bread products

Cakes, pastries, biscuits

Table sauces (tomato sauce, mustard)

Salad dressings

Mayonnaise

Convenience meals, burgers, pies

Tinned fish

Soft tub margarine

Paté, hummus

Olives, pickles, Atchaar & gherkinsAll types of salt and  seasoning salts, stock cubes, gravy powders, soup powders

Instant noodles, crisps

Yeast extracts (Marmite, Bovril), Soya sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, Barbeque sauce

Processed or tinned meats (polony, Vienna’s, salami, ham, sausages, boerewors)

Smoked & cured meat and fish (bacon, biltong,  bokoms, anchovies, corned beef, pickled tongue and smoked pork)

Take-away foods, pizza,

crumbed meat or chicken

Cheese

Butter, hard margarine

5 Top cholesterol-lowering foods

Cholesterol is a steroid fat found in your blood, but not many people know that you need it for the proper functioning of your cell membranes. Luckily, your body makes all the cholesterol you need – the problem is often a diet that gives us too much, and high levels of cholesterol have been shown to increase the risk of stroke and heart disease. Continue reading “5 Top cholesterol-lowering foods”

Cholesterol – a major risk of heart disease

High cholesterol is one of the major risk factors of heart disease, heart attack and stroke. However, you can successfully lower bad cholesterol levels by making certain diet and lifestyle changes.

Remember, the body only requires a small amount of cholesterol to function in top form, and when too much cholesterol is present in the diet, health conditions such as heart disease can develop. Plaque (a thick, hard deposit) forms in the arteries, making it harder for blood to flow through properly. Over time, this build-up of plaque causes hardening of the arteries, which can lead to heart disease.
Continue reading “Cholesterol – a major risk of heart disease”

The Big Salt Round Up

In partnership with Salt Watch, this season on the Hello Doctor TV show we brought you everything you need to know about salt: why too much is dangerous, how much your body actually needs, how much is too much, and how to substitute salt in recipes.

To help make it easier for you, here are our top Salt Watch blog posts from episode 1. Enjoy!

Continue reading “The Big Salt Round Up”

The Dress Red Campaign

There’s a common misconception that heart disease is a “man’s disease”, but in South Africa, heart disease and stroke kills more women than men.
While breast cancer is often perceived as the biggest health threat to women, heart disease and stroke are the greatest threats globally, killing more people every day than all cancers combined!
Continue reading “The Dress Red Campaign”

What do you know about your heart health?

Fact: the average adult heart beats 70 times a minute; 100 000 times a day; three and a half million times a year; and 2.5 billion times during a lifetime! But just like any pump, without proper care and maintenance, it won’t go the distance. Lifestyle changes such as regular exercise, maintaining a healthy weight and cutting down on salt are all very effective measures when it comes to keeping your heart healthy. However, in addition to this, there are key preventatives moves your pharmacist can help you with too.

Continue reading “What do you know about your heart health?”

Tricks to help you reduce your salt intake

Reducing your salt intake can be as easy as switching brands. Always check labels when shopping, and compare the sodium content of different brands and choose the one with the least amount of sodium. Look out for foods with the Heart Mark – these products have less sodium compared to other products and this lets you know it’s been approved as part of a heart healthy diet.

Continue reading “Tricks to help you reduce your salt intake”

Salt: Getting to the heart of the matter

In very small amounts, pure salt is essential, and maintains the mineral balance in literally every cell in your body. It also works to regulate fluid balances and promote proper circulation, and assist with nerve impulse and muscle contraction. Too much salt, however, can be fatal and is closely linked to serious health conditions such as heart disease and stroke.

Continue reading “Salt: Getting to the heart of the matter”