blood pressure

This post is for my friend Sam who wonders what foods are good for lowering blood pressure.

Hypertension is a growing concern in this country.  Especially when coupled with the unfortunate reality of  restaurants that over-salt their food.  Not only restaurants, even at home, we are overexposed.  Most of us tend to over-salt our foods, then we become addicted to that level of salt flavor.  It can take some time to readjust our palates.  A diet high in fat, sugar and sodium, but also a high stress lifestyle can all contribute to high blood pressure.  It is important to note that if you have blood pressure problems you need to let both your doctor and any nutrition professional you are working with know what you are doing.  Herbal remedies, lifestyle changes and medication all taken together can cause a drop in blood pressure.  Hypotension, blood pressure that is too low, is just as bad for you as hypertension.  A typical adult blood pressure is considered to be 120/80.

Alfalfa is an herb with a reputation for lowering blood pressure.  Other herbs believed to be beneficial for lower blood pressure include parsley, ginger root, nettle, and sage. Often taken as an infusion or a tea these should be avoided if you are on any sort of blood thinners.

Celery is an easily available food that has been recognized in Chinese medicine as being effective for lowering blood pressure.  Studies done in Western medicine appear to confirm this benefit.  Containing both potassium and sodium celery is not only a vasorelaxant it is also a diuretic helping to relieve the body of excess fluid.

Garlic is also known to be very beneficial for reducing not only blood pressure but also cholesterol.  Fresh garlic is better as the beneficial allicin is fully available when chopped or minced.  Letting the garlic sit for 5-10 minutes after cutting allows the allicin to fully develop.  Cook garlic lightly for 10-15 minutes (in other words closer to the end of the cooking time) to get full benefit.

Hibiscus tea is known to be very effective for lower blood pressure.  The dried flowers can be purchased either through health food stores or even some larger chain grocery stores.  A double-blind study published in 2009 in the Journal of Human Hypertension concluded that non-medicated hypertensive diabetic patients had a positive outcome from drinking two cups of infused tea every day for one month.  The report further stated, "This study supports the of similar studies in which antihypertensive effects have been shown for [Hibiscus sabdariffa]."

Sam also wanted to know about salt.  Specifically the "fake" salt that many folks go on when they are told they can't have table salt anymore.


That "fake" salt is usually potassium chloride.  Because it's not sodium it's deemed to be better for you by some medical practitioners.  I will say that if you need to avoid excess sodium I think it's better to also avoid the potassium chlorides and look for other taste alternatives.  Adding herbals blends like no salt-seasoning mix is a great way to add flavor without the salt.

I also like using lemon juice on things like black beans or sweet potatoes where I might normally use salt.  The tangy flavor really adds a boost without the need for salt.

As to the difference between salts.  I prefer to use sea salt because table salt is typically highly processed, stripped of minerals, chemicals are added to prevent clumping, and then iodine is added back in.  Sea salt is simply dried and bottled.  No additives and all the minerals are still in there.  Sea salt does tend to have less iodine than table salt and iodine is important for our health.  Adding sea vegetables to your diet is a good way to make sure you are getting enough.  Kosher salt is a coarse salt named for the process by which it is created.  To my knowledge there are no additives and it is not stripped of minerals.  But the larger crystals limit some of the uses for it depending on the flavor profile of the dish you are making.

The average person should get from 1,500 to 2,300 mg of salt per day.  1 teaspoon has about 2,000 mg and it's important to remember that many foods already have sodium in them so we don't need to add much.

shitake pinto bean burgers

photo:  Alexandra Luna

My friend Alexandra shared this fabulous recipe with me and is letting me share it with all of you.  


I love bean burgers but confess that sometimes I get tired of the same recipe over and over again.  I also usually make lentil or black bean burgers.  This recipe sparked my interest because it was a different kind of bean and the addition of shitake mushrooms.


Mushrooms can be a very wonderful food to add to your diet.  Asian cultures promote the use of mushrooms for the medicinal values, they do have healthy properties, and they are very tasty. Shitake mushrooms in particular have something called lentian in them, a substance that helps to boost the immune system, and studies indicate that it has anti-cancer properties.  Shitake mushrooms are also a good source of iron, vitamin C, and fiber as well as providing some protein.


Here's Alexandra's recipe, let us know what you paired it with.


Shitake Pinto Bean Burgers

3 1/2 cups or 1 can of pinto beans
1 cup rough chop shitake mushrooms
1 small red onion diced
1/2 cup green onions diced
3-4 cloves of crushed garlic
1/2 tsp each of cumin and corriander
Sprinkle of chipotle chili powder


Saute garlic and onions for 2-3 minutes
Add mushrooms, green onions, cumin and corriander
Cook for 2-3 minutes
While veggies are cooking, mash beans
Add veggies, chipotle chili powder, salt & pepper to beans, mix well
Shape into patties
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper
Spread a bit of coconut oil on paper (helps with browning)
Place patties on cookie sheet and bake in 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes, flipping after 15 minutes


These are great topped with avocado and a side of greens.

Enjoy!

is a calorie just a calorie?

A number of folks have asked me about the guy who lost weight eating the junk food diet.  Is it true?!?  Can you really eat junk food and still lose weight?

Here's my understanding of what happened.  Mark Haub, a Nutrition Professor, wanted to prove a point about how we make choices in food.  He went on a month-long diet to lose weight by eating junk food.  Taking a multi-vitamin, a protein shake, one serving of vegetables a day, and restricting his calories, he did lose weight.

But, and this is a very important, he did it to prove a point.  He wanted people to think about the choices they make.  He also wanted to highlight food costs and how that sometimes drives choices.  Yes, you can lose weight eating garbage; however it is a very unhealthy, unsustainable way to do it.  People got so excited about the headline that they failed to read the article(s).  Within 36 hours of starting his diet Mr. Haub began to not feel well.  Now that this 30 day phase is done he plans to continue his experiment by gaining weight through eating healthy foods.

While eating excessive calories, even healthy ones, can cause you to gain weight, eating junk food is not a good idea as a weight loss plan.  This way of eating is nutritionally deficient (even with protein shakes and vitamins); if we deprive our bodies for an extended period of time we will eventually begin to have accumulated health problems.  Is a calorie just a calorie?  I truly do not believe that is true.  Perhaps on a superficial level it is true but on a deeper level we need to remember that our bodies require whole foods and balanced nutrition to be healthy.

What's more important, at least to me, and I'm sure other nutrition professionals, is the response the publicity about this experiment created.  So many people were very excited.  They wanted to eat the junk food.  They failed to read that he ate 600-800 less calories per day than his body needed.  They also failed to read that he did this as an experiment to see how people would respond.  People went straight to the idea of junk food as a way to get what they wanted.

When I work with people to help them lose weight we almost always begin by avoiding the body weight scale.  We work instead on changing what they are eating.  On learning how to make healthy substitutions and how to recognize what, how, when and why they are eating.  As they begin to eat foods that provide more nutrition to their bodies people frequently find they begin to feel better.  Many folks find they may even be losing some weight without even trying.  This could be a factor of breaking the addictive cravings for sugar and fat.  It is frequently also learning to recognize the signals your body sends.

This experiment certainly provided a good conversational base and is definitely "food for thought."







photo:  Larry D. Moore | Wikimedia Commons