Foods, Ingredients, Hypertension and Your Kitchen

Looking for recipes to help with your hypertension (high blood pressure). Try gluten free foods and/or an MSG free diet with no preservatives and additives.

More often than not our health is failing us as we rush to maintain busy schedules to keep pace with society. Finding the right foods to select and eat daily to help maintain a healthy and productive life gets complicated. You can take steps to becoming a healthier you by avoiding certain products, additives, and ingredients when purchasing food items.

1. Gluten, a contributor to well kept health problems is found in bread, pastas, cereal and other wheat enriched foods.
2. MSG is found in seasoning, and can goods.
3. Artificial sweeteners with Aspartame are a hazard to your health.
4. Sugar is in everything contributing to many health related illnesses (Read a list of seasons why you should and reduce this ingredient).
5. Salt (sodium) is right at the top with MSG for hypertension (Sea Salt is a better substitute, lower your intake).
6. Processed or fast foods

When shopping for spices, make sure they do not contain MSG. Look for all natural products that work just as well as MSG or salt. Look for gluten free and/or wheat free labels to reduce the amount of Gluten that you may consume each day. You should also consider food from the medical recommended list.

1. Increase intake of high-fiber foods such as Rice brand, spelt bread, carrots, beans, brown rice, bran gluten free cereal, psyllium (Metamucil), and vegetables.
2. Increase use of monounsaturated oils such as olive and canola oils and omega-3 fatty acids from certain fish (salmon, tuna, halibut, rainbow trout, sardines, and anchovies) and flax seed oil. (If pregnant/nursing, avoid high levels of mercury, often found in tuna, shark etc.)
3. Reduce consumption of simple sugars (sodas, sweets, etc.) and refined starches (white/wheat bread, white rice, pasta, and others made from white flour). You may substitute these items with tea, spelt break, brown rice, rice noodles, and spelt flour.
4. Consume a variety of fruits and vegetables for their protective antioxidant and phytochemical constituents.
5. Choose lean, high quality protein sources such as chicken, turkey, lean beef, fish, low-fat cottage cheese, and beans.
6. Limit alcohol consumption to no greater than 2 ounces of wine, beer, or distilled spirits daily. (Red wine is preferred-generally men should not have more than two glasses and women no more than one glass a day).

We suggest you buy organic or all natural foods when possible to reduce the intake if possible harmful growth hormones, preservatives, refined sugar, additives, pesticides and other harmful chemicals. This includes fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats. If you are purchasing packed foods, I'd seek out foods that are Non GMO, gluten free, no MSG, and packed in cans and pouches without BPA used in the linings. These are just some of the products that seem to cause many health related problems. The most important take away here is to eat in moderation.

Note: Most of the ingredients mentioned above are often found in restaurants meals. Cutting back on eating out is a good idea, if you have to dine out, ask for a gluten free menu and/or foods with no msg.