Hypertension can be controlled with diet

Scientists believe that about a quarter of the world's population suffers from arterial hypertension, which leads to the development of severe cardiovascular disorders and other complex diseases. In the early stages of the development of hypertension, the level of blood pressure can be controlled not only with the help of medications, but also thanks to a properly formulated diet, which will take into account all the necessary trace elements that affect the functioning of the heart and blood vessels.

The danger of high blood pressure (BP) lies in the fact that often without any clinical manifestation, it leads to the development of coronary heart disease (CHD), chronic heart failure (CHF), cerebral stroke (MI), impaired kidney function and other organs.

Why does hypertension occur and how can it be controlled?

Analysis of numerous published data allows us to highlight the following

The most important factors in the pathogenesis of primary arterial hypertension:

• unbalanced nutrition;
• overweight;
• hypodynamia;
• toxic effects on the human body of various physical and chemical environmental factors;
• functional (associated with stresses of various nature) or pathological disorders in the central nervous system (sympathetic-adrenal system, on the state of which daily fluctuations in blood pressure depend);
• violation of the production and ratio of various hormones and biologically active substances involved in the regulation of blood pressure (insulin, nitric oxide, prostacyclin, which are responsible for relaxing the tone of vascular smooth muscles; thromboxane, endothelins, vasopressin, on which the increase in their tone depends);
• endothelial dysfunction (reduction in nitric oxide production, decrease in NO-synthase activity, increased production of angiotensin II); changes in the kidneys (impaired regulation of the balance of water and sodium ions);
• imbalance of the microbial ecology of the digestive tract.

Various medications are used to lower blood pressure, although medications are not always needed at present.

Non-drug methods include

• restoration of the correct drinking regimen;
• reduction and/or normalization of body weight;
• partial or complete abstinence from the consumption of alcoholic beverages (less than 20-30 g of pure alcohol per day);
• reduction in salt intake (up to 2.5-5 g per day);
• increase in the daily diet of the share of plant foods (dietary fiber at least 35 g per day);
• reduction in saturated fat intake, increased intake of potassium (up to 4 & ndash; 5 g), calcium and magnesium (up to 0.8 & ndash; 1.0 g), chromium (up to 0.3 mg), manganese (up to 30 mg), taurine (up to 2 g), coenzyme Q (up to 200 mg), inositol (up to 700 mg), vitamin C (up to 500 mg), choline (up to 1 g), N-acetylcysteine ​​(up to 1 g), other physiologically functional nutrients .

When prescribing vitamin E as a natural antioxidant, it is recommended to gradually increase the dose, since this vitamin can provoke an increase in blood pressure.

Why drinking is important for hypertension

The most important feature of the diet of people who are prone to or suffering from hypertension (AH) is their insufficient supply with the necessary amount of high-quality drinking water.

With a limited intake of water in the body to restore the full volume of blood and lymph in the circulation system, water begins to flow into the vascular system from the fluid usually present inside the cells (66% of the required volume); 26% of water is extracted from the intercellular medium.

In order to prevent a reduction in the volume of circulating blood and to fully supply it to the brain tissue, lungs, liver, endocrine glands, other internal organs and tissues, the body is forced to constrict the vessels and capillaries of the skin, muscles and bones. The narrowing of the lumen of the vessels is accompanied by an increase in blood pressure; this condition in the future from a functional disorder with a chronic shortage of drinking water can turn into a pathology — GB. That is why every healthy adult should consume at least 1.5 liters of drinking water that meets physiological and sanitary requirements every day evenly throughout the working day.

Excess body weight due to high caloric intake is also often considered as the most important factor predisposing to increased blood pressure. In this regard, for persons prone to the development of HD, it is important to reduce the calorie content of food to 1700-2000 kcal / day by removing refined carbohydrates from it, primarily sugar and confectionery based on it.

Trace elements from products that affect arterial hypertension 

A daily intake of up to 400 mg of folate is believed to have a significant therapeutic and prophylactic effect on arterial hypertension (AH).

The best folate-containing foods are

• asparagus (250 mg per cup);
• Brussel sprouts (125 mg per cup);
• any legumes (100–300mg per cup);
• watermelon (400–500g).

The practice of using diuretics in patients with hypertension and CHF requires an even greater daily increase in the daily intake of this vitamin [2, 8, 17, 22].

Reducing the consumption of salt, cholesterol, alcohol, modifying the diet with bringing various functional ingredients in its composition to the physiological daily intake contribute to an increase in antihypertensive therapy.

When forming a diet to reduce the risk of developing HD, it is recommended to limit the intake of saturated fats and at the same time ensure the intake of a sufficient amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which are a substrate for the synthesis of prostaglandins that have a hypotensive effect.

The positive effects of PUFAs are also associated with their ability to improve endothelial function, cause vascular dilatation and reduce the tendency to thrombosis. With a lack of intake of w-6 and w-3 fatty acids with food in the required ratios, the negative vascular effects of sodium ions and catecholamines increase.

With the appearance of omega-3 PUFAs (eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic) in the diet due to the inclusion of fish oil, linseed or rapeseed oils, blood rheological parameters improve, the level of hyperinsulinemia and blood pressure decrease. To ensure the intake of PUFAs, especially w-3 fatty acids, it is recommended to consume oily sea fish, which is found in the northern regions, at least two and three times a week (trout, herring, salmon, sardines). If it is impossible to include the indicated varieties of fish in the diet, replace it with fish oil or eikonol (3-5 capsules per day). Good sources of PUFAs are flaxseed and olive oil, various nuts and seeds.

Isoflavones and lignans (phytoestrogens), not being steroid compounds, are able to bind to estrogen receptors and have a hormone-like effect on the body, similar to the effects of female sex hormones (estrogens). The latter are known to have hypolipidemic, vasodilating and antithrombotic effects. That is why a diet (various types of legumes) that includes significant amounts of isoflavones also helps to reduce the risk of developing hypertension and atherosclerotic process.

To maintain the required level of intracellular water, it is enough for a healthy person to eat a variety of vegetable and dairy products rich in potassium, the physiological need for which is 3-5 g per day.

Foods rich in potassium include baked potatoes, raisins, nuts, pumpkins, soy products, seaweed, prunes, apricots (dried apricots), sardines, lean meats. One of the best sources of potassium — bananas that are recommended to eat every day (for example, for breakfast). Optimal for the human body is the ratio between sodium and potassium in food 2 : 1.

The binding of excess dietary sodium is likely to underlie the reduction in blood pressure in individuals with hypertension who receive adequate amounts of various dietary fibers in the diet.

The diet of people prone to cardiovascular diseases must necessarily contain the necessary amounts of calcium ions, which are involved in the distribution of intracellular and extracellular water, which regulates the level of blood pressure. Increasing the level of extracellular calcium is necessary for the prevention of hypertension and stroke, especially in elderly people with a reduced content of calcium in the blood plasma. An important factor in the participation of calcium in various metabolic processes of the body is its ratio with phosphorus, which should be close to 1:1, as well as potassium and magnesium.

Dietary calcium deficiency, as well as excess dietary phosphorus intake, predisposes to the development of coronary artery disease and hypertension. Calcium is present in large quantities in dairy products, fish bones, nuts.

Magnesium deficiency is accompanied by cardiovascular abnormalities in the form of vascular hypertension and cardiac arrhythmias.

Magnesium is considered from the standpoint of modern science as a chemical element with a pronounced preventive effect on vascular hypertension. With magnesium deficiency, there is a significant increase in the risk of arterial hypertension and stroke. In the acute period with ischemic cerebral infarction, magnesium deficiency reaches extreme values ​​(below 70% of the norm). Magnesium is present in significant amounts in rice, avocados, oats, bananas, yogurt, bran, nuts, beans, seaweed, prunes. Although the mechanism of participation of potassium, magnesium and calcium in maintaining normal pressure is not completely clear, it is reliably known that at low and high blood pressure in the blood serum there is always a deficiency of these chemical elements. The better the balance of these three elements with food and water,

With a lack of intake of w-6 and w-3 fatty acids in the required ratios, the negative vascular effects of sodium ions and catecholamines increase. Reducing salt intake, alcohol intake, diet modification contribute to an increase in the effectiveness of antihypertensive therapy.

With a lack of chromium in the diet, an increase in the incidence and mortality from HD is observed.

Dietary selenium deficiency is associated with the risk of developing hypertension.

With iodine deficiency, early diastolic hypertension develops, there is a predisposition to the development of heart attack and stroke.

The presence of silicon ions in the diet increases the elasticity of blood vessels.

Organogermanium preparations (Panaxel, Germavit) gently normalize blood pressure, while its indicators do not go beyond the normal range even with prolonged use. In addition, these drugs do not give side effects.

Carnitine exhibits a moderate hypotensive and antithrombotic effect. Pantothenic acid, present in the body in sufficient quantities, interacts synergistically with carnitine. The systematic use of foods containing nitro compounds or artificially enriched with them (for example, ornithine or arginine) is also one of the ways to control blood pressure.

Arginine, supplied with food (various nuts and seeds, gelatin, etc.) in the required quantities over a long period of time (within several months), is converted under the influence of cellular and microbial enzymes into nitric oxide, which is accompanied by a pronounced vasodilating effect in relation to cardiac and peripheral vessels.

Taurine is one of the best natural means of regulating fluid content in the body. A study of the effects of inulin and fructooligosaccharides that enter the body when eating onions, garlic, asparagus, artichokes, soybeans and some other plant products, or purified oligosaccharides showed that this not only increases the content of bifidobacteria in the large intestine, but also there is a decrease in high blood pressure.

Thus, the programs of non-drug methods for the prevention and control of blood pressure include a mandatory balanced diet, as well as individually selected types of sports exercises (swimming, cycling, walking), auto-training aimed at minimizing stress reactions, using a special anti-stress programs.

According to lvrach.ru