If you think its ditching the saltshaker, get ready for a surprise.
Thats a lot for anyone to sift through, let alone get meaningful answers.
Of course, there are plenty of steps you’re able to take tolower your blood pressure.
Photo:Getty Images. EatingWell design.
But theres a sneaky habit that might be driving your numbers up without you even knowing it.
Understanding Blood Pressure
Lets start with what blood pressure is and what it means.
Blood pressure has to do with the blood flowing through your arteries.
Sounds simple enough, right?
The issue becomes when that blood pushes through at an exceptionally high rateplacing stress on your arterial walls.
Blood pressure is measured two ways.
These numbers are expressed in millimeters of mercury (or mm HG).
But your doctor might just say something like 150 over 90.What does that mean?
A healthy blood pressure is under 120 systolic and less than 80 diastolic.
Readings above 130 systolic and 80 diastolic are considered to be elevated.
And anything greater than 130 or 80 diastolic qualifies as high blood pressure (aka hypertension).
Restaurant foods are pretty straightforward, but processed foods fall on a spectrum.
Technically speaking, if human hands are involved, that counts as processing.
However, theres a big difference between that minimal amount of processing and ultra-processing.
And its not that the occasional salt-and-vinegar chips or frozen pizza are the worst things in the world.
The issue is thequantityof them that we get in our diets.
Upward of 58% of the total daily calories Americans eat come from ultra-processed foods.
And the current researchthough almost entirely observationalshows a link between ultra-processed foods and high blood pressure.
Why can ultra-processed foods spell trouble for blood pressure?
For starters, theyre typically high in added sodium.
Sodium is a major preventable driver of blood pressure variation, says Katz.
American Heart Association.How is High Blood Pressure Diagnosed?
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2019;44(3):451-462. doi:10.1007/s10900-018-00612-7
