25 Dangerous Foods for those with High Blood Pressure

Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a health condition that results when the heart pumps blood at a pressure higher than normal. It can cause severe heart diseases, stroke, and even death. It is accompanied by symptoms such as fatigue, and migraine. The main causes of hypertension are excess cholesterol, salts, and fats.

However, exercising is a natural way of getting rid of excess sugar and salt from the body. Unfortunately, not everyone loves exercises, hence nutritionist’s advice it is best to check on the levels of fat, sugar, and salt that we ingest.

Some foods that cause hypertension include:

Energy drinks

They are like coffee beverages but with soda. The Prolonged effect of caffeine may cause hypertension.

Pizza

Amongst the junks that many love. It is harmful to our health because it is rich in lots of cheese and salt. Hence by only consuming a slice, we ingest excess carbohydrates and sodium in the body, making us susceptible to a heart attack.

Pot pies

It contains a lot of fat and salt. A small slice of pot pie contains 1400mg and 35mg of sodium and fat, respectively. Therefore, we should avoid consuming it in excess.

Processed meat

These include sausages, mutton, hotdogs, chicken breasts, etc. They contain sodium and saturated fats. These nutrients are harmful to patients with hypertension. Because they cause clogging of the arteries, hence hindering the blood pumping process. Occasionally such patients complain of migraines.

Ramen Noodles

It is among the easiest dishes to prepare, hence many lovers. Before popping one of these in a microwave, one should give second thoughts. Considering it contains 1580mg of sodium salts. Habitual consumption is not healthy at all.

Bacon

It is among what meat lovers consider their favorite, especially when grilled. However, bacon is rich in salts and saturated fats harmful to the body. Habitual consumption may speed up blood pressure.

Alcohol

Different alcoholic beverages such as wines and spirits endanger our health, especially heavy drinkers. Alcohol in the body leads to vasodilation, hence the tightening of blood vessels. It acts as a blood thinner, reducing the flow of blood by blocking blood vessels. This causes the heart to pump harder, thus may lead to heart failure.

Premade soups

These soups are rich in sodium salts. The salts act as preservative agents; which make the soup can last long. A serving of the soup contains up to 800 mg of sodium. And this isn’t healthy.

Chinese takeout

Chinese takeout such as fried rice and noodles are rich in high levels of salt. A serving contains 2400mg of sodium salt. This is double the amount of salt one should consume daily, posing harm to our health.

Whole milk

It is wise to control the amount of milk we consume. Especially since normal foods that we consume daily like cakes contain milk. Milk is rich in nutrients of saturated fats, which are not good for our health. It is therefore advisable to control the amount of milk we ingest.

French fries and fried potatoes

It is one of the yummiest junks. However, it is bad for our health. French fries contain fats which they absorb while cooking. The sodium is from the salt we sprinkle on the fries to develop taste. The intake of French fries and fried potatoes habitually is unhealthy, especially since they contain high levels of fat and sodium.

Refined sugar and Doughnuts

It is among the main causes of hypertension. Hence other than the processed sugar we can use alternatives like Splenda or Sucralose. Doughnuts are also rich in high levels of sugar, which pose harm to the heart.

Chicken skin

Chicken skin is rich in large doses of fat i.e. before dipping in oil to cook. Therefore, they pose a danger to our health, especially since during cooking they absorb extra saturated fats.

Peanut butter

Many people often apply it on slices of bread. However, it poses great harm to our health. It not only has salts but also high levels of saturated fats. The fats can clog in the arteries and hinder blood flow. Hence one should consider before licking a jar of peanut.

Soda

They are carbonated flavored drinks with high levels of sugar. Excess intake can cause hypertension. Although addictive, we should try our level best to abstain from them. Like we should instead try drinking water.

Cheese

Although it flavors food and gives it the yummy taste, we should abstain from it. It contains both salts and saturated fats. For instance, Cheddar cheese contains 621mg of sodium salt, which is not good for our health.

Coffee

It is a beverage rich in caffeine which causes hypertension. It doesn’t have fats nor salt. The caffeine causes one to stay for long without sleep making the heart work extra hard. This leads to high blood pressure.

Sauerkraut, Canned vegetables, Canned beans, and pickles

Despite it being a vegetable, it contains salt, which is not healthy for our life. It contains about 460 mg of salt, which is a third of normal salt intake for humans. Canned veggies contain 1671mg of salt. Nutritionists advise that it is healthy to limit the amount of salt we consume, for it endanger us. Similarly, canned beans also contain high levels of salt. Pickles are also rich in sodium excess sodium salts.