High Blood Pressure? What to eat?

ton40orbust

I live with my boyfriend and I am watching what I eat so I control/cook the majority of meals. My boyfriend got sent home from work half way through his shift monday night (he's an overnight stocker at walmart) and called off from his day job (dock worker at salvation army) because he was too sick to function. He went to urgent care where they diagnosed him with an infection, and informed him he has very high blood pressure and needs to lose a bit of weight.

My question is what does he need to be eating? What foods/drinks will help lower his blood pressure? Yesterday he had salad, celery and green tea, that was basically it except for a slice of pizza that my dad bought him while they were working on his car. But is there anything other then salad and green tea or as he puts it rabbit food and piss water. that will help lower his blood pressure and help him lose weight?

LoraF83

Call the doctor back and ask for reference materials and/or a referral to a dietician.

cmcmommy

I have high blood pressure he just needs to REALLY watch his salt intake , Anything with high sodium, canned soups. processed foods, chips .

_noob_

what was his blood pressure and does he suffer from "white coat syndrome"

I ask, because I can have a mild panic attack when my blood pressure is taken at a Dr.'s office due to my family (and my own) history with high blood pressure. Basically I get nervous that it will be high and "go on record".

I can raise my BP 15-20 pts on both numbers just getting nervous about the measurement being taken.

ton40orbust

He refuses to tell me what his blood pressure is, just that its high.

msienkiewicz

Look for references to the DASH diet - see e.g. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/dash/
that is one diet that has been shown to help lower blood pressure

as cmcmommy mentioned you need to watch sodium intake - interestingly enough that could mean cutting down on the celery since that runs a bit high in sodium

In my experience losing weight (especially weight around the waistline) can help also

cuterbee

Look for references to the DASH diet - see e.g. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/dash/
that is one diet that has been shown to help lower blood pressure

as cmcmommy mentioned you need to watch sodium intake - interestingly enough that could mean cutting down on the celery since that runs a bit high in sodium

In my experience losing weight (especially weight around the waistline) can help also

^^^ Exactly what I was going to say. You can even track sodium here on MFP.

Most processed foods contain a lot of sodium, unfortunately.

KANGOOJUMPS

cayenne pepper, it works!
celery and beets!
orange juice.
baked potato.

257_Lag

Please have him see his family doctor if he has one. I had a similar experience at a quick care facility. I went in for what turned out to be pink eye but they way they treated me REALLY freaked me out. (like putting drops in my eyes without telling me what they were doing) then they took my blood pressure and openly discussed how alarmingly high it was. Of course this freaked me out more. They took it again before I left at it was even higher. I am talking about 200/125.

I saw my regular doctor on Monday and it was decided that I did have MILD HBP (140/95) but nothing like the scare they put into me over the weekend. I am on a small does medication and it has gotten a lot better. Part of my wanting to lose weight is to get off this medicine eventually.

That being said, watch the sodium as carefully as you can! I didn't really do anything about my sodium until I joined here and learned what it does to me. It has a HUGE effect on me! On Easter I stayed within my calorie goal but gained 4 full pounds from the sodium in the ham. I lost the water weight in 2 days but still...

Good Luck

ryry_

Sodium is the important marker. Also a common recommendation is to lose 5-10% of your body weight will often result in 5-10 points lowering in BP. Also, Caffeine, Stress, and other factors can also lead someone to have chronically high blood pressure.

bcattoes

Agree on the DASH diet

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/dash-diet/HI00047

It is a diet medically designed to lower BP. (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension)

amann1976

no salt

no smoked meats

no bacon

no hot dogs

no deli meats

no high fat cheeses

no jerky

none of those good fatty cured pork products like salami and pepperoni

no chinese food

no bacon no bacon no bacon

no tomato juice

no saltines


that is just a few things that are no no's on a sodium restricted diet

once the pressure is under control you then can have a few of those products in moderation without going overboard

the easiest way to control your blood pressure is the dash diet the basic principles say you eat 6-8 servings of fruits and vegetables a day along with two servings or dairy

that along with cooking more at home and some exercise 3-5 days a week and he will be fine.

lintino

Really good advice so far. I would just like to add that you need to look at ALL food labels. I am trying to lower my blood pressure also and I am shocked sometimes at what has sodium in it - like raw baby carrots and celery.