High Blood Pressure? What to eat?

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ton40orbust
ton40orbust Posts: 155
in Food and Nutrition
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?

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  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
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    Call the doctor back and ask for reference materials and/or a referral to a dietician.
  • cmcmommy
    cmcmommy Posts: 197 Member
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    I have high blood pressure he just needs to REALLY watch his salt intake , Anything with high sodium, canned soups. processed foods, chips .
  • _noob_
    _noob_ Posts: 3,306 Member
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    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
    ton40orbust Posts: 155
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    He refuses to tell me what his blood pressure is, just that its high.
  • msienkiewicz
    msienkiewicz Posts: 14 Member
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    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
    cuterbee Posts: 545
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    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
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,473 Member
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    cayenne pepper, it works!
    celery and beets!
    orange juice.
    baked potato.
  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
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    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_
    ryry_ Posts: 4,966 Member
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    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
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    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
    amann1976 Posts: 742 Member
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    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
    lintino Posts: 526 Member
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    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.

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