High Blood Pressure

I began my adventure into trying to lose weight due to high blood pressure. I've been excersizing regularly for 3 months now and changed my eating habits, as well. The result? Very little change in weight and NO change in blood pressure.

Yesterday, I read that getting more potassium into your system can help to lower the systolic portion of your blood pressure. However, after eating a snack of raisins today, I noticed that MOST foods high in potassium are also high in sugar! **Grumble grumble** After a mere quarter cup of raisins for my snack, I only have 3 grams of sugar left to eat for the day!

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Fish oil supplements (Omega 3) can perhaps help a little.

You can also use Morton's Salt Substitute (which is a potassium salt rather than the usual sodium salt) to increase your potassium intake ( http://www.mortonsalt.com/for-your-home/culinary-salts/food-salts/5/morton-salt-substitute/ )

Also...for more potassium...more green veggies...more fruit...more roughage in general. Also, you may be getting more than you think you're getting because it isn't required to be labeled on food products so many things that have potassium just don't tell you.

Some good sources...

- Low sodium V8
- Broccoli
- Chard (also spinach, kale, and pretty much leafy greens in general, by chard rules all)
- Cocnut water
- legumes (beans, nuts, etc)
- fruit
- Avocado

and the list goes on...lots of stuff with potassium that isn't high in sugar

My suggestion is to not worry about the sugar as long as your total carbs are within your desired range. Sugars are just carbohydrates.

Also natural sources of sugar aren't as a big of a worry because in fruits and veg they're combined with other goodies like vitamins, fiber, etc and digest slower than added/processed sugars. Unless you also have to worry about blood sugar levels, don't worry too much bout your natural sugar intake.

My workout buddy is also hypertensive and was able to go over her BP meds for a bit but ended up being put back on due to her BP spiking after she went on vacation (not sure exactly what triggered that). Hers is genetic and therefore harder to regulate with proper diet and exercise.

OP, are you lowering your sodium intake? i would be much more concerned about that than sugars for hypertension.

ncmedic201 wrote: »

If you want a super high potassium shake go look at my diary yesterday...except the coffee and creamer, that wasn't part of it

Other foods high in potassium:
White mushrooms
Lentils
Black beans
Brussels sprouts
Coconut water
Avocado
Spinach
Plain yogurt
Cottage cheese
Salmon
Potatoes
Sweet potatoes

What helped my blood pressure was maintaining a 3:1 potassium to sodium ratio and drinking lots of water. This week hasn't beengreat on potassium but you can look back at my diary and get some ideas.

I'm going to try your suggestion. Thanks for sharing!

BigGuy47 wrote: »

The biggest thing that helped lower my BP was losing weight. Calorie deficit.

This! Unless you have a genetic pre-disposition, and some people do, then losing weight will do wonders for your BP.

My doctor first cut my medications in half, then in quarter and now I'm off any and all medications. It's really amazing to me!

Be careful playing around with electrolytes without consulting a physician. Potassium and sodium must be in balance in order for our muscles to function properly, and our heart (cardiovascular system) can take a hit if those two are not at adequate levels. Also, your genetic make up and/or other medications could be a factor in your HTN so again, consult a physician for proper management of your condition.

Good luck!

nena49659 wrote: »

I began my adventure into trying to lose weight due to high blood pressure. I've been excersizing regularly for 3 months now and changed my eating habits, as well. The result? Very little change in weight and NO change in blood pressure.

Yesterday, I read that getting more potassium into your system can help to lower the systolic portion of your blood pressure. However, after eating a snack of raisins today, I noticed that MOST foods high in potassium are also high in sugar! **Grumble grumble** After a mere quarter cup of raisins for my snack, I only have 3 grams of sugar left to eat for the day!

Does anyone have any suggestions?

I understand just how you feel. I felt like that too a couple years ago. There are "many" things you can do to get the BP down. For one thing, coconut water is good for you and has lots of potassium and other necessary electrolytes. But, do not be fearful of raisins. I eat them daily. The sugar in them is natural, not added.

Also, get an app to lower BP. I do slow breathing exercises for 15 minutes three times a week and I do hand squeeze isometric exercises three times a week according to the Air Force standard that has been proved to lower BP. I also took Lycopene. Doing all this brought my BP down and now I'm off medication.

The more we stress about it, the more it goes up. And, as you lose weight, it will go down as well. Exercise does cause it to go down. At least it should. Perhaps not right after exercise but about a half hour afterwards.

There are also isometric exercises you can do. Do some research on your own. YOu can lower your own BP. If you need medication, take it. But if you have not been given it yet, take this opportunity to get it down and do not be discouraged. It takes awhile.

Most foods actually have plenty of potassium. You mentioned eating raisins for potassium. A 100g serving of chicken breast (measured uncooked) has about the same amount of potassium as a calorically-equivalent serving of raisins. Boom, problem solved. But beans and potatoes are my go-to when I want a potassium boost, they're hugely helpful.

Be aware that the MFP database is missing potassium data on most of the entries. Just because an entry says a food doesn't have potassium doesn't mean it doesn't have potassium, or indeed that it isn't even a high potassium food! In fact, most foods have some potassium (for instance, an 8 oz cup of black coffee alone has >100 mg), so if the food entry says zero or N/A in the potassium field it's almost sure to be wrong.

If you want to track your potassium intake more accurately and you mostly eat packaged foods you're out of luck, because it would be very difficult to find accurate potassium data for many of them, as U.S. nutrition labelling standards do not require food marketers to include potassium data.

However, if you cook from ingredients a lot and/or just eat a lot of simple foods that are in the U.S.D.A. database, you're in luck. If you log things like your meat, dairy, fruits, veg, whole grains (like rice, oats, quinoa, barley, etc.) from using the U.S.D.A. database entry instead of from any member-submitted entry or from a brand-name that packages those products, you can get the entry that includes potassium and get a better read on your potassium intake. Just be sure to search for the food entry that does /not/ have an asterisk by the name. The asterisk means it was member-submitted, but the "good" U.S.D.A. entries were included in the core database by MFP itself at the beginning and are not member-submitted.

TwizzlerGirl13 wrote: »

luluinca wrote: »

BigGuy47 wrote: »

The biggest thing that helped lower my BP was losing weight. Calorie deficit.

This! Unless you have a genetic pre-disposition, and some people do, then losing weight will do wonders for your BP.

My doctor first cut my medications in half, then in quarter and now I'm off any and all medications. It's really amazing to me!

That's great. I told my doctor during my last physical in October I wanted to try to lose weight instead of continuing my med, Hyzaar. He told me the he didn't recommend it, but he could not compel me to keep taking it. I had lost 6 lbs. at that point now I'm at 8 and counting. Gotta go check my pressure today. I also told him that I would come to the office to have it checked every 2 weeks also. I'm due for that Monday. I'm making decent progress. I'm not a spring chicken, so I have to shed this weight now.

I'm 64 and had been on medication for about 10 or 12 years. My doctor gradually took me off. I monitored my BP at home and kept notes for her. It actually got quite low every time before she would lower it.

I've lost over 50 pounds in about 14 months so it's been a slow process. I only have about 15 - 20 more to go.

Good luck. It's funny because she didn't think I would get off completely either.

luluinca wrote: »

TwizzlerGirl13 wrote: »

luluinca wrote: »

BigGuy47 wrote: »

The biggest thing that helped lower my BP was losing weight. Calorie deficit.

This! Unless you have a genetic pre-disposition, and some people do, then losing weight will do wonders for your BP.

My doctor first cut my medications in half, then in quarter and now I'm off any and all medications. It's really amazing to me!

That's great. I told my doctor during my last physical in October I wanted to try to lose weight instead of continuing my med, Hyzaar. He told me the he didn't recommend it, but he could not compel me to keep taking it. I had lost 6 lbs. at that point now I'm at 8 and counting. Gotta go check my pressure today. I also told him that I would come to the office to have it checked every 2 weeks also. I'm due for that Monday. I'm making decent progress. I'm not a spring chicken, so I have to shed this weight now.

I'm 64 and had been on medication for about 10 or 12 years. My doctor gradually took me off. I monitored my BP at home and kept notes for her. It actually got quite low every time before she would lower it.

I've lost over 50 pounds in about 14 months so it's been a slow process. I only have about 15 - 20 more to go.

Good luck. It's funny because she didn't think I would get off completely either.

You're my HERO! Thanks for sharing.

TwizzlerGirl13 wrote: »

luluinca wrote: »

TwizzlerGirl13 wrote: »

luluinca wrote: »

BigGuy47 wrote: »

The biggest thing that helped lower my BP was losing weight. Calorie deficit.

This! Unless you have a genetic pre-disposition, and some people do, then losing weight will do wonders for your BP.

My doctor first cut my medications in half, then in quarter and now I'm off any and all medications. It's really amazing to me!

That's great. I told my doctor during my last physical in October I wanted to try to lose weight instead of continuing my med, Hyzaar. He told me the he didn't recommend it, but he could not compel me to keep taking it. I had lost 6 lbs. at that point now I'm at 8 and counting. Gotta go check my pressure today. I also told him that I would come to the office to have it checked every 2 weeks also. I'm due for that Monday. I'm making decent progress. I'm not a spring chicken, so I have to shed this weight now.

I'm 64 and had been on medication for about 10 or 12 years. My doctor gradually took me off. I monitored my BP at home and kept notes for her. It actually got quite low every time before she would lower it.

I've lost over 50 pounds in about 14 months so it's been a slow process. I only have about 15 - 20 more to go.

Good luck. It's funny because she didn't think I would get off completely either.

You're my HERO! Thanks for sharing.

LOL, just an old lady trying to delay the inevitable!

dasher602014 wrote: »

Also recommend looking for The Dash Diet. "Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension" not a fad diet - recommended by many doctors. Many books available but you can get the basic diet online for free.

Good luck.

Thanks I will take a look at it again. MFP allows me to keep a good track of my sodium and potassium as long as I am honest in my entries. I'm pretty used to eating within my caloric count and my sodium is always slow. I believe the dash diet will help me out even more.

I do cook a majority of my food. I have to. I am careful, it's my life I'm wagering. I know you know that lots of foods have unnecessary sodium added, so I have to cook fresh veggies, fish, meat etc. Thank you again.