Eating a healthy diet can have a big impact on your blood pressure. If screening reveals that you have high blood pressure, one of the first things you should do is look at your diet. Some simple changes could help to bring your blood pressure down.

Lower Your Salt Intake

Eating too much salt is a common cause of high blood pressure. You should stop adding any salt to your food and cut out salty foods. It is important to check food labels to see how much salt is really in your food. A lot of salt can be added to ready meals, bread, soup, and cereals, even if it isn’t as obvious as the salt on crisps or peanuts. The maximum recommended limit is 6g of salt a day, but you should be aiming for less than this, particularly if you already have high blood pressure.

Avoid Saturated Fats

Saturated fats are another cause of high blood pressure. Foods that contain a lot of saturated fat include butter, lard, fatty meat, sausages, and biscuits. Again, you should check the labels to be sure you are making the right choices. Most labels will tell you how much saturated fat is in the food, as well as the total amount of fat.

Eat Your Vegetables

Fruit and vegetables are great for your body, so it’s a good idea to add more into your daily diet while you’re making improvements. The tinned, dried, frozen and juiced options are just as healthy as the fresh fruits and vegetables. Just aim for a variety of different types and colours. It will make your diet healthier and more interesting. Although it can take time to adjust, a healthy diet can be just as tasty and varied as your old diet. You might even be tempted to try things that you’ve never had before.