Instructions for preventing Hypertension

• Choose foods with low or reduced sodium (salt) or salt-free versions, as well as spices when available.
• Choose fresh, frozen or canned (low sodium or no added salt) vegetables.
• Use fresh poultry, fish or lean meat instead of their canned, smoked or processed versions.
• Choose breakfast cereal with low sodium content.
• Restrict smoked foods (such as bacon and sausages), foods stored in brine (for example pickles and olives) and spices (such as mustard, ketchup and barbecue sauce). Restrict even sauces that have reduced sodium content such as soy sauce and teriyaki sauce.
• Cook rice, pasta or oats without salt. Reduce the consumption of pre-cooked pasta, rice and mixtures of cereals, which usually contain additional salt.

• Choose comfort food in versions that contain loss sodium. Reduce frozen meals such as pizza, canned soups, as well as broths and salad dressings.
• Rinse canned foods such as tuna and canned beans to reduce the sodium used as a preservative.
• Use spice instead of salt when cooking and eating, flavor your meals with herbs, spices, lemon, lime, vinegar or spice mixtures without salt. Start by reducing the amount of salt in half.
• In case of catering: Ask how food is prepared. Ask that no salt or monosodium glutamate (MSG) or other salt-containing ingredients are added to the food you will eat. Most restaurants are willing to satisfy your need.
• Learn the terms that indicate that a food is high in sodium: pickles, smoked, soy sauce, broth.
• Stop using table salt.
• Consume fruits and vegetables on a daily basis because they contain potassium that is the natural competitor of sodium.

If you consume alcohol, do it at a moderate frequency. This means 1 to 2 drinks for men and one drink for women per day.

One drink is:

• 

  340 ml beer,
• 140 ml wine,
• 30 – 40 ml of another alcoholic beverage

Consuming higher quantities increases the risk of alcoholism, high blood pressure, obesity, stroke, breast cancer, suicide and accidents. Excessive alcohol consumption can increase the levels of some fatty acids, such as triglycerides. It can also lead to increased high blood pressure, syncope and increased calorie intake, indirectly leading to obesity and increased risk for developing diabetes mellitus.

• If you do not drink alcohol you'd better not start drinking.
• Alcohol may lead to the increase of the so called "good" HDL - cholesterol and anti - thrombotic properties.
• In conclusion, if you do not exceed the recommended quantity, you do not run the risk of "adverse" events.

Fats are classified into 4 categories:

• Polyunsaturated & Monounsaturated fatty acids
• Saturated fatty acids & Trans fatty acids, hydrogenated and tropical oils.

They can be part of a healthy diet as long as you rely on the first category, since:

• they reduce the risk of death due to cardiovascular and other causes,
• they reduce the levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) and triglycerides.
• They provide the essential fatty acids that your body needs and cannot produce on its own.

What you can do

• Compare food labels to choose the one with the lowest amount of fat.
• Foods are considered to be high in fat if they contain more than 17.5 g per 100 g of product.
• Foods that are considered "semi-fat" are those that contain: 3 g of fat per 100 g of product or 1.5 g per 100ml of liquid.
• Foods that are considered "lean" are those that contain: 0.5 g of fat or less per 100 g or per 100 ml.
• Choose semi-fat dairy products.
• Bake in the grill or in the oven or cook your food poached or steamed instead of frying it or "overbaking" it.
• Count the amount of olive oil you use with the tablespoon. Make sure that the oils you use are of vegetable origin like this.
• Remove visible fat from meat and poultry before cooking.
• Choose parts of the meat that are lean, such as poultry breasts.
• Cook the meat slowly, adding vegetable beans.
• Try sauces based on vegetable oils.
• Consume 220 g of fish that is not fried per week. Choose fatty fish to intake the essential fatty acids.
• Choose 30 g of unsalted nuts and seeds to intake good fats, energy, protein and fiber. Some good choices are almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, walnuts, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds.
• Add avocado to your snacks and meals to intake good fats, fiber, as well as vitamins and minerals.

OBJECTIVE: Decrease of blood pressure

• We prefer whole grain cereal salt-free products high in fiber, since prepared bakery products are rich in salt to improve flavor.
• We read food labels to avoid high sodium (salt) foods. We prefer products where the word "sodium" is not in their first three ingredients and those containing up to 200 mg per 100 g.
• The salt may be mentioned with other names: sodium chloride, monosodium glutamate, sodium bicarbonate, brine,
• Foods that we can eat at a lower frequency since they are rich in sodium are: packaged tomato & vegetable juices, canned fruits, canned vegetables, pickles, frozen vegetables with salt, smoked or canned meats and fish, salted butter, cheese puffs, chips, salted nuts, powdered or tinned soups, ham, salted meats, prepared meals, baking soda, baking powder, soy sauce and full-fat dairy products.
• We do not add extra table salt to the food.
• Add spices and herbs when cooking to replace salt.
• Dairy products (milk / cheese / yogurt) are recommended to be semi-fat.
• When cooking, avoid frying.