Nutrition and High Blood Pressure

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Blood pressure is expressed as two numbers. The top number represents the force of your blood pushing against the artery walls when your heart beats. The lower number represents the pressure between beats. Normal blood pressure is less than 120/80 mmHg. It is recommended that people with kidney disease keep their blood pressure at 130/80 mmHg or lower.

As blood pressure rises, the risk of damage to arteries, heart, brain, and kidneys increases. Controlling blood pressure through healthy food choices and regular physical activity can delay or prevent the development of chronic kidney disease. However, people with high blood pressure very often require medicines to control the blood pressure.

In the United States, a research study compared a typical American diet with an eating plan that is lower in saturated fat, cholesterol, and total fat and that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy foods. People who followed the high fruit and vegetable,low salt, low-fat diet and high fibre diet (also called the DASH diet), were able to reduce their blood pressure much more effectively than those who ate the typical Western diet. Decreasing salt intake with this high fruit and vegetable, low–fat diet lowered the blood pressure even further. This eating plan also includes whole grain products, fish, poultry, and nuts.