Blood Pressure
Categories: Nutrition
Tags: whole wheat blood pressure barley cholesterol chocolate brown rice beans fibre
Bread Helps Your Blood Pressure
Here’s some news to make your heart sing: When you pick the right bread, your blood pressure wins!
Three grains recently tested had blood pressure benefits: whole wheat, barley, and brown rice. Look for them in whole-grain breads, cereals, and other grain-based goodies.
The Whole Story
In a study, all three grains were good for lowering blood pressure in middle-aged people with mildly high cholesterol and prehypertension. How? Chalk up another one for fiber. Both the soluble and insoluble fiber in grains reduce blood pressure -- and soluble fiber takes a bite out of cholesterol, too. High cholesterol and high blood pressure often occur together, and the combo is doubly dangerous for your heart and blood vessels.
That sounds very doable - especially since it is very easy to find whole wheat bread and pasta and to eat brown rice. Even barley is easy to cook as a side dish. The healthiest one of course is the pot barley - you can find it in the baking aisle with the dry beans.
Give Your Blood Pressure This Daily Treat
Just 30 calories per day of chocolate may be enough to help reduce your blood pressure. As far as serving sizes go, that’s about a Hershey’s Kiss worth.
But you have to eat the right kind of chocolate, according to Joseph Maroon, MD, author of The Longevity Factor. He recommends nonsweetened or minimally sweetened dark chocolate that’s at least 70 percent cocoa.
Crazy for Cocoa
Dark chocolate can also help reduce atherosclerosis and blood clotting, aid blood flow, contribute to an overall reduction in heart attacks, and improve cholesterol levels, according to Maroon. And it’s all thanks to the powerful antioxidants found in the cocoa bean.
It is definitely more work to find the right kind of chocolate with 70 percent cocoa - stock up when you find it. But when you're only having a serving the size of a Hershey Kiss - it lasts a long time!
• A healthier heart -- Beans reduce your levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a likely indicator of heart disease risk. How? Probably due to their fiber. Black beans contain 7 grams of fiber per 1/2 cup serving, which gets you well on your way to the recommended 25 grams a day. Remember to add Beano, an enzyme that helps you break down the beans without the side effect of gas, so you don’t clear out every elevator you get into.
Legumes may also reduce your lousy LDL cholesterol. In fact, LDL dropped when people ate half a cup of cooked pinto beans every day for 12 weeks. (Any beans would probably do the trick). That seems like a lot of beans every day! I am trying to find great, easy bean recipes so it is easier to add them in to our diets. If you have great recipes let me know. And I will try and post some of the recipes I've got too.
• Lower blood pressure -- Get your protein from plants and your blood pressure may be lower than if you got protein from animal sources. The plants’ amino acids (building blocks of protein), magnesium, and other nutrients may help keep arteries relaxed. Some beans contain more protein per serving than lean meat. Example: Kidney beans have 16 grams of protein per cup; turkey holds 12 grams in 3 ounces. Plus as a vegetable the beans count as vegetables servings too! Beans aren't a complete protein though so you do need to know quite abit about protein sources before you become a vegetarian or you can get quite sick. I have some information on it but not much since I'm not planning on being a vegetarian any time soon.
• A smaller waist -- Bean eaters weigh as much as 6.6 pounds less than folks who don’t eat beans. Makes sense when you consider beans are not only full of satisfying fiber and protein but also low in calorie-laden fat. They are cheap and sooo good for you. So really try working them into your meals more often. Canned beans are the easiest to use - just rinse them well and away you go - from hummus to a variety of salad options to soups and stews..... worth adding to the grocery list in the long run.
I usually try to find a theme for the quotes but this week I really went very random. Maybe that is how life has to be sometimes - if we are listening then the randomness really isn't all that random right?
Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish. John Quincy Adams
Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are but princesses that are waiting to see us act just once with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything terrible is in its deepest essence, something helpless that needs our love. Rainer Maria Rilke
There is nothing so fatal to character as half finished tasks. David Lloyd George
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