High Blood Pressure
Normal Adult Blood Pressure: 140/85
High-Normal or Borderline: 140/85-89
Mild: 140-159/90-104
Moderate to Severe: 160/105 and above
Normal Adult Blood Pressure: 140/85
High-Normal or Borderline: 140/85-89
Mild: 140-159/90-104
Moderate to Severe: 160/105 and above
Foods to Eat More Of:
Foods to Avoid or Minimize:
Essential Oils:
*If additional information or precautions are available, the links below will direct you that information. If not, you will be directed to Amazon for purchasing options.
Natural/Herbal:
*If additional information or precautions are available, the links below will direct you that information. If not, you will be directed to Amazon for purchasing options.
Yoga Therapy:
Mind-Body Connection:
Recipes-Food Medicine:
*Note: Not all recipes are nutritionally perfect, but the options below are a great way to start incorporating beneficial foods into your diet in delicious ways. Always try to buy organic, and feel free to make substitutions to accommodate gluten-free, vegan, etc diets. Recipes naturally Vegan and Gluten-Free are marked as such (V=Vegan; GF=Gluten-Free).
Smoothies/Beverages:
Sides & Salads:
- Fruits: Apples, apricots, avocado, bananas, blueberries, blackberries, cantaloupe, cranberries, grapes, kiwis, mangoes, melons, oranges, papayas, pineapple, pomegranates, prunes, raisins, strawberries
- Vegetables: Alfalfa sprouts and grass, arugula, asparagus, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, celery, collard greens, eggplant, kale, lettuce, onions, parsnips, peppers, peas, potatoes, romaine lettuce, spinach, squash, sweet potatoes, watercress
- Whole-grains, brown rice, oats, beans
- Low fat dairy (yogurt & milk)
- Flax seed, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pistachios, almonds, walnuts, barley, kelp
- Olive oil, chives, garlic (1-4 fresh cloves daily) & mushrooms (especially maitake and reishi)
- Chicken & Fish (especially salmon, mackerel, sardines, tuna)
Foods to Avoid or Minimize:
- Canned and other processed foods with added salt, fatty foods, coffee, tea, colas, chocolate (if you have to have some - choose dark chocolate instead), pickled foods, soy sauce and excessive alcohol
- Eggs, sugar, red meat, margarine
- Coconut
Essential Oils:
*If additional information or precautions are available, the links below will direct you that information. If not, you will be directed to Amazon for purchasing options.
- Birch, clary sage, cinnamon, clove, balsam fir, goldenrod, lavender, lemon, marjoram, nutmeg, spearmint, thyme, wintergreen, ylang ylang (add to bath water, massage on hands/feet/heart area, or diffuse)
Natural/Herbal:
*If additional information or precautions are available, the links below will direct you that information. If not, you will be directed to Amazon for purchasing options.
- Daily exercise (walking, yoga, tai chi, meditation).
- Avoid excess stress.
- Astragalus, betony, black cohosh, buchu, cayenne, celery seed, dandelion, evening primrose, fenugreek seeds, garlic, ginger, hawthorn, linden flowers, noni, nutmeg, parsley, passion flower, rosemary, skullcap, stinging nettle, thyme, turmeric, valerian, yarrow
- Green, oolong and/or hibiscus tea.
- Pu Erh tea (a chinese oolong) - must be drunk black - no additives.
- Make a tea of hawthorn, linden flowers and yarrow and drink daily.
- A shot of Montmorency cherry juice daily.
- There are mixed reviews on ginseng's use for high blood pressure. Some recommend it, some say avoid it. Use only under a doctor's supervision.
- Exposure to lead and other heavy metals has been linked to high blood pressure in cases.
- If you are a smoker, try to quit.
Yoga Therapy:
- Yoga for Blood Pressure (27 minutes - Yog Sadhana)
- Treat High Blood Pressure - Yoga (12 minutes - Homeveda)
- Calcium/ Magnesium: 1,000 mg calcium and 500 mg magnesium daily (do not use magnesium if you have kidney disease).
- Vitamin C: 1,000 mg 3 times daily (reduce if it causes diarrhea).
- Coenzyme Q10: 50 - 150 mg twice daily (take with food).
- Fish Oils: 1,000 mg 3 times daily (take fish oils if you don't eat fish at least twice a week).
- Hawthorn: 100-150 mg 3 times daily (should contain at least 1.8% vitexin).
- L-Taurine: 500 mg twice daily on an empty stomach (if using longer than 1 month, add mixed amino acids).
- Kudzu
Mind-Body Connection:
- High blood pressure can represent unsolved emotional problems.
Recipes-Food Medicine:
*Note: Not all recipes are nutritionally perfect, but the options below are a great way to start incorporating beneficial foods into your diet in delicious ways. Always try to buy organic, and feel free to make substitutions to accommodate gluten-free, vegan, etc diets. Recipes naturally Vegan and Gluten-Free are marked as such (V=Vegan; GF=Gluten-Free).
Smoothies/Beverages:
- Apple-Orange Smoothie (GF)
- Banana-Blueberry Smoothie (GF)
- BananaSauce Smoothie (V, GF)
- Blueberry Peach Smoothie (V, GF)
- Blueberry Smoothie (V, GF)
- Blueberry-Pomegranate Smoothie (GF)
- Brain Smoothie (V, GF)
- Cranberry-Blueberry Smoothie (GF)
- Golden Milk (V, GF)
- Kiwi-Pineapple Smoothie (GF)
- Mango Lassi (GF)
- Mango Pineapple Smoothie (V, GF)
- Mango-Banana Smoothie (GF)
- Mango-Blueberry Smoothie (GF)
- Mega-Greens Smoothie (GF)
- PB & Jelly Sandwich Smoothie (V)
- Pineapple Mint Smoothie (V, GF)
- Sunrise Smoothie (V, GF)
- Super Skin Smoothie (GF)
- Superfruit Smoothie (V, GF)
- Tropical Smoothie (V, GF)
- Balsamic Glazed Chicken
- Black Bean Bowl (GF)
- Black Bean Chili (V)
- Black Bean Soup (V, GF)
- Broth (Veggie/Chicken/Beef) - (V, GF)
- Buddha Bowl (V, GF)
- Chicken & Potatoes with Mustard Vinaigrette
- Chicken Marsala
- Cornmeal & Pecan Crusted Fish
- Fish with Dill Breading
- Garlic Soup (V, GF)
- Healthy Mac & Cheese (V)
- Japanese Onion Soup (V, GF)
- MahiMahi with Cucumber-Dill Sauce (GF)
- Miso Soup (V, GF)
- Mujaddara (V, GF)
- Oven-Fried Fish
- Pan-Fried Fish Fillets
- Pasta Della California (V)
- Pasta Fagioli (V)
- Quinoa Oatmeal (V)
- Red Beans & Rice (V, GF)
- Salmon with Avocado Salsa (GF)
- Salmon with Red Pepper Sauce (GF)
- Shrimp Power Bowl (GF)
- Slow Cooked White Chili (V, GF)
- Spiced Lentil Soup (V, GF)
- Spicy Black Bean Soup (V, GF)
- Spinach Pasta (V)
- Tilapia with Balsamic Brown Butter
- Vegetarian Chili (V, GF)
- White Bean & Spinach Soup (GF)
- White Bean Soup (GF)
Sides & Salads:
- Avocado Cilantro Lime Rice (V, GF)
- Best Baked Potatoes (V, GF)
- Bacon Wild Rice (GF)
- Brown Rice Pilaf with Saffron and Ginger (V, GF)
- Cannellini and Tomato Crostini (V)
- Caraway Brussels Sprouts (V, GF)
- Chickpea Pasta Salad
- Chinese Peanut Salad (V, GF)
- Double Mashed Potatoes (GF)
- Favetta & Pita Triangles (V)
- Guacamole (V, GF)
- Homemade Salsa (V, GF)
- Irish Potatoes (Colcannon) - (GF)
- Mashed Sweet Potatoes (V, GF)
- Molasses Beans (GF)
- Pesto Potatoes (V, GF)
- Pesto Vegetables (V, GF)
- Quinoa Salad (V, GF)
- Red Beans & Rice (V, GF)
- Roasted Asparagus or Green Beans (V, GF)
- Rosemary Red Potatoes (GF)
- Southwest Pasta Salad (V)
- Spinach & Strawberry Salad (V)
- Steamed Edamame (V, GF)
- Three Bean Salad (V, GF)