Almost 72 million Americans over the age of 20 have high blood pressure according to the American Heart Association. All hypertension patients are advised by their doctors to try controlling their blood pressure with diet. This is called DASH or Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. It has been proven to lower blood pressure in as little as 14 days.

Dash Diet:

DASH consists of some simple steps. First of all, increase the amount of fruits and vegetables you eat. Ideally, your fruits and vegetable intake should be of 2- 2 ½ cups daily. Eat those fruits and vegetables that are high in antioxidants like blue berries or green vegetables like broccoli.

Secondly, proteins should be made an important part of your meal. Choose chicken or turkey instead of red meat which is rich in fats. Eggs are also great source of proteins. You should take maximum 6 ounces of proteins per day.

The next step is to use only fat-free or low fat dairy products. You should take 2-3 cups of dairy products daily like milk, yogurt and low fat cheese.

Eat 6-8 ounces of whole grains like oats, cereal, pasta and breads. Processed and high sodium foods should be avoided.

Another beneficial food for lowering blood pressure is seeds of different kinds. Add nuts, beans and seeds to your diet 4-6 times a week. Kidney beans and natural peanut butter are very good for health.

Make sure that your meals do not have too much sugar as it is not good for blood pressure. Alcohol should also be taken in limited amount.

Eat margarine spreads that are filled with Omega 3 fatty acids. These are very good for the heart. Olive oil is also a preferred part of the diet rather than other oils. Limit your oil usage to 2-3 teaspoons only.

And last but not the least, your diet is not complete until you check regularly the effect it is having on your body. Purchase a home blood pressure testing monitor and record your blood pressure levels for 6 weeks. You will definitely notice an improvement in your health and in your blood pressure in 14 days.

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