Diets to Lower Cholesterol & Blood Pressure

Dietary intake plays a key role in lowering high cholesterol and blood pressure. Making simple changes in your eating habits can help you control these conditions and reduce your risk for developing the diseases associated with them. Fortunately, there are many well-balanced diet plans available to help you lower your cholesterol and blood pressure while improving your health and well-being.

Benefits

High cholesterol and blood pressure are influenced by the foods you eat and by your body weight. Following an eating program designed to reduce the condition can benefit health and wellness in two main ways. Controlling your fat and sodium intake can result in lower cholesterol and blood pressure readings. In addition, a healthier diet can lead to weight loss reducing health risks even more.

Types

Any healthy, well-balanced eating plan that focuses on fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains is ideal for lowering cholesterol and blood pressure. The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan is supported by the National Institutes of Health to improve these conditions. The South Beach Diet Supercharged is an example of a commercial diet focused on healthy foods. In addition, making your own changes by incorporating the foods listed here and reducing processed foods can also be effective.

Features

Diets used to lower cholesterol and blood pressure reduce the intake of sodium and unhealthy fat. This is accomplished by eating less processed foods with excess sodium such as canned soup and packaged crackers. Reducing saturated fat and consuming more healthy fats such as those found in olive oil, nuts and seeds can positively influence cholesterol levels. In addition, eating less packaged baked goods can help reduce sodium as well as dangerous trans fats.

Function

These types of diets can be used to reduce cholesterol and blood pressure or for the maintenance of general health. They may also be used by those who wish to lose weight, but may not have problems with cholesterol and blood pressure. They can serve as alternatives to medications and provide long term solutions for improved health and weight loss. You will find them easy to incorporate with daily eating plans and shopping lists.

Misconceptions

Many people feel that changing eating habits to control cholesterol and blood pressure needs to involve a lot of sacrifice. There is the belief that the food is boring, flavorless and repetitive; this is simply not true. Using fresh ingredients provides much more flavor and enjoyment than a standard fast food meal. In addition, these types of diets offer a variety of healthy foods to choose from, easy recipes and appropriate substitutions for unhealthy choices.