Do you know which common food that you can get right at your local grocery store or farmers market that will reduce
your blood pressure significantly while boosting your immune system and protecting you from cancer at the same time?

If you ate a green salad with fresh chopped tomatoes, then you not only got a healthy dose of this powerful antioxidant, but you have also taken significant action toward lowering your blood pressure. A recent double-blind study conducted in Israel has confirmed what hearth-healthy Italians have enjoyed for centuries – tomatoes (and tomato sauce) lower blood pressure and the risk of heart disease.

The Israeli study was led up by Dr. Esther Paran, head of the hypertension division of Soroka Medical Center. It involved patients who were already being treated for hypertension, but were not responding well to the medications. Dr. Paran had patients take a supplement of tomato extract. The results were a significant drop in blood pressure after just four weeks.

Tomatoes are effective at lowering blood pressure

Tomatoes are so effective at lowering blood pressure because they contain lycopene. This potent antioxidant is even the focus of some hybrid tomatoes grown by the Israeli company, Lycomato, in order to have higher concentrations of lycopene in each piece of fruit. Other antioxidants found in tomatoes make this one super-food in the prevention of heart disease. It can even help keep LDL cholesterol from oxidizing which makes it stick to the arteries and narrow the passage way causing blood pressure to increase.

Even during the peak growing season it can be difficult to consume four whole tomatoes each day, which is the recommended amount for having a positive impact on blood pressure. Here are some ways to get the benefits of tomatoes without having to eat them straight off the vine.

Getting the benefits of tomatoes on high blood pressure

1. Make Chili. Using tomato puree, which is a concentrated form of tomatoes, as the base for your chili utilizes the antioxidants without the bulk of a whole tomato. Add some ultra-lean and high protein ground bison and kidney beans with minced garlic and onions, and cayenne pepper and you have a heart-healthy main course and a full day’s allowance of tomato.

2. Since using olive oil with the tomatoes enhances the curative quality, make your pasta sauce red with tomatoes, tomato paste and olive oil to sauté the garlic and onion. Tomato paste used in making sauce contains more than 10 times the nutrients of a single tomato.

3. Have a fresh salad as a side dish to either of these entrees and cut one whole tomato on top. You’ll get one-quarter of you tomato intake right there.

4. Drink tomato juice. It is better to make your own fresh juice so that you can control the sodium. Store bought juices can be high in sugar and sodium-based preservatives. If you have a juicer, you can make some incredible veggie juices to suit your own tastes by adding carrots, celery and some low-sodium seasonings.

5. Take a tomato supplement. If you just can’t stomach tomatoes, then a 200 mg supplement provides the equivalent of more than the recommended four tomatoes.

Adding tomatoes to your diet can reduce systolic blood pressure by 10 points and diastolic pressure by 4 points as was evident in the Israel study. Whatever way you slice it, tomatoes will keep strengthen your immune system and lower blood pressure.

Learn about more fruits that can play a major role in reducing your blood pressure:
http://www.highbloodpressure-hypertension.com/recommends/Blood-Pressure-Miracle

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Frank Mangano is an active member of his community who works diligently providing assistance to senior citizens and probing as a health advocate to discover new and innovative ways to promote well being. Find out how you can maintain healthy blood pressure at: http://www.highbloodpressure-hypertension.com/recommends/Blood-Pressure-Miracle

You can have your cake and eat it too — well at least you can lower your blood pressure and have your salt too. That is what recent research is telling us about sodium’s role in managing blood pressure. Hypertension, it turns out, is not caused by too much salt. Neither is it lowered by simply cutting salt out of your diet. So how is it that table salt (sodium) is still getting such a bad rap and being linked to high blood pressure? The real culprit it turns out is not salt, but how your body manages sodium and its proportion to the amount of potassium, calcium and magnesium in your body.

Scientists have discovered that deficiencies in potassium, calcium and magnesium have a much greater impact on blood pressure than the mineral salt. These other minerals are so important in controlling blood pressure that when they are out of balance with each other, they can make salt more of a threat to healthy blood pressure.

The fact is that only about 10 percent of the population is considered “salt sensitive.” It is this relatively small group that has to watch their salt intake for a variety of reasons, including its impact on blood pressure.

There are some easy ways to make sure all of the important minerals in your body are in balance. These include:

1. Eat a well-balanced diet with a variety of foods. This will ensure that you are getting a wide range of nutrients and not just one or two key elements.

2. Make sure you get enough calcium — 2000 mg per day. Calcium is essential to bone density, but in relationship to blood pressure, it is believed that low calcium levels can actually cause high blood pressure. Calcium is a natural diuretic, so when salt is consumed, even larger quantities, having enough calcium signals the kidneys to get rid of the excess sodium. Also, calcium prevents a certain hormone that raises blood pressure from being released and doing its damage.

3. Get plenty of potassium. Studies have shown that diets high in potassium and lower in sodium can prevent many diseases and keep blood pressure lower. On the other hand, when there is much more sodium than potassium, blood pressure goes up. Balance the two, and you can make great strides in controlling hypertension.

Here are some food suggestions for getting enough of these essential minerals:

Calcium – Aside from dairy products, which can be high in fat and hard on the digestive system, broccoli, spinach, and salmon are good sources.

Magnesium – Foods such as whole grains, nuts and black beans will help you get the beneficial 400-800 mg daily of magnesium.

Potassium — bananas, potatoes, orange juice, and cantaloupe all provide potassium. Potassium is the most substantiated mineral in controlling blood pressure.

When even good food choices leave you feeling you are lacking in important minerals, supplements can pick up the slack. Whether through food choices or supplements, getting enough minerals into your diet is necessary to counteract the impact of sodium in the battle with high blood pressure.

You now know of three important minerals that help balance sodium in your body. Discover more powerful nutrients and minerals that can lower your blood pressure safely and naturally:

http://www.highbloodpressure-hypertension.com/recommends/Blood-Pressure-Miracle

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Frank Mangano is an active member of his community who works diligently providing assistance to senior citizens and probing as a health advocate to discover new and innovative ways to promote well being. Find out how you can maintain healthy blood pressure at: http://www.highbloodpressure-hypertension.com/recommends/Blood-Pressure-Miracle

Approximately 50% of subjects with essential hypertension are insulin resistant therefore a diet that balances blood sugar would be essential for such responders.

Dr Atkins was able to bring down hypertension in his patients by cutting back on carbohydrates and adding nutritional supplements.

Since most people drink too little water and ingest too much salt, getting these two in balance is often all that is required. About 60% of hypertensives are thought to be responsive to reduced salt intake.

Fatty Acids

The omega 3 fatty acids taken as fish oils can lower blood pressure. They improve pliability and flexibility of blood vessels, lower inflammation and relax blood vessels.

Garlic

Consuming garlic on a regular basis lowers the risk of heart disease. A number of studies show that it can lower blood pressure.

CoQ10

Coenzyme Q10 enhances the immune system and protects against free radicals. It is particularly valuable in treating heart conditions. In one study 26 patients with essential arterial hypertension were treated with oral CoQ10, 50mg twice daily for 10 weeks. At the end of the treatment, systolic blood pressure decreased from 164.5 to 146.7 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure decreased from 98.1 to 86.1 mmHg on average.

Vitamin C

Since essential hypertension is associated with an abnormal antioxidant status and reduced levels of nitric oxide, in both of which vitamin C has important roles, one would expect this vitamin to be able to reduce high blood pressure and it does.

In one study taking 500mg a day caused a significant drop in elevated blood pressure for both men and women.

Other Important Nutrients

The non essential amino acid l-arginine relaxes the blood vessels once it is converted to nitric oxide. Its blood pressure lowering effect is seen taking between two and nine grams per day.

Some minerals are particularly important in the cardiovascular system. These include calcium, magnesium and potassium. Taurine has a diuretic effect and can relax blood vessels.