Some foods can lower blood pressure

Q: I just started taking blood pressure medication, but I want to also use diet to get my hypertension under control. Are there specific foods I should eat?

Hank G., Atlanta

A: Lifestyle choices, including diet, exercise, sleep habits, alcohol consumption and smoking, can make a major difference in your blood pressure control. But if you are on anti-hypertensive medication you should stay on it and add in healthful lifestyle changes. Once you have your blood pressure consistently under 115/75, you can talk to your doc about weaning yourself (slowly) off the medication and seeing if your numbers remain good.

As for specific foods that help lower blood pressure, a new study published in Scientific Reports that used biomarkers instead of selfreported data (more reliable) has found eating foods high in flavanols, found in berries, apples and green and black tea, lowers your systolic blood pressure number (the top one) significantly — up to 4mm Hg. The flavanols help keep blood vessels flexible and dilated, essential qualities for a healthy blood pressure.

Dark chocolate, Shiraz red wine, walnuts, leafy greens, extra virgin olive oil, apricots, turmeric, cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic powder, dried dill and cumin seed also deliver a significant dose of the antiinflammatory, blood-vesselfriendly nutrients.

Once you shift to a more plant-based, high-fiber diet, don’t stop there. Adding in more physical activity, along with your improved diet and your medication, could make the difference between prevention of a heart attack or not! You see, exercise makes your heart muscle stronger, so it pumps blood with less effort, and that decreases pressure on your arteries.

The combo works! A study in the Korean Circulation Journal found that following the DASH diet, walking 10,000 steps a day and doing calisthenics regularly for eight weeks lowered participants’ systolic blood pressure by more than 5mm Hg compared to folks who did neither lifestyle upgrade.

Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Medical Officer at the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute. Submit your health questions at www.doctoroz.com.