Kitchen cures for high blood pressure!

Amazing but true: You can cut your risk of ever having a heart attack or stroke 50% just by keeping your blood pressure in check. And nourishing your body with the right foods can make that a breeze!

1 Whey relaxes arteries!

In a British study, a daily 3-Tbs. serving of whey protein powder lowered blood pressure eight points for 74% of women. The credit goes to tryptophan, an amino acid in whey that relaxes heart arteries. Look for whey protein powders (in flavors like vanilla, chocolate and strawberry) in health-food stores and add it to smoothies, oatmeal and yogurt.

2Tomato sauce flushes out salt!

Including one cup of tomato sauce in your daily diet could lower your blood pressure four points in one month—the same improvement that you’d get from eating a low-salt diet, Pacific Western University researchers say. Tomato sauce is rich in potassium, a mineral that helps your kidneys flush out pressureraising salt. Other potassium- rich picks: acorn squash, sweet and white potatoes with the skins, dried apricots and avocado.

3Yogurt prevents future pressure problems!

Eating one cup of yogurt daily (the kind containing live bacterial cultures) could trim seven points off your blood pressure in three weeks—and cut your risk of future blood pressure troubles 25% or more, research in the International Journal of Molecular Science reveals. Yogurt’s good-foryou bacteria produce a compound that acts like a pressurelowering ACE inhibitor, says study coauthor Min Liong, PH.D.

4Pomegranate tames inflammation!

A daily 1/2 cup of pomegranate seeds (or 2 oz. of the juice) could lower your blood pressure as much as 5% in 30 days, the journal Plant Foods for Human Nutrition reports. Pigments that give pomegranates their pretty red hue also rein in artery-stiffening inflammation throughout your body, says study coauthor Tony Lynn, PH.D.