Your blood pressure has a daily pattern: it’s usually the lowest at night during sleep and it starts rising a few hours before you wake up. Your blood pressure normally reaches its peak in the afternoon before it starts dropping down again. So a heart healthy breakfast is the perfect opportunity to slow down the elevation of your blood pressure from the start. Here are our favorite foods that are known to lower blood blood pressure naturally.
To learn more about your blood pressure, check our guide ‘‘Blood pressure: What is normal blood pressure?”
Cinnamon
Results of a study done by the Journal of the American College of Nutrition showed cinnamon helped reduce blood pressure in diabetes patients, and lowered systolic blood pressure in non-diabetic participants. It tastes heavenly with pancakes or french toast and goes well with bananas, another potassium-rich food that has been proven to stabilize blood pressure.
Yogurt
Research by the American Heart Association found that women who ate five or more servings of yogurt a week had lower risk of developing hypertension compared to a similar group of women who ate hardly any yogurt at all. Add dark chocolate (with at least 70% cocoa content), another power-fighter against hypertension. Who said healthy eating has to be boring?
Spinach
If you like omelettes for your breakfast, make sure you add spinach for a heart healthy boost. Green leafy vegetables such as spinach are packed with heart healthy nutrients such as magnesium, folate and potassium – all powerful fighters against high blood pressure.
Whole grain breads
If you’re worried maintaining lowered blood pressure might mean giving up bread, you will be thrilled to know that whole grain breads made out of whole wheat, whole rye or whole multigrain have shown to have a blood pressure lowering effect if eaten regularly. If you make your own bread, add sunflowers seeds as those are rich in magnesium and lower blood pressure as well.
Beans
Are you fan of a hearty breakfast? Make sure beans are part of it. Beans are full of magnesium, potassium and fiber – all essential nutrients for a healthy heart.
Keeping QardioArm portable blood pressure monitor by your side is a great way to help lower your blood pressure. You can track your blood pressure from the comfort of your own home, check your daily progress anytime and anywhere, send reports to your doctor and even set up reminders with the free Qardio App so you never forget a measurement.
Sources:
American Heart Association
