Diet can have a big impact on your blood pressure. Salty and sugary foods, and foods high in saturated fats, can increase blood pressure. Avoiding them can help you get and maintain a healthy blood pressure.
If you have high blood pressure, the American Heart Association recommend eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and whole grains.
At the same time, they recommend avoiding red meat, salt (sodium), and foods and drinks that contain added sugars. These foods can keep your blood pressure elevated.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, affects about 45% of Americans. Hypertension can cause health problems over time, including heart disease and stroke.
This article looks at what foods to avoid or limit if you have high blood pressure, along with ideas for a heart-healthy eating pattern.
Salt, or specifically the sodium in salt, is a major contributor to high blood pressure and heart disease. This is because of how it affects fluid balance in the blood.
Table salt is around 40% sodium. The AHA recommend getting no more than 2,300 milligrams (mg) of sodium — the equivalent of 1 teaspoon of salt — each day.
Most of the sodium in the American diet comes from packaged, processed food rather than what you add at the table. Sodium may be hidden in unexpected places.
The following foods, known as the “salty six,” are major contributors to people’s daily salt intake:
- breads and rolls
- pizza
- sandwiches
- cold cuts and cured meats
- soup
- burritos and tacos
Processed deli and lunch meats are often packed with sodium. That’s because manufacturers cure, season, and preserve these meats with salt.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) database, just two slices of bologna contain 910 mg of sodium. One frankfurter, or hot dog, contains 567 mg .
Adding other high-salt foods, such as bread, cheese, various condiments, and pickles, mean that a sandwich can become loaded with sodium very easily.
The combination of ingredients in frozen pizzas means they’re high in sugar, saturated fat, and sodium. Frozen pizza can have especially high levels of sodium.
Cheese is often high in sodium, with just two slices of American cheese containing 512 mg of sodium. This is generally in combination with a salty or sugary pizza dough and crust, cured meats, and tomato sauce.
To maintain flavor in the pizza once it’s been cooked, manufacturers often add a lot of salt.
One 12 inch pepperoni pizza, cooked from frozen, contains 3,140 mg of sodium, which is well above the daily limit of 2,300 mg.
As a substitute, try making a healthful pizza at home, using homemade dough, low-sodium cheese, and your favorite vegetables as toppings.
Preserving any food requires salt. It stops the food from decaying and keeps it edible for longer.
The longer vegetables sit in canning and preserving liquids, the more sodium they pick up.
One small pickled cucumber contains 447 mg of sodium.
That said, reduced-sodium options are available.
Canned coups are simple and easy to prepare, especially when you’re crunched for time or not feeling well.
However, canned soups are high in sodium. Canned and packaged broths and stocks may contain similar amounts. This means they can elevate your blood pressure.
One can of tomato soup contains 1,110 mg of sodium, while a can of chicken and vegetable soup contains 2,140 mg .
Try choosing low- or reduced-sodium soups instead, or make your own soup at home from fresh ingredients.
Most canned tomato sauces, pasta sauces, and tomato juices are high in sodium. This means that they can cause raise your blood pressure, especially if you already have high blood pressure.
One serving (135 g) of marinara sauce contains 566 mg of sodium. One cup of tomato juice contains 615 mg .
You can find low- or reduced-sodium versions for most tomato products.
To lower your blood pressure, choose these alternatives or use fresh tomatoes, which are rich in an antioxidant called lycopene. Fresh vegetables have many benefits for heart health.
Sugar can increase your blood pressure in several ways.
Research shows that sugar — and especially sugar-sweetened drinks — contributes to weight gain in adults and children. Overweight and obesity predispose people to high blood pressure.
Added sugar may also have a direct effect on increasing blood pressure, according to a 2014 review.
One study in females with high blood pressure reported that decreasing sugar by 2.3 teaspoons could result in an 8.4 mmHg drop in systolic and a 3.7 mmHg drop in diastolic blood pressure.
The AHA recommends the following daily added sugar limits:
- 6 teaspoons, or 25 grams, for females
- 9 teaspoons, or 36 grams, for males
To keep the heart healthy, people should reduce saturated fats and avoid trans fats. This is especially true for people with high blood pressure.
Trans fats are artificial fats that increase packaged foods’ shelf life and stability.
However, they also raise your bad (LDL) cholesterol levels and lower your good (HDL) cholesterol levels, which can increase the risk of hypertension.
Saturated fats also increase the levels of LDL cholesterol in the blood.
Trans fats are especially poor for your health and are linked with poor heart health, including an increased risk of:
- heart disease
- stroke
- type 2 diabetes
Packaged, pre-prepared foods often contain trans fats and saturated fats, alongside high amounts of sugar, sodium, and low-fiber carbohydrates.
Saturated fats are mostly found in animal products, including:
- full-fat milk and cream
- butter
- red meat
- chicken skin
The AHA recommends reducing intake of both saturated and trans fats to help keep the heart healthy.
One way to reduce your saturated fat intake is to replace some animal foods with healthful plant-based alternatives.
Many plant-based foods contain healthful monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Examples of plant-based foods include:
- nuts
- seeds
- olive oil
- avocado
According to some research , full-fat dairy doesn’t raise blood pressure.