Instead of focusing on specific foods like beet juice to lower blood pressure, take a broader approach to adjusting your diet.
The best approach to reducing your risk of illness and death from high blood pressure is a solid foundation of healthy, whole foods and a long-term approach to eating better, controlling your weight, and exercising regularly.
Diets for High Blood Pressure: DASH Diet
The DASH diet is a popular diet for people with high blood pressure. DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. The DASH diet is not only low in sodium, but it is also very nutritious.
The focus on whole foods in these diets is very healthy. With its emphasis on fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains, the DASH diet can help people control high blood pressure while also benefiting from gut-healthy fiber, cancer-fighting flavonoids, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.
Research shows that for some people, following DASH can lower the top number (systolic) of blood pressure by eight to 14 points. If your blood pressure is high, such as 130/80, the DASH diet can bring it back to normal.
Foods to Avoid If You Have High Blood Pressure
Foods high in salt and sodium are the most obvious no-no’s, but what other foods should people with high blood pressure stay away from?
- Red meat: The breakdown of saturated fat in red meat during digestion releases chemicals in the body that raise blood pressure.
- Sugary drinks: Sugar, especially in soft drinks, fruit juices, sweetened teas, and energy and sports drinks, contributes to weight gain ― a risk factor for high blood pressure. Sugar itself can make high blood pressure worse: In a 2019 study, female participants with high blood pressure who reduced their sugar intake to 2.3 teaspoons per day were able to lower their blood pressure.
- Alcohol: People with high blood pressure should follow AHA guidelines and limit alcohol to two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women. Alcohol adds empty calories that can lead to weight gain. In addition, drinking alcohol temporarily increases blood pressure, so drinking too much can be dangerous.
- Licorice: Licorice comes from the root and is used as an herb and flavoring agent. It may reduce the effectiveness of blood pressure medications called ACE inhibitors. If you take these medications, talk to your pharmacist, dietitian, or doctor before eating candy or other products that contain licorice.
- Grapefruit: Grapefruit can interact with blood pressure medications called calcium channel blockers and increase the levels of these drugs in your blood. Check your medication information carefully or talk to your pharmacist, dietitian, or doctor to make sure it’s safe for you to eat grapefruit if you’re taking blood pressure medications.
What about caffeine?
You may experience a temporary increase in blood pressure after drinking caffeinated beverages, so it’s best not to combine it with anything else that raises blood pressure, such as exercise. But generally speaking, caffeine is fine in moderation: About 400 mg a day is the limit, and 200 mg if you’re sensitive to its effects. (Eight ounces of coffee contain about 95 mg of caffeine.) To test your sensitivity, take your blood pressure 30 and 60 minutes after drinking coffee and see if there is any difference.
Can Beet Juice Lower Blood Pressure?
You may have heard that beet juice has blood pressure-lowering properties. Is drinking beet juice good for people with high blood pressure?
Beet juice contains natural nitrates that open blood vessels and temporarily dilate them. But to get the real benefit, a person would have to drink large amounts of fresh ― unprocessed ― beet juice.
Additionally, the benefits of the nitrites in beet juice may be offset by the calories: Juices are often high in sugar. Regularly drinking high-calorie drinks can lead to weight gain and hinder a person’s efforts to lower blood pressure.
If you ignore other risk factors, such as salt intake, exercise, weight and alcohol consumption, a glass of beet juice — while good for you — won’t help you avoid high blood pressure by making general lifestyle changes.
