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Lifestyle and high blood pressure: The practical stuff
Q. You surely can't expect me to cut out all processed foods to lower my blood pressure?
A. Processed foods may contain a large amount of salt, an ingredient that raises blood pressure. So, cutting out processed foods from your diet may have a significant effect on lowering your blood pressure. For more about the effects of salt and daily salt limits please see the Making lifestyle changes page.
Processed foods are a part of almost everyone's lives and cutting them out completely may not be possible. However there are plenty of positive choices you can make. For example, you could:
- read the labels of the foods you buy and choose the products with the least amount of salt (or sodium)
- cook more meals yourself from fresh or frozen ingredients
- eat fewer fast food meals.
Cutting down on salt will take some effort, but it is well worth it. It may take a few weeks, but your tastebuds will adapt and you'll soon wonder why you needed so much salt in the first place. And, the more low salt products you buy, the more likely it is that food manufacturers will produce more low salt products, giving you even more choice in the future!
