Having high blood pressure puts you at significant risk of heart attacks and strokes among other health complications
Three breakfast foods could help slash your risk of a “silent killer” condition affecting millions of Brits. In the UK it is thought around one in four people are living with high blood pressure, which is also known as hypertension.
It can lead to potentially deadly medical emergencies such as heart attacks and stroke, but it rarely displays symptoms, making it particularly dangerous. Therefore, many people are living with the condition without even realising.
One of the biggest causes of high blood pressure is diet, with foods high in salt among the worst culprits. But while some foods can raise your blood pressure, others can have the opposite effect.
According to research there are three foods typically consumed at breakfast that can do just this: oats, avocados and berries.
Oats
Oats are rich in a type of fibre called beta-glucan, which is known to improve blood pressure levels. A study, published in the Journal of Food Biochemistry in 2020, found that beta-glucan was partly responsible for reducing malondialdehyde, a marker of oxidative stress in rats with high blood pressure.
Medical News Today reported: “These results suggest that ingredients present in oats can help prevent high blood pressure and protect heart health in other ways. However, further research on human subjects is necessary.”
Avocados
A popular breakfast food in recent years, avocados are full of healthy monounsaturated oils, essential fatty acids, cholesterol-lowering plant sterols and vitamin E that all help lower blood pressure. A 2022 study, published in the British Journal of Nutrition, found that eating five or more servings of avocado a week resulted in a 17 percent reduction in blood pressure.
Blueberries
These tasty berries which go nicely on top of overnight oats or yoghurt are packed with anthocyanins, phytochemicals that give them their blue colour. These improve the function of endothelial cells in the body, which help with blood flow and blood pressure regulation.
A study, published in the Journal of Gerontology, has found that eating 200g of blueberries every day for a month led to an improvement in blood vessel function and a decrease in systolic blood pressure in healthy people. And a review published in Nutrients journal in 2019 linked higher anthocyanin consumption to reduced blood pressure.
According to the British Heart Foundation, normal blood pressure is usually considered to be between 90/60 mmHg and 120/80 mmHg. For over-80s, because it’s normal for arteries to get stiffer as we get older, the ideal blood pressure is under 150/90 mmHg (or 145/85 mmHg at home).
To lower your blood pressure, the NHS recommends you:
- Have a healthy, balanced diet
- Exercise regularly – aim to do at least 150 minutes of exercise a week
- Lose weight if you’re overweight
- Do not eat too much salt – avoid salty food or adding salt to your meals
- Do not drink too much alcohol – avoid drinking more than 14 alcohol units a week on a regular basis
- Do not drink too much caffeine – drinks high in caffeine include coffee, tea and cola
- Do not smoke
If you are concerned about your blood pressure you should speak to your GP.
