High blood pressure: Doctor explains benefits of hibiscus tea

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High blood pressure is a very common condition that affects more than 30 percent of all adults in the UK. If you have high blood pressure – which is also known as hypertension – you should consider making a few changes to your daily diet to avoid dangerous blood pressure spikes.

The condition can be difficult to spot, as it doesn’t necessarily cause any noticeable symptoms.

But it’s still vital that everyone regularly checks their blood pressure, as it raises the risk of some deadly complications.

High blood pressure increases the chances of developing a life-threatening heart attack or stroke.

You could easily lower your risk of high blood pressure by simply eating more yoghurt, it’s been claimed.

Yoghurt is an excellent source of calcium, potassium and magnesium – all of which contribute to a lower blood pressure.

It also contains probiotic bacteria, which are also known as healthy gut bacteria.

These probiotics help to slow the production of enzymes linked to arterial constriction.

Probiotic supplements work in a similar way, if you’d rather not eat too much yoghurt.

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“Eating yogurt at least five times a week can lower the risk of developing high blood pressure by almost a quarter,” said nutritionist Dr Sarah Brewer.

She wrote on her website, MyLowerBloodPressure.com: “Results show that women who ate five or more servings of yogurt per week were between 17 percent and 23 percent less likely to develop high blood pressure than those who ate yogurt less than once a month.

“The most likely explanation is that yogurt is a great source of calcium, magnesium and potassium, all of which have beneficial blood-pressure lowering effects.

“Unfortunately no information was available from food frequency questionnaires to differentiate between different types of yoghurt, such as fruit or plain, bio or non-bio, Greek-style, full fat, or low-fat.”

For an even greater effect, try combining your yoghurt with banana.

Bananas are an ideal snack for hypertension patients as they’re a great source of potassium, according to Blood Pressure UK.

Potassium helps to regulate the amount of fluids in your body.

If there’s too much water in the body, the extra fluid in the blood puts extra pressure on the blood vessel walls.

You should combine a healthy, balanced diet with medication, as prescribed by your GP.

Regular exercise is also a vital defence against hypertension.

Everyone should aim to do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity every week.

Speak to a doctor if you’re worried about your blood pressure, or if you think you might be at risk of hypertension.

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