Cucumber
The cucumber is one of the oldest known vegetables. It is a very popular and widely-cultivated vegetable in India. It is a well-balanced food, which has a cooling and refreshing effect. This vegetable contains almost all the essential elements needed for the preservation of health.
Cucumber is a blood pressure lowering food. The use of its juice has been found to be an effective food remedy for high blood pressure. A glass of this juice can be taken twice daily, mixed with two teaspoons of honey and a teaspoon of limejuice. This will act as an effective diuretic in treating this disease.
Fruits and Vegetables
A diet rich in fruits and vegetables can lower blood pressure substantially. It has been observed that vegetarians generally suffer less from high blood pressure then non-vegetarians. According to Frank M. Sacks, M.D., an assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, there are certain substances in fruits and vegetables which have mysterious powers to reduce blood pressure. He considers fiber to be one of such substances, especially in fruits.
A recent Harvard study of nearly 31,000 middle-aged and elderly persons found that those who ate very little fruit were 46 per cent more likely to develop high blood pressure over the next four years than men who ate equivalent fiber in five apples a day. It is believed that fiber in fruits has stronger antihypertensive effect than fiber in vegetables or cereals. Another benefit of fruits and vegetables is those antioxidants contained in them increase amounts of hormone-like substance, prostacyclin, which dilates blood vessels and lowers pressure. Moreover, fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamin C, which has been found beneficial in lowering blood pressure.
Garlic
Garlic is an ancient folk remedy to lower blood pressure. It has been used in China as a blood pressure lowering medication for a very long time and is now widely used in Germany for this purpose. It helps reduce blood pressure and tension because of its power to ease the spasm of the small arteries. Garlic also slows the pulse, modifies the heart rhythm, besides relieving the symptoms of dizziness, numbness, shortness of breath and the formation of gas within the digestive tract. The average dosage should be two to three capsules a day to make a dent in the blood pressure.
In a recent German test of Kwai, doses of garlic preparation equivalent to a couple of garlic cloves daily reduced diastolic blood pressure in patients with mild high blood pressure. The blood pressure in the garlic group came down from an average 171/102 to 152/89 after three months, while the blood pressure of the placebo group remained the same. Interestingly, garlic’s impact increased throughout the test, suggesting that daily infusions of garlic have a cumulative effect. Both raw and cooked garlic can lower blood pressure, although raw garlic is thought to be more powerful.
Indian Gooseberry
As a super food source of vitamin C, Indian gooseberry is a powerful blood pressure lowering food. A tablespoon each of fresh amla juice and honey mixed together should be taken every morning in treating this disease. The use of vitamin C in adequate amount has been found very valuable in lowering blood pressure.
According to researcher Paul F. Jacques, at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Human Nutrition Research Center on Ageing at Tufts University, a low intake of foods rich in vitamin C predicts high blood pressure.
In one study, he found that elderly people who ate vitamin C equivalent to that in a single orange a day were twice as likely to have high blood pressure as those who ate four times that much. Systolic pressure was eleven points higher and diastolic pressure six points higher among the insufficient vitamin C eaters. In another research, Dr. Jacques concluded that low blood levels of vitamin C raised systolic pressure about 16 per cent and diastolic pressure 9 per cent.
“There is something about not eating enough vitamin C that raises blood pressure” says Dr. Jacques. Thus, if a person has high blood pressure, he should eat vitamin C at least the amount contained in an orange a day. Dr. Jacques also believes that other components in fruits and vegetables, besides vitamin C, also help keep blood pressure in check. Foods rich in vitamin C, besides Indian Gooseberry, are Citrus fruit, green leafy vegetables, sprouted Bengal and green grams.