High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a common health problem that can lead to serious issues like heart disease and stroke.
One of the most important ways to manage high blood pressure is through your diet—especially the types of fat you eat.
Some fats are harmful and can make your blood pressure worse. One of the worst types is trans fats. These are artificial fats made during food processing to help products last longer and taste better. You can find them in foods like cookies, crackers, margarine, and fried fast food.
Trans fats raise the bad cholesterol (LDL) in your blood and lower the good cholesterol (HDL). This can clog your arteries and raise your blood pressure.
A major study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that avoiding trans fats can lower your risk of heart disease and help with blood pressure. To avoid them, check food labels and stay away from anything that lists “partially hydrogenated oils.”
Another type of fat to limit is saturated fat. These fats are mostly found in animal products like butter, cheese, full-fat milk, and fatty meats. Coconut oil and palm oil also have a lot of saturated fat. Eating too much of this fat can raise your bad cholesterol and increase blood pressure.
The American Heart Association says people with high blood pressure should get less than 6% of their daily calories from saturated fat. If you eat 2,000 calories a day, that means no more than 13 grams of saturated fat. Research in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology shows that cutting down on saturated fat can help reduce blood pressure.
So what kinds of fats are good for you? Unsaturated fats are the healthy ones. They can lower bad cholesterol and help improve blood pressure. These fats are found in olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocados, and fatty fish like salmon.
A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that replacing bad fats with good unsaturated fats helped lower blood pressure.
Another kind of fat to pay attention to is omega-6 fatty acids. These fats are important for your health, but having too much—especially without enough omega-3s—can lead to problems. Omega-6 fats are found in oils like corn, soybean, and sunflower oil, which are used in many packaged and fried foods.
If your diet has too many omega-6 fats and not enough omega-3 fats (found in foods like fish, walnuts, and flaxseeds), it can cause inflammation in the body and raise blood pressure. A study in the Journal of Hypertension found that keeping a healthy balance between omega-6 and omega-3 fats can help manage blood pressure.
To improve your overall diet, consider the DASH diet, which stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. This plan focuses on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and low-fat dairy. It also limits sodium, trans fats, and saturated fats. Studies show that the DASH diet can lower both the top and bottom numbers of your blood pressure reading.
In short, avoiding trans fats and cutting back on saturated fats can help you manage high blood pressure. Instead, choose healthier fats like those in olive oil, nuts, and fish. Also, try to balance omega-6 fats with omega-3s. Following a heart-friendly diet like the DASH diet can support better blood pressure and overall health.
If you care about nutrition, please read studies about the harm of vitamin D deficiency you need to know, and does eating potatoes increase your blood pressure?
For more information about health, please see recent studies about unhealthy habits that may increase high blood pressure risk, and results showing MIND diet may reduce risk of vision loss disease.
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