Hypertension

Wise food choices
Here are some guidelines on foods to avoid as well as wise choices to make regarding cretain foods.

Menu plan for the DASH diet
The following menu plan has been sourced from the National Institutes of Health in the USA. DASH stands for "Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension".

Go green for healthy blood pressure
As fruit and vegetables contain the right combination of sodium and potassium, they're the ideal food for keeping your blood pressure at a healthy level.

Hypertension and fasting
Recent research has been focusing on ways of lowering blood pressure by dietary interventions. Take a look at an approach using fasting as a therapy to lower blood pressure.

Using the Dash diet in South Africa
The Dash Diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), which was developed in the USA has been used successfully all over the world and South Africa is no exception.

Are you eating too much salt?
Did you know that high blood pressure affects as many as 25% of adult South Africans, with black Africans appearing to be more susceptible than other groups?

What’s the DASH diet all about?
Developed in the US, DASH is the acronym for Dietary Approaches to stop Hypertension, and has proved so healthy that it’s been recommended for everyone.

Must I really stop smoking if I have hypertension?
Put it this way: in the USA, the number of deaths caused by smoking is the equivalent of a fully loaded 747 crashing and killing everyone on board each day.

Hypertension and diet
Diet plays an important role in preventing and treating hypertension. Read more about what to do.

Fatty acids lower blood pressure
A recent review of new research in the field of hypertension (high blood pressure) provides insight into the role that essential fatty acids may play in controlling this disease.

The truth about salt
Can't live without salt? Prof Jacques Snyman from Resolution Health Medical Scheme sheds some light on the truth about salt and the link to diseases such as hypertension.

Shake your salt habit
If the Minister of Health achieves his next dietary reform of reducing South Africa's salt intake by legislation, he will be striking a blow for good health, says DietDoc.