Despite its deadly consequences, 14.4 million people in the UK suffer from high blood pressure, according to the British Heart Foundation. And of these, 9 million were diagnosed by their GP. If these 9 million people followed the advice of Dr. Sarah, a blood pressure expert who spoke to Express.co.uk on how to improve blood health, that number could be much lower. She revealed four nutrition-related changes.
Wise sunbathing for vitamin D and nitric oxide
The owner of the first advice on mylowerbloodpressure.com was wise sunbathing.
Sunbathing, a shared document, is a powerful source of vitamin D and helps the body release nitric oxide. Both help lower blood pressure.
“After exposing the skin to sunlight for 20 minutes, it produces enough nitric oxide to lower blood pressure for at least an hour,” she explained.
Nitric oxide, known as a vasodilator, is meant to relax the muscles of blood vessels, further opening them and increasing blood flow.
“The heart health benefits of sunlight can outweigh the risk of skin cancer,” the document added.
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The overall effect of vitamin C on improving heart health can be seen worldwide in peer-reviewed studies.
A new study in Norfolk of 19,000 adults aged 45 to 79 years found that higher vitamin C intake was less likely to die from other causes during the four-year study period. I did.
“Researchers have concluded that even a relatively small increase in vitamin C levels can have a measurable effect on the risk of a fatal heart attack, for example, eating oranges a day. It was estimated that the risk of coronary heart disease was reduced by as much as 10%, “Dr. Sarah explained.
Vitamin C is found in Brassicaceae vegetables such as citrus fruits, strawberries, tomatoes, white potatoes, cabbage and broccoli.
Lycopene
Perhaps the least recognized item on the list, lycopene is a carotenoid, a chemical known to produce red pigments in tomatoes.
Contained in papaya, red grapefruit, and watermelon, it thins the arterial wall and reduces the levels of oxidized LDL cholesterol that damage blood vessels. Oxidized LDL cholesterol hardens arteries – a process known as atherosclerosis.
Surprisingly, lycopene is trapped inside the cell and is difficult to retain from tomatoes. However, Doc Sarah explains that cooking tomatoes can release five times as much as when eaten raw.
“Tomato ketchup and concentrated tomato puree are one of the most common dietary sources. Adding olive oil to pizza sauce triples the amount of lycopene that can be absorbed, so lycopene makes some pizzas healthy. It’s an option, “explains the doctor.
