You’ve come a long way towards lowering your risk for high blood pressure by following a low-salt diet. Great job!
Going forward we’re giving you some healthy eating tips that focus on cholesterol awareness, since high blood pressure is affected by fats, oils and cholesterol in our diet.
Some types of fats (saturated fats) are more likely to raise your cholesterol levels while other types of fat will help to lower it. If there is too much cholesterol in your blood it can build up on the sides of your arteries, narrowing them, and increasing your blood pressure and risk of a heart attack or stroke. Here’s some dietary advice on how you can prevent this:
Cholesterol and saturated fat is usually found in animal products like red meats, pork, butter, ghee and cheese. It’s also found in many baked goods such as pastries, cakes and biscuits and in the plant-based oils coconut oil and palm oil. Avoid such foods.
Limit your intake to 3 eggs per week and 1 cup of dairy per day.
Limit meat intake to 3 out of 7 days in a week.
A diet that is rich in unsaturated fats can help lower the levels of unwanted cholesterol even further. These are found in olive oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, oats, beans, nuts and fish which is rich in healthy Omega-3 essential oils.