HOW TO LOWER YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE NATURALLY

Part 9 : Eat more fibre

Fibre (or fiber (US spelling) ) is a form of carbohydrate which composes the cell walls of plant foods. It is not digested by the body.

There are two types of fibre, insoluble and soluble.

Insoluble fibre is required to help the passage of food through the digestive system, in particular the bowel and prevents constipation. By keeping things moving smoothly insoluble fibre prevents a number of bowel problems including bowel cancer. Good sources of insoluble fibre are breakfast cereals, whole grain bread, nuts, brown rice, bran products and vegetables.

Soluble fibre comes in the form of gums and pectins. Gums are found in good amounts in oat products and also in beans, lentils and peas. Good sources of pectins are available in apples, citrus fruits, bananas  and some vegetables.  Soluble fibre has a modest lowering effect on LDL-cholesterol (the harmful type)

Fibre helps fill you up without adding calories (as it remains undigested) so it has a role to play in helping you reduce weight. And we have seen how important weight loss may be from the point of view of lowering your blood pressure.

And eating more fibre  has been shown to help people keep their blood pressure under control in a number of studies.

Researchers at the Tulane University School of Medicine, who looked at the results of 25 separate studies on the effects of dietary fibre on blood pressure, discovered that a high-fibre diet was associated with a significant reduction in blood pressure levels among people with high blood pressure or hypertension. The studies involved  a range of levels of fibre intake from 3.8 grams per day to 125 grams per day using items such as fruit, cereal, fibre pills, and vegetables.

The overall results showed that, in studies lasting at least 8 weeks, adding fibre to the diet was associated with a significant reduction in both systolic (the top number in a blood pressure reading) and diastolic (the bottom number) blood pressure in people with high blood pressure. The reduction  in blood pressure experienced was an average of 3.12 mmHg systolic and 2.57 mmHg diastolic with a small drop in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings was also seen in people without high blood pressure.

The recommended intake of fibre in the UK is 18 grams (with average consumption being a half to two-thirds of that amount), while the US advises we need 25 grams.

If you want to eat more fibre increase your consumption gradually to avoid upsetting your digestive system with bloating, wind and cramp. You could increase by just a few grams each week. 

Also avoid increasing your consumption of fibre by adding bran to food or using bran breakfast cereals. Bran contains phytates which bind with certain vital nutrients. The nutrients then get expelled from the body along with the fibre.

Instead

• Eat plenty of fruit and vegatables (They may be cooked or raw)
• Use whole grain bread, pasta  and rice in place of white processed varieties
• Use pulses in salads and cooking
• Eat more nuts and seeds (though watch out for the high calorie count)
• Choose wholegrain cereals, muesli or oatmeal for breakfast.

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