HOW TO LOWER YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE NATURALLY

Part 6 : Essential fatty acids 

While we looked at fats to avoid when you have high blood pressure in Part 5, there are some fats you probably aren't getting enough of – essential fatty acids (or EFAs)

Essential fatty acids are substances which the body needs but can't make. You have to get them from food. They are necessary because they used to form the fatty structures found in cell membranes in the body including your arterial walls.

If you don't have enough of these fats your body will use the next best fats it can find to incorporate into the cell walls including saturated fats and trans fats. This can effect the elasticity of the artery walls, making them more prone to hardening and furring up (atherosclerosis) and increase blood pressure as a result.

The EFAs you need to get through your diet are

• Linoleic acid – an omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid
• Linolenic acid – an omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid
• Arachidonic acid - an omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid

About 80% of the population lack these essential fats despite eating far too much fat overall.

In fact consuming two much saturated fat can block the effective use of the EFAs you do consume, as can smoking, eating too much sugar, alcohol, stress and lack of other vitamins and minerals.

So how can you ensure you get enough of these EFAs in your diet, keeping up the supply to your arterial walls and helping your blood pressure? 

Sources of Linoleic acid	Sources of Linolenic acid	Sources of Arachidonic acid
sunflower seeds almonds corn sesame seeds pumpkin seeds safflower oil extra virgin olive oil walnuts soya beans linseed oil rapeseed oil flax oil	evening primrose oil starflower (borage) oil blackcurrant seed oil walnuts soya beans linseed oil rapeseed oil flax oil	Seafood Meat Dairy Products Can be manufactured from Linoleic and linolenic acids if available  in sufficient quantities

For natural protection for your arteries and to help your blood pressure make sure that you have ample quantities of these good fats.  It is thought that ideally we should be getting at least 1% of our daily calories from linoleic acid and a fifth of a percent (0.2%) from linolenic acid. 

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