Vegetarian Diet

Dash Diet Could Lower Blood Pressure

Now that you’re ready to explore a vegetarian diet and all the health benefits it provides, the next step is to discover how eating more plant-based foods can lower your blood pressure--amongst other essential wellness attributes. Vegetarian diets are currently all the rage, as most people are seeking alternatives to processed foods and heavily meat-based meals. Plant-based nutrition offers more than meets the eye, or mouth, or belly, as it were.

What Does A Plant-Based Nutrition Plan Look Like?

Trading in your meals that revolve solely around animal foods needs to be a step-by-step process. If you’ve been accustomed to eating high-fat meats and dairy, as well as visiting your local fast food eateries on a regular basis, transitioning to a healthier vegetarian diet requires care and planning. Granted, the overall benefits and eventual wellness results will be twofold, and one important factor is how a vegetarian diet can lower blood pressure.

It’s been known and studied for some time that people who follow a vegetarian diet tend to have lower blood pressure than their meat-eating counterparts. Vegetarians avoid meat and eat mainly plant-based foods like vegetables, fruits, grains, and legumes (beans and peas). Some vegetarian diets do include low-fat dairy products, eggs, and the occasional fish in their diets, however, focusing mainly on plant-based foods is more the norm and contributes to a positive blood pressure outcome.

Plant-based diets often contain more fiber and less fat and therefore fewer calories, which may explain why vegetarians are generally slimmer than meat-eaters. In fact, a healthy weight helps to keep blood pressure in check. Also, fruits and vegetables are low in sodium but rich in potassium, characteristics that help lower blood pressure.

Why A Diet Rich In Plant Foods Is Good For You

Nearly all plant based diets improve blood pressure significantly, compared to a diet composed of animal and dairy fat. A specific type of plant-based diet is called the DASH diet, which is primarily designed to lower blood pressure. Once you make the decision to eat a more balanced vegetarian diet, you’ll notice the biggest improvements in blood pressure are linked to the DASH diet and lacto-ovo vegetarianism, both of which include eggs and dairy. 


This suggests that the benefits of eating a plant-based diet are not necessarily dependent on eliminating all animal products. Instead, they are likely linked to eating more plant-based whole foods, which contain flavonoids and nitrates. These could potentially reduce inflammation, improve blood flow, and benefit the gut microbiome--which are the microorganisms in your digestive system that protects you against germs, breaks down food to release energy, and produces vitamins.

A diet rich in plant foods enhances all aspects of your internal system, and the longer you maintain regularity with your meal plan involving fruits, vegetables, healthy grains, legumes, eggs, and low-fat dairy products, the more you’ll increase proper maintenance of your entire body while decreasing blood pressure. 

What Is DASH Diet?

The DASH diet, which stands for dietary approaches to stop hypertension, was developed in the early 1990s when the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was researching ways to lower blood pressure. Since then, many studies have confirmed that the DASH diet can help lower blood pressure, reducing the risk of hypertension and heart disease in people over time. Today, dietitians claim that the DASH diet is one of the healthiest ways to eat, and it may even help you lose weight, too. 

The Foods You Eat On The DASH Diet

The DASH diet is built around nutrient-rich foods that are low in sodium, like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. For too long people focused just on cutting down on sodium, however it is now known that including more of the other minerals that are in plant-based foods is very helpful and beneficial. You can also take our Berberine HCL Complex supplement to your nutrition plan, in the event that every meal you create or eat isn’t meeting your daily DASH diet requirements. Our HealthImpaq Berberine HCL Complex has been proven to lower cholesterol, weight loss, blood pressure and promote heart disease. 

Berberine

Specifically, you'll want to eat foods that are high in potassium, magnesium, calcium, and fiber. Some examples of DASH-approved foods are oatmeal, leafy greens, potatoes, apples, bananas, oranges, fish, and mixed nuts.

How The DASH Diet Can Lower Blood Pressure

Nutrition has an important impact on your heart health and blood pressure readings. First off, it is clear that consuming less salt has a direct association with lower blood pressure. By following the DASH diet and reducing your sodium intake to 1,150 milligrams per day for 30 days straight, there will be a greater reduction in your systolic blood pressure than those who eat a standard American diet.

Moreover, the higher a person's systolic blood pressure is prior to making a transition to plant-based foods, the greater the improvement seen from following a low-sodium DASH diet. For instance, people whose original systolic blood pressure is greater than 150 mm Hg will experience a decrease of as much as 15.54 mm Hg, whereas people whose original systolic blood pressure is less than 130 mm Hg will have a drop of as much as 2.07 mm Hg.

If you partake in a 16-week structured DASH diet, your systolic blood pressure will be lower for the next eight months. Also, a DASH diet can improve your overall cardiovascular health, and is a good way to understand what healthy meals look like, especially when so many citizens eat on the go and opt for processed foods. 

Supplementation

Making an honorable transition to plant-based eating is not only great for the planet--as this way of eating uses less resources--but your long-term wellness will become more optimal. In the event that creating meals around vegetarian foods is not always available due to busyness or a continuance of learning, supplementation might be the next step. As Vitamin B12 is a water-soluble vitamin involved in the metabolism of every cell of the human body, it is vital to include this in your daily meals.

Since the supplement market is flooded with a variety of choices, your best bet is to include HealthImpaq™ Premium Liquid Vitamin B12 1200mg.

vitamin b12
B12 is a vitamin that is found in meat and dairy and is required for the development and functioning of many body tissues and systems. Once you’re on a vegetarian diet to lower your blood pressure, a deficiency of B12 can lead to many problems such as memory loss and fatigue. This Premium Liquid Vitamin B12 offers a convenient way to increase your intake of an essential vitamin that plays a key role in many areas, including the nervous system. 

Another supplement worth your while is HealthImpaq™ Pure Moringa Oleifera Leaf Extract 800mg.  


For the vegetarian, this natural supplement contains chock full of plant-based proteins, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to help protect cells from damage. Harvested from the leaves of the Moringa Oleifera tree, this leaf extract aids in working with the body to lubricate the joints and ease discomfort. The Moringa Oleifera supplement has also been used to aid the body in fighting foreign invaders and also assists the body in achieving a good night's rest.

In Summary

Educating yourself about a vegetarian diet is one way to begin a new lifestyle, and throughout the process, lowering your blood pressure and increasing your overall well-being is a significant start to a whole new you. Adhering to the DASH diet, taking proper supplements, and engaging in well-planned meals and exercise will give your body the means to be healthier and stronger. Go for it!

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