Many people are aware of the circadian rhythm of blood pressure, but in fact, blood pressure also has seasonal variations. Summer is generally a season with lower blood pressure, while autumn and winter typically see higher blood pressure. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the weather gradually cools down. Coupled with the fact that autumn is also a harvest season, it often stimulates a good appetite, and if one is not careful, they may overeat, causing blood pressure fluctuations. Hypertension is a chronic disease. Today, various cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases pose a threat to people's health, and aging and hardening of blood vessels are the main causes of these diseases. To prevent these cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, it is necessary to keep blood vessels young to maintain the unimpeded flow of the body's blood transport system. Many epidemiological surveys and clinical observations have shown that among the many factors causing and affecting high blood pressure, diet and nutrition are very important. That is to say, by improving diet and nutrition, it is indeed possible to prevent the onset of hypertension and help hypertensive patients control their blood pressure.
Eat more fish. Fish meat is rich in methionine, lysine, proline, and taurine, which can improve vascular elasticity and compliance and promote the excretion of sodium salt. Fish oil rich in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids can protect vascular endothelial cells, reduce lipid deposition, and improve fibrinolytic function.
Eat more foods rich in arginine. Foods rich in arginine can nourish the kidneys and replenish essence, help regulate vascular tension, inhibit platelet aggregation, and reduce vascular damage. You can eat more sea cucumber, loach, eel, sesame seeds, Chinese yam, ginkgo, tofu skin, sunflower seeds, etc.
Eat more foods rich in folic acid. A lack of folic acid and vitamins B6 and B12 in the diet can increase the level of homocysteine in the blood, which can easily damage vascular endothelial cells and promote the formation of atherosclerotic plaques. Supplementing folic acid plays an important role in reducing the incidence of coronary heart disease and stroke. Experts recommend that middle-aged and elderly people, especially those with cardiovascular diseases, should consume more foods rich in folic acid, such as red amaranth, spinach, asparagus, beans, yeast, apples, oranges, etc.
Consume more natural anticoagulant and lipid-lowering foods. Consuming such foods can help reduce the risk of myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke. Black fungus, which inhibits platelet aggregation and prevents thrombosis, and foods containing pyrazine substances such as garlic, onions, scallions, crown daisy, shiitake mushrooms, asparagus, strawberries, and pineapple also have certain anticoagulant effects. Tomatoes, grapes, and oranges contain small amounts of salicylic acid anticoagulants similar to aspirin. Lipid-lowering foods include spirulina, parsley, carrots, hawthorn, seaweed, kelp, walnuts, olive oil, sesame oil, etc. Long-term consumption of pickled products can lead to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Pickled vegetables can whet the appetite, enhance it, and supplement dietary fiber, but they also have many health hazards. When fresh vegetables are pickled, their vitamin C content is almost completely destroyed, so the nutritional value of pickled vegetables is much lower than that of fresh vegetables. More seriously, pickled vegetables contain more nitrites, which can form carcinogenic nitrosamines in the human body, causing people to have lingering concerns when eating them.
Compared to pickled vegetables, the nutritional value of fermented bean curd (furu) is much higher. The raw material for fermented bean curd—dried tofu—is a highly nutritious soy product with a protein content of 15%-20%, comparable to that of meat, and it is also rich in calcium. During the fermentation process of fermented bean curd, a large amount of oligopeptides is produced, which has various health-care functions such as anti-aging, cancer prevention, blood lipid reduction, and insulin regulation, which is very beneficial to health. Fermentation also makes protein easier to digest and absorb and increases the vitamin content. During fermentation, microorganisms decompose the phytic acid in beans, making minerals like iron and zinc, which were originally poorly absorbed from soybeans, easier for the human body to absorb.
Although from a nutritional perspective, fermented bean curd has a higher value than pickled vegetables, both belong to high-salt foods and should not be eaten in large quantities or for long periods, otherwise, they may cause cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and osteoporosis. In daily life, it is best to limit the intake to a maximum of 20 grams of pickled vegetables or one piece of fermented bean curd per day. If possible, it is best to choose low-salt foods. Food can control blood pressure to a certain extent, but one should not be overly superstitious about them. For hypertensive patients, it is not feasible to treat the condition solely by improving diet and nutrition. Treatment should be primarily based on medication, with diet as a supplement. Only by combining medication and food can a significant therapeutic effect be achieved.
In addition, when choosing blood pressure-lowering foods, there is no need to eat too much. Some people think that the more they eat, the better the blood pressure-lowering effect. This is not necessarily true. Because consuming too much of a certain food will inevitably affect the intake of other foods, and the human stomach has a relatively fixed capacity. Only a balanced diet can provide reasonable nutrition, which is the most basic requirement for ensuring health.
■ By: Zhu Wenhui