Chocolate and other foods to cut blood pressure

TODAYShow.com contributor ^ | Nov. 15, 2007 | By Joy Bauer

[restornu]

A healthy diet is key when it comes to lowering your blood pressure

Optimal blood pressure is at or below 120/80 mm Hg.

If you’ve been diagnosed with high blood pressure, your doctor has probably already told you the basics. You can control blood pressure by getting to and maintaining a healthy weight; reducing your “bad” cholesterol (LDL) if it’s high; limiting the salt in your diet; exercising; and adding calcium, vitamin D, magnesium and potassium to your diet.

The following eight foods are among the best of the best when it comes to lowering your blood pressure.

Skim milk: Skim milk provides calcium and vitamin D, Spinach, unsalted sunflower seeds, beans (black, white, navy, lima, pinto, kidney) Baked white potato, banana, soybeans Dark chocolate

[Jaysun]

This is crap. The best way to lower your blood pressure is to let out some of your blood.

[Mikey_1962]

I tried blood letting at the local barber, I died.

Now if beer could lower blood pressure...........

[#1CTYankee]

"This is crap. The best way to lower your blood pressure is to let out some of your blood."

Ha! leaches, they were right!

Although I don't look forward to having a Democrat sucking on my arm.

[restornu]

This is crap. The best way to lower your blood pressure is to let out some of your blood.

***
LOL

Do you work for America’s Blood Centers
http://www.americasblood.org/go.cfm

[Catholic Canadian]

Hmm. Beans eh? I could go for some chili, any Texans, please post your recipes.

[GregoryFul]

CoQ10, Garlic and Ginko Biloba.

[metmom]

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin and fat is necessary for Vitamin D absorption. Skim milk doesn’t provide the necessary fat for proper Vitamin D absorption.

[metmom]

You’ll need the FReeper food threads for that one.

[restornu]

I was puzzle by the skim milk remark too, I can’t stand skim milk.

[metmom]

The warnings about excess potassium from suppliments are almost laughable. Most potassium suppliments I’ve seen are only 99 mg of potassium.

This link takes you to a chart that gives the potassium values for many foods and they are way more that the suppliments. Scroll down a bit to get to the chart.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=90

[restornu]

The big deal here is Chocolate but only Pure Coco contains

Resveratrol is a supplement found mostly in grape skins, and in turn, found in red wine. It is used to treat heart disease and cancer. ...

Even relatively low doses of resveratrol—a chemical found in the skins of red grapes and in red wine—can improve the sensitivity of mice to the hormone insulin, according to a new report. As insulin resistance is often characterized as the most critical factor contributing to the development of type 2 diabetes, the findings “provide a potential new therapeutic approach for preventing or treating” both conditions, the researchers said.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071002131152.htm

More
Since human studies are minimal, we do not know the full range of resveratrol side effects or benefits at this time. No resveratrol side effects have ...
http://www.raysahelian.com/resveratrol.html

I had some a while back in Coco Pure a Chocolate Tea

[texgal]

There are no beans in true Texas chili.

[DanRMorris]

Actually there is a side effect from resveratrol consumption and that is the thinning of the blood. As you can see on this resveratrol side effects page, it is a natural blood thinner. The only time that should be of concern is if you're going into surgery. Otherwise, it's blood thinning properties aid inflammation, and the strengthening of vein and artery walls. Also, resveratrol is found in peanuts, grapes, cranberries, blueberries, cocoa and wine.