High blood pressure symptoms - High blood pressure treatment
OK
Can anyone help me out to understand this better?
I know that countries like Spain and Greece seem to have less health problems and I’ve read that it’s due to the mediterranean diet. I also heard from my doctor that the good bits are the red wine and the olive oil. And also not too much salt in the food.
Is this true?
I would like to use more olive oil but surely having fried food is not what we are supposed to be doing?
Am I missing the point about the connection between olive oil and high blood pressure? Should I just take some from a spoon every day?
Is it fish oil or olive oil thats supposed to be the most helpful.
Please help - I’m getting very confused about all of this stuff
Thanks … Jess x
Welcome to The Pressure Point.
My name is Doctor Gordon Cameron and I'm a doctor based in Edinburgh, Scotland. I specialize in blood pressure treatment for two reasons:
Firstly - I see many thousands of people with the condition each year and I understand the problems that high blood pressure and its treatment can cause.
Secondly, I suffer from raised BP myself and take treatment every day so I really do understand the problems from both sides of the equation. I've taken pretty much every medication on the market at one time or other, and have used or tried most of the natural remedies and cures.
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David O'Hara
May 12th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
I don’t blame you for getting confused because it really is confusing! The much celebrated Mediterranean diet is not really what many people think it is. I’ve lived in Southern Spain off and on for nearly 40 years. I’ve also travelled extensively throughout the Med region.
The fact is that these people eat very large amounts of fried food. Almost everything they eat is fried. They also use huge amounts of salt.
And they consume huge amounts of white bread… with every meal in fact.
It’s also a myth that they eat lots of fruit and vegetables. Traditionally, many of these regions have very little local fruit and veg. Now you can get everything imported in the stores but it’s very expensive. The average shopping cart has little of it.
On the positive side, they do consume lots of olive oil, fresh fish and red wine (although many people prefer beer now). Overall they eat a much more natural diet. They don’t have many fruits and veg but what they have is hearty, fresh and local. They also eat a lot of nuts and dried fruits. Supermarkets here still have very little processed food.
They also, at least traditionally, have a lot less stress, more sunshine and strong communities. All this adds up to healthy hearts, even with the fried food and salt.
Sadly, this is changing. Mediterranean diets are changing, life is getting more stressful and the people are getting a lot more high blood pressure and heart disease. So there’s no Shan-gri-lah.
As for olive oil, I always think it’s better to consume things in a natural way. That means use it in cooking and other foods. Cooking can damage a lot of its properties so use it fresh in salads and things like that.
But I think it’s folly to try and mimic other people’s lifestyle. Better to eat and drink what’s local and keeping a balance.
motselisi kaeane
December 3rd, 2009 at 2:00 pm
can you give me the list of fruits and proteins that can assist in lowering blood pressure.