Pineapple Diet for Hypertension

If you suffer from high blood pressure or are trying to prevent it, and want a tasty way to adjust to a more healthful diet, you might want to consider the pineapple diet for hypertension. Medical studies have established that higher amounts of potassium and lower amounts of sodium may help maintain normal blood pressure levels.

What is Hypertension?

To understand how diet can help hypertension, first you have to understand what it is. Commonly known as high blood pressure, hypertension is a common but serious condition. It can lead to:

• coronary heart disease
• heart failure
• kidney failure
• stroke
• other health problems

The reason it is called high blood pressure is because it measures the force or pressure of your blood as it pushes against the walls of your arteries when your heart pumps. If this pressure goes up and stays up, this is high blood pressure and over the course of time it causes damage to your body. Approximately one in three adults in the U.S. have high blood pressure. That's scary enough, but these same people have no symptoms to warn them they have hypertension. It is possible to have high blood pressure for years and not even know it. While this "silent killer" goes undetected, it can cause damage to your:

• Heart
• Blood vessels
• Kidneys
• Other body parts

Benefits of the Pineapple Diet for Hypertension

Diet can make a big impact on your blood pressure. When you take disciplined steps to move toward a healthy diet, in many cases you can manage your high blood pressure. The pineapple diet for hypertension is said to help due to the fact that it contains higher amounts of potassium and lower amounts of sodium. This is important when managing hypertension. One cup of pineapple has only 1 mg of sodium and 195 mg of potassium.

An added benefit to following the pineapple diet is that in most cases, you'll also take off pounds sensibly. The correlation between being overweight and having hypertension is strong, and the pineapple diet helps improve both.

Pineapple Diet Recipes

When following the pineapple diet, eating fresh pineapple is one option, but the following recipes show you how to be creative when including pineapple in your healthy diet.

Broiled Pineapple

This recipe is a tasty way to fight hypertension:

• One large pineapple
• 2 tsp. canola oil
• 2 tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 tsp. lime juice

Remove the pineapple's outer rind and cut the flesh into smaller pieces. Place on a baking sheet and boil until light brown. Blend brown sugar with fresh lime juice and use as a garnish. One serving has 1 mg of sodium and 90 mg of potassium.

Refreshing Ginger Pineapple Spritzer

This thirst-quenching drink is a healthy option for people battling hypertension:

• 1 c. pineapple juice
• 1 tbsp. ginger

Blend pineapple juice and ginger in a mixer until smooth. Pour it into a glass over ice and garnish with a pineapple spear. Contains 15 mg of sodium and 383 mg of potassium per serving.

Other Nutritional Benefits to Eating Pineapple

Pineapple offers other nutritional benefits including:

• vitamin C
• manganese
• vitamin B1 (thiamin)
• copper
• dietary fiber
• vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)

Pineapples are a delicious, juicy tropical fruit that's both sweet and tart, and although the season runs March through June, you can often find them year-round. Fresh, organic pineapple provides the best, but if fresh pineapple isn't available, you can always buy the canned variety in its own juice. Try to avoid pineapple canned in heavy syrup.

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