Two Scientifically Proven Foods That Can Lower Blood Pressure Naturally

In 2008, more than 59 million Americans were estimated to have high blood pressure. The good news is that it is easy to lower blood pressure with food. The best diets to lower blood pressure have potassium rich foods that will safely and naturally reduce your high blood pressure. There are many foods that lower blood pressure naturally, but the two least known are potatoes and dark chocolate.

Americans tend to eat their potatoes baked with a side of sour cream, butter, or margarine or as french fries dipped in ketchup or mayonnaise. Preparing and consuming the potatoes in this manner leads to weight gain and related health problems. This is because the high temperature of the oil destroys the healthful substances and leaves only starch and fat. However, the potato is a very healthful food when cooked, without oil, in a microwave.

A small potato, the size of a golf ball, has about 110 calories and healthful phytochemicals and vitamins. Microwaving in an oven without oil seems to preserve nutrients. Researchers have recently discovered that a couple of servings a day of potatoes will significantly lower high blood pressure without causing weight gain.

Scientists served 6-8 purple potatoes with skin, twice a day for a month, to 18 obese patients with high blood pressure. Purple potatoes were used in this small sample study because colored fruits and vegetables are recognized to be high in phytochemicals. The researchers tracked the high and low blood pressure of the patients and recorded the results. The average drop in high blood pressure was 3.5 percent whereas the lower blood pressure reading dropped by 4.3 percent.

While the experiment used purple potatoes; the head researcher, Dr. Joe Vinson with the University of Scranton believes that white or red potatoes can have the same benefits.

The benefits of dark chocolate in lowering blood pressure have been studied more extensively. Dr. Karin Ried from the University of Adelaide combined the results of 15 studies to review the effects of flavanols, the compounds in dark chocolate, on blood pressure. Her team concluded that a modest consumption of dark chocolate can significantly reduce high blood pressure. The reduction in high blood pressure from the modest consumption of dark chocolate is the equivalent of 30 minutes of daily exercise. Theoretically, mortality risk from high blood pressure and heart attack can be reduced by 20 percent over a five year period.

[Alot of dark chocolates have significant sugar content that defeats the purpose of consuming chocolate to reduce high blood pressure.  There is, however, one way to determine the best dark chocolate of all that will provide you with an adequate amount of flavanols.]

Given the results of the above studies, dark chocolate and potatoes can be added to the list of foods which lower blood pressure. While neither, by itself, is the best food to lower blood pressure; it can be combined with potassium rich fruits and vegetables like papaya, strawberries, guava, broccoli, kidney beans, garlic, spinach, and carrots to substantially lower high blood pressure without resorting to medication. There are also scientifically proven natural therapies that can significantly lower high blood pressure.