High Blood Pressure/Hypertension

Blood pressure is the pressure of blood leaving the heart and entering the arteries, and High Blood Pressure a.k.a Hypertension affects millions of people every year. For most people, heavy salt intake is the culprit. Too much salt in our diets causes for an osmotic situation that is never beneficial for the lining of the arteries. Tearing, due to the pressure, can result in a stroke. This causes for a loss of blood to the brain, and the damage from this event can be permanent. Stroke is also just the beginning of serious ailments that high blood pressure can cause.

An aspect of high blood pressure that is often overlooked though is potassium intake. Potassium is a mineral that aids the kidneys in ridding the body of sodium. In doing so, blood pressure lowers due to less salt in the system. Some studies even show that a potassium rich diet can lower the risk of stroke by a whopping 38%. That being said, supplements are not encouraged as they can cause kidney damage.

So here is a list of potassium rich foods, Dearies!

Potassium Rich Foods:

Baked Potatoes

Bananas

Fresh Squeezed O.J./Oranges

Zucchini/Squash

Raisins

Molasses

Spinach

Edamame

Garbanzos

Cantaloupe

etc....

To make this post a bit more personal. My Cauldron Boy visited the doctor about 5 years ago at the ripe old age of 26 years old. The nurse took his blood pressure as usual, and gasped at Cauldron Boy's pressure saying in her sweet, broken English 'I can't believe you come to doctor for eyes when blood pressure like dat!' She quickly laid him down and ran to get the doctor who said Cauldron Boy's pressure was that of a 45 year old man that just suffered a heart attack. Action was in order, Dearies!

So Cauldron Boy eats the foods listed above daily nowadays and his blood pressure is back in check. Here is a raw zucchini salad I make for him regularly that is very rich in potassium. I must also mention that posting this was inspired by Ms. Pacheco Patty. If I hadn't seen her simple, pretty beet salad looking so good, I might have overlooked even posting a salad or doing a post on high blood pressure. So thanks, Patty!

Easy Raw Zucchini Salad

1 1/2 Cups Grated Zucchini

1 Large Garlic Clove-minced

1 1/2 Tbsp. Red Wine Vinegar

1/2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

Pinch or Two of Sea Salt

Black Pepper

Toss all ingredients together. Lay the zucchini mix over your favorite organic green with whatever other vegetables you like. Then drizzle the rest of your salad with a bit of oil and vinegar too. Enjoy!

Another high potassium dish I recently made for my Cauldron Boy was from the lovely Gloria's Blog, Canela Kitchen Recipes. It is called a 'Papa Rellena'-a baked one at that. Gloria filled hers with meat and vegetable, but I just opted for garlicky spinach-yum! This tasted like a glorified Knish. I only changed the potato outside a bit by using Jilly's Flax Egg, which is an awesome egg alternative for vegans and carnivores alike.

Gloria's original Papa Rellena recipe is here

Other ways to lower blood pressure besides drastically lowering salt and upping potassium are by lowering your consumption of caffeine, alcohol, & cholesterol rich foods. De-stressing can help too, Dearies!