What can I eat to lower my blood pressure?

• Too much salt in your diet makes your body hold on to more water, which raises your blood pressure and puts strain on your heart and kidneys.
• A diet high in harmful fats can play a role in developing heart disease or raising blood pressure.
• Sure, it matters what you eat -- but too much food of any kind can cause you to gain weight, which can also lead to higher blood pressure.

• Do: Potassium. In your body, too much sodium raises your blood pressure, but potassium balances out the extra salt. Where can you get  potassium? Plain baked potatoes, for starters. Also try bananas, avocados, dried apricots, plain yogurt, raw spinach and cooked white beans.
• Don't: Sodium. Salt shows up where you don't expect it. Nearly half of the sodium we consume comes from 10 food categories: bread and rolls, cold cuts/cured meats, pizza, poultry, soups, sandwiches, cheese, pasta mixed dishes, meat mixed dishes and savory snacks.
• Don't: Harmful fats. Full flavor without all the fat is possible. Saturated and trans fats are two types of dangerous fats found in many commercial baked goods (think cookies and crackers) and animal products (red meat and dairy products like whole milk, cheese, sour cream, butter and ice cream).

• Sodium: 1,500 milligrams (mg) daily for those with high blood pressure (2,300 mg for others)
• Potassium: 4,700 mg a day of potassium
• Saturated fats: less than 10% of your daily calories
• Trans fats: as low as possible

If you have high blood pressure, you should limit sodium intake to less than 1,500 mg per day. To achieve this goal you’ll have to cut way back on packaged foods and most restaurant meals. But lowering blood pressure with diet goes way beyond just limiting the sodium you eat. In fact, there are several foods you can add to your diet that help lower blood pressure. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Sweet potatoes, lima beans, spinach and oranges and bananas are especially high in potassium, which naturally lowers blood pressure.

These recommendations and more are part of the Dietary Approaches to Stopping Hypertension (DASH) diet which has been shown to lower blood pressure. It emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy foods.