Healthy chinese soups can qualify as food that lower blood pressure. Why and how?
There are 2 forces that contribute to blood pressure:
- The pressure caused by the heart contracting and pumping blood through the body, known medically as systolic pressure.
- The pressure when the heart is at rest, known medically as diastolic pressure.
High blood pressure can be caused by either abnormality in the systolic or diastrolic pressure. For instance, the elderly commonly exhibit high systolic pressure with normal diastolic pressure. Overweight or obese people, on the other hand, commonly exhibit normal systolic pressure with higher diastrolic pressure.
Why is this important?
Because medical treatments vary depending on the type of high blood pressure.
It is common knowledge that high blood pressure can have many causes. Some are medical but many have to do with the patient's lifestyle. Doctors often advise patients suffering from mild high blood pressure to make certain changes to their lifestyles and diet to see if this can normalize their blood pressure before starting to prescribe medication.
A friend once told me about her mum's experience with high blood pressure. I find it quite amusing so I'm going to share it here.
On a routine check-up, her family doctor measured her mum's blood pressure and found it to be high. He wanted to prescribe medication but the family was cautious and wanted to see if it could be normalized by lifestyle changes. My friend bought her mum a blood pressure monitor because she knows that blood pressure changes all the time and only regular measurements can truly determine if someone suffers from high blood pressure.
The readings taken at home always showed a normal blood pressure. This was conveyed to the doctor. But when the doctor takes the measurement at his clinic, the reading showed high blood pressure.
Fearing that the monitor wasn't accurate, my friend bought another blood pressure monitor. They started measuring blood pressure using both. The result? Normal readings from both.
Perturbed by this, my friend decided to accompany her mum to the clinic during her next visit. The reason for the high blood pressure became immediately apparent to her. Her dad drove them to the clinic and once in the car, her mum started arguing with her dad about the way he drives. By the time they reached the clinic, her mum had calmed down visibly but she had already encountered a stressful situation. Upon questioning the dad, she found out that this happened almost every time he drives her to the clinic. No wonder her blood pressure is high.
High blood pressure is chronic and once someone starts taking high blood pressure medication, they can seldom come off it. So, it is good to make sure the diagnosis is spot on before starting on medication.
The following lifestyle changes will often be highlighted:
- Reduce salt intake
- Avoid foods high in sodium and eat foods high in potassium and calcium
- Do more aerobic exercise
- Cut out alcohol and tobacco
The first 2 has to do with food that lower blood pressure and that is where Chinese soups can play a big role.
Well-simmered soups are very flavoursome and only need a touch of salt to enhance its flavour. Soups are also versatile when it comes to ingredients. Select foods that are low in sodium and high in potassium and calcium. Soups made with lots of vegetables also encourage healthy bowel movement which is said to help regulate blood pressure.
There are of course other types of food that lower blood pressure. Whenever you prepare your own food, you can control the amount of salt added and the ingredients used.
Even patients with more severe high blood pressure can benefit from complementing their medical treatments with food that lower blood pressure.
A word of caution, do not overdo the diet, the key is moderation. Avoid beef soups or soups with stocks made from bones. Go with fish and vegetable soups.
If you are taking blood thinners to treat your high blood pressure, avoid Chinese angelica root 当归 (dang gui), the herb itself and especially herbal supplements that contain it.
I found some soup recipes that are quite suitable for high blood pressure.
Soup with Fish and Wolfberry leaves
Ingredients60g white fish fillet
250g wolfberry leaves
120g celery
3 slices of ginger
Salt, pepper and sesame seed oil
Directions
- Wash the wolfberry leaves, remove the leaves from the stems
- Wash the celery, remove the roots and leaves, cut into small sections
- Rinse the fish fillet and slice thinly
- Season the fish lightly with some salt, sesame seed oil and ginger
- Tie the wolfberry stems into a bunch and place into a stock pot
- Add about 2 litres of water and bring to a boil
- Lower to medium heat and simmer for 20 minutes
- Remove the wolfberry stems and add the celery and wolfberry leaves
- Cook for about 10 minutes, add the fish slices and cook till the fish is just done.
- Season lightly with salt and pepper before serving
Recipe link: Soup with Fish and Wolfberry leaves
Celery Recipes
Celery is considered a great remedy for high blood pressure. Here are a few simple soup recipes using celery.
Celery with red dates
200g celery50g red dates
2 litres of water
- Wash and clean the celery and red dates
- Cut the celery into small sections
- Place all ingredients in a soup pot and simmer for 30 minutes
- Drink the tea as often as possible
Recipe link: Celery with red dates
Celery and apple soup
If you have symptoms such as headaches, flushed cheeks, and is easily excitable, try this recipe.
250g celery2 apples
2 litres of water
- Wash the celery and apples
- Cut the celery into smaller sections
- Place the celery into a pot of water and boil for 2 minutes
- Juice the parboiled celery together with the apples
- Drink a glass of the juice twice a day
Recipe link: Celery and apple soup
Celery congee
This congee is suitable in a diet for high blood pressure and coronary heart disease patients.
250g white rice120g celery
Salt and pepper to taste
10 cups of water
- Wash and cut the celery into bite-sized cubes
- Wash the rice and place in a soup pot together with the celery
- Add the water and bring to a roaring boil
- Lower the heat to a simmer and cook till the congee is of medium consistency
- Add salt and pepper to taste
Recipe link: Celery congee
Other Recipes
Carrot Porridge
Carrot porridge is suitable for people with indigestion issues as well as high blood pressure. Here 2 carrot porridge recipes
Browse the rest of my soup recipes and pick up some other suitable high blood pressure recipes.
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