Blood Pressure Aid

When your blood pressure (BP) creeps up, help knock it down with this simple change in diet.

Get 20 percent of your daily calories from whole-grain, high-fiber foods instead of refined "white" carbs. It could drop your systolic BP 4 to 8 points and your diastolic BP another 6 to 8 points. Start with these fiber-rich recipes below.

Double Trouble
High blood pressure and high cholesterol are double trouble. Both put you at risk for cardiovascular disease, and they frequently occur together. If you have borderline high cholesterol (200-239 mg/dL) and prehypertension (120-139/80-89 mm Hg), it's time to take action.

Here's How Fiber Helps
Both soluble and insoluble fiber (what are those, you say?) were shown to lower blood pressure in middle-aged people with the unfortunate combo of borderline high cholesterol and prehypertension. Soluble fiber does double duty by lowering cholesterol, too.

Help yourself to both kinds of fiber with these tasty recipes from EatingWell.com.

Recipe Corner

• Southwestern Corn and Black Bean Salad (13 grams of fiber per serving)
• Butternut and Barley Pilaf (8 grams of fiber per serving)
• White Beans, Spinach, and Tomatoes Over Parmesan Toasts (15 grams of fiber per serving)
• Trio of Peas (5 grams of fiber per serving)

Whole-grain diets reduce blood pressure in mildly hypercholesterolemic men and women. Behall, K. M., Scholfield, D. J., Hallfrisch, J., Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2006 Sep;106(9):1445-1449.