Reduce High Blood Pressure with Yogurt
It's creamy, it's tangy, and it starts your day off right. And it's oh-so-good for your blood pressure. We're talking about low-fat yogurt.
In a recent study, a diet that was rich in low-fat dairy seemed to help curb the risk of high blood pressure by as much as 31 percent.
Do This Kind of Dairy
Dairy foods like yogurt make your blood vessels happy -- but you've gotta go low fat. In the study, low-fat dairy was the only kind associated with a high blood pressure benefit. And don't stop at breakfast. You'll want a little low-fat dairy at every meal. In the study, the maximum blood pressure protection was achieved with 4 1/2 servings of low-fat dairy per day. Confused about serving sizes? Watch this video that makes portion control easy.
Dairy Is Loaded
With all of the blood-pressure-friendly minerals in dairy -- like calcium, magnesium, and potassium -- the study results aren't hard to fathom. And since low-fat dairy is lighter on calories, makes sense that it may be more helpful than full-fat dairy, which packs more waist-widening (and thus blood-pressure-boosting) calories. If you're not a dairy indulger, try these other blood-pressure-lowering tricks and tools:
- Get wise. Know your blood pressure and heart health status with this quiz.
- Get accurate. Discover six ways you can get more precise blood pressure readings.
- Get eating. Use food to help keep blood pressure in check.
- Get walking. Find out how 10 minutes here, 10 minutes there can help your blood pressure.
Unravel the mysteries of high blood pressure by reading this article.
