High blood pressure: Eat more vegetables such as celery and what to avoid to lower reading

High blood pressure – which is also known as hypertension – puts extra stress on blood vessels and vital organs. The condition could lead to some deadly complications, including strokes and heart attacks. It could be caused by eating an unhealthy diet with some vegetables being either an added help or hinder.

Regularly eating celery could help to lower your blood pressure, according to nutritionist Dr Sarah Brewer.

Celery contains potassium, which gives it its antihypertensive effects.

Potassium is used by the body to get rid of any excess sodium. Sodium is one of the worst nutrients for blood pressure.

The vegetable also contains nitrites, which are ideal for high blood pressure patients.

Nitrites work by dilating blood vessels, which reduces the stress on blood passing through blood vessels.

“Celery and celery seed are often overlooked as health-promoting foods but can help to lower a high blood pressure,” Dr Brewer wrote on her website, MyLowerBloodPressure.com.

When it comes to a vegetable you should eat less of, potatoes would be that.

Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard Medical School found those who replaced one serving of boiled, baked, or mashed potatoes with a non-starchy vegetable had a lower risk of hypertension.

Lead study researcher Dr Lea Borgi, a physician at Brigham, said few independent studies have examined the impact of potatoes and this new research could be part of the conversation about what constitutes a healthy diet.

“Potatoes are very nutrient rich for sure, but one should also know they’re very high on the glucose index.”