Blood Pressure Lowering Medicine Chest: Your Local Farmer’s Market!
Blood Pressure Lowering Medicine Chest: Your Local Farmer’s Market!
By Janet Brill, Ph.D., R.D., LDN
NABBW’s Healthy Heart Lifestyle Expert
Spring is in the air, the flowers are blooming, the birds are chirping, and the grass is getting green, green, green… all signs that summer is right around the corner.
The warm weather is also a signal that the cornucopia of locally grown fruits and vegetables is also just around the corner at the nearest farmer’s market.
Why favor farmers\’ markets over the grocery store?
There are several main reasons:
- The food is fresher (healthier)
- The food is seasonal
- The food is locally grown (you support local farmers) and
- You get a better variety of foods
Make sure you frequent your local farmer’s market often, the ultimate health food store!
Farmers\’ markets are also a veritable drugstore for blood pressure lowering superfoods.
When shopping for these superfoods, here are the three blood pressure lowering mineral superstars you need to keep in mind:
Potassium
Magnesium, and
Calcium
How do you choose the food highest in these minerals? Simple—I have included my “Mining for Minerals Charts” from my new book, Blood Pressure Down: The 10-Step Plan to Lower Your Blood Pressure in 4 Weeks–Without Prescription Drugs.
Cut them out and carry them to the Farmer’s Market and when you see these foods, buy them, eat them and watch your blood pressure drop!
Mining for Minerals:
See it, Eat it Pocket Charts#
POTASSIUM!
Super-High* Very High**
|
Cantaloupe Casaba melon Honeydew melon Artichokes Avocado Beet greens Cooked spinach Swiss chard White beans Low sodium V8 Prunes |
Apricots Bananas Dried fruits Prunes Brussels sprouts Pumpkin Cooked mushrooms Chocolate (dark) Squash Potatoes Kiwi Pumpkin |
*Each food contains over 400 mg potassium per ½ cup serving
** Each food contains over 250 mg potassium per ½ cup serving
MAGNESIUM!
Super-High* Very High**
|
Cooked spinach White beans Corn Swiss chard Purslane Dry-roasted, unsalted almonds Halibut Quinoa Brown rice
|
Brewed espresso Clams Brewed coffee Prickly pear cactus Peanut butter (low sodium) Avocado Fat free yogurt Kidney and pinto beans Peas Dry roasted, unsalted peanuts Potato, baked, with skin |
*Each food contains ~100 mg magnesium per typical
serving size.
CALCIUM!
Super-High* Very High**
|
Nonfat plain Yogurt Soy milk, Fortified Fat free milk Collard greens Cheeses: –Low sodium Parmesan cheese, Swiss cheese and Light Mozzarella (low sodium) Low sodium/fat cottage cheese Part skim ricotta cheese (1/2 cup) |
Tofu
Canned salmon
Edamame
Bok Choy
Blackstrap molasses |
*Each food contains over 300 mg calcium per typical serving size
** Each food contains over 150 mg per typical serving size
# NOTE: These charts are excerpted from the book “Blood Pressure Down” by Janet Bond Brill, Ph.D., R.D., LDN; Published by Three Rivers Press; May 2013. Copyright © 2013 Janet Brill, Ph.D.To learn more about this book, please visit DrJanet.com.
Janet Bond Brill, Ph.D., R.D., LDN is author of the new book, “Blood Pressure Down,” published by Three Rivers Press; May 2013;$15.00 US/$18.00 CAN; 978-0-307-98635-1 Copyright © 2013 and “Prevent a Second Heart Attack, 8 Foods, 8 Weeks to Reverse Heart Disease” (Random House/Crown Publishing; 2011; $15.00), as well as “Cholesterol Down: 10 Simple Steps to Lower Your Cholesterol in 4 Weeks Without Prescription Drugs” (Random House/Crown Publishing; 2006; $13.95) and an accompanying Android app. Dr. Brill is a leading diet and nutrition author, educator and practitioner. She consults for the health and fitness industry specializing in cardiovascular disease prevention. She is the nutrition expert for the national television show, The Balancing Act. For more info on her books, please visit: www.DrJanet.com.
