According to the Mayo Clinic, high blood pressure is a common condition in which the long-term force of the blood against your artery walls is high enough that it may eventually cause health problems, such as heart disease (1).
The more blood your heart pumps and the narrower your arteries, the higher your blood pressure.
The condition can easily go undetected and contribute towards heart disease and stroke.
In the United States alone, 70 million adults suffer from the condition.
This is equal to roughly 40% of adults over the age of 25 (2).
Factors like stress, poor diet, and physical inactivity can increase your risk of developing high blood pressure. The condition is also linked to high cholesterol.
Did you know that foods like cucumber and garlic salad can help you in a highly beneficial way?
Pressure-Regulating Foods
1. Cucumber
Cucumbers are full of water, fiber, potassium, and magnesium (3).
Potassium helps balance the amount of sodium in your cells, which can contribute towards atherosclerosis (4).
On the other hand, fiber regulates blood pressure and also helps reduce cholesterol, prevent type 2 diabetes, and boosts weight loss (5,6).
2. Garlic
Raw garlic is traditionally used to control high blood pressure, low blood pressure, high cholesterol, inherited high cholesterol, coronary heart disease, heart attack, reduced blood flow due to narrowed arteries, and atherosclerosis (7).
There is evidence that allicin, the active compound in garlic may use the same mechanism as blood pressure drugs called ACE inhibitors to lower blood pressure. It’s believed that garlic prevents the creation of
angiotensin II, a hormone, and helps relax blood vessels (8).
Garlic also helps control cholesterol.
Cucumber Garlic Salad
Try going on a cucumber and garlic salad diet. Make it every day to improve your cardiovascular health.
Ingredients:
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 cucumber
- A few spoonfuls of water
- ½ -1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Instructions:
- Peel the garlic and crush it with the side of your knife.
- Set aside.
- Wash the cucumber and cut it into small pieces.
- Add the cucumber to a large glass bowl.
- Mince the garlic and add to the mixture.
- Add the vinegar and water and adjust if necessary.
- Garnish with mint leaves and serve.