The link between hypertension and our diet is something that we only generally become aware of after we have been diagnosed with the condition. At that stage, quite naturally, our emphasis is on changing our diet to lower our high blood pressure to normal levels as quickly as possible. We have forgotten the wisdom in the ancient Greek proverb that says let food be your medicine and let medicine be your food. The ancient Greeks understood that what we eat determines our health.

There is a strong connection between hypertension, our diet and the health of our heart. We become what we eat; and, what we eat predicts our heart's health and gives us a clear picture of our blood pressure status. The rate of our blood flow determines how healthy we are. What we eat can affect our circulatory system for good or for ill.

This means that there are some foods that affect our blood pressure; some foods will increase it while others are known to help lower it. Salt can cause a sharp rise in our blood pressure, so we should reduce our intake of sodium. However, over a longer period it is the highly processed foods that make up a significant part of our modern diet that is often the underlying cause of our condition. This is because these foods not only have high sodium content, but they also have a high fat content. It is therefore very important that wherever possible we avoid these foods, or at least limit our consumption of them, as they accumulate fats deposits in our arteries, causing hypertension and may eventually lead us to have a heart attack or stroke.

As hypertension sufferers, we should adopt a low fat, low sodium diet to help reduce our hypertension. Our diet should be rich in a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables and include at least one portion of oily fish a week. We should cut down on the amount of fatty meat (usually red meat) that we eat and choose the leaner white meats. We should also aim to drink two litres of water each day.

For most of us, the cause of our high blood pressure cannot easily be identified, but there are factors that are known to increase the risk of developing our condition. Having a poor diet and being overweight are two such factors that are closely linked. Let food be our medicine. Adopting a healthy diet, such as described above, will result in us losing weight as well as reducing our hypertension.