Eating a balanced diet is essential for a High B.P. patient because a strict of regimen diet brings faster relief than the medicinal treatment.



Salad, green vegetables and fresh fruits should be eaten in large quantity and cereal-based items should be consumed as little as possible. Such patients must eat at least two hours before going to bed at night. They should eat not more than about eighty-five per cent of their total eating capacity. They should not drink water during their meals. They must have at least 10 to 12 glasses of water every day. They must avoid taking fried; roasted and spicy food. Exclude red pepper, pickles, hot spices, chutneys and Arhar dal from the menus. Given below is the list of the items such a patient should have and also what he should not.

Avoid: Table salt, salted or smoked meats, Bacon, Ham, Sausages; salted or preserved fish, sardines; potato chips, salted nuts, salted popcorn; pickles, olives, ketchup, soya sauce, chili sauce and all, those sauces, chutneys, pickles having high percentage of salts and spices (garlic is not only permissible it is even recommended strongly); all types of cheeses, whole milk and ice-creams, canned tomato juices, spinach and carrots; baking soda and powder.





Must have: Apples, apricots, dates, grapes, melons; prunes, raisins, watermelons, orange juice, apple juice, grape juice, pineapple juice, asparagus, barley, carrots, cabbage, corn, cucumber, cooked cauliflower, cooked green beans; lettuce, mushrooms, onions, peas, potatoes (baked or boiled), spinach (fresh), tomatoes, (raw preferably), frozen vegetables without salt; chicken, lamb, duck, turkey ; fresh fish; bread made without salt or with sodium free baking powder; shredded wheat, rice; non-fat dry milk, skin milk and unsalted margarine; less sugared coffee and tea and lemonade; garlic, pepper and onion powder.

Garlic must form the part of their regular diet. Garlic has the quality to normalize the blood pressure. Plan you menu from the above list. Remember that persons with sedentary occupations must not consume food worth more than 2000 calories a day. Those who do manual labor may have food worth three to four thousand calories. But they must consult the recognized dietician before selecting their menu. The diet should be such as to help you maintain good health built does not add to your weight. Although there are many standard weight charts available in the marked, yet easiest way to calculate your ideal weight is to find out your height (inches). If you are male then you must have a kilo for each inch of your height, i.e., if you are 5'6" (or 66 inches) tall your ideal weight should be 66 kilos. If you are a girl or a woman then you ideal weight can be calculated by allowing 900 gms. for every inch of your height, i.e., if you are 5'3" (or 63 inches, your ideal weight should be around 56 to 57 kgs.).