Fat Factor In High Blood Pressure

About 25% to 30% of our calories should come from fat, even for active adults. Most people get about 42% of calories from fat. That excess increases the risk of cancer and heart disease, adds to elevated blood pressure, and reduces the ability for physical activity. Fat has nothing going for it and everything against it in our society. Excessive fat consumption remains a continuing problem for most people. Do something about it now.

• In order to maintain a good K Factor, you’ve got to seek natural protein food such as meat, fish, and poultry. Poultry and fish contain less fat, so the obvious choice is to shift your diet in their direction.
• After all that, we do require a certain amount of vegetable oils; indeed, under some highly unusual circumstances, it would be possible for a person to have a deficiency of these essential fatty acids.
• Increasing vegetable fat (oils) is easy. Simply use them in cooking, and when the sodium level is acceptable, use commercial oil dressing on salads. We’ve also got to strive to get sufficient omega-3 fatty acids from fish as well as the vegetable omega-6. The way to do this is to eat cold-water fish, or to use a judicious level of fish oil supplements.
• Fish oils, EPA specifically, are important for reducing blood pressure. They do more, however: They significantly reduce the risk of heart disease and inflammatory problems such as arthritis, asthma, and migraine headache. Therefore, I strongly urge you to eat fish—the swimming variety, not shellfish—preferably twice or more each week. If this is not possible, if you truly despise fish, or are allergic (doubtful), then you should use a fish oil supplement of about ½ gram daily. This translates to about three fish oil (not cod liver oil) capsules each day.
• There are insidious levels of hidden fat in baked goods, and they are also usually filled with hidden sodium. Baked goods are not compatible with this eating plan.
• Fried foods contain more fat. The bad press of fried foods is the result of fast foods, such as French fries, which are rich in fat and salt. However, cooking in a wok in small amounts of vegetable oil is an excellent way to maintain the nutritional value of vegetables, fish, and poultry, without adding excessive fat. You can fry salt free, so go ahead.
• Many oils are acceptable for wok cooking. The most frequently used oils are peanut, soy and corn oil. I personally favor olive oil because of its neutrality toward heart disease, but do not let my preference bias your opinion; just be sure to give olive oil a try.