JUST a 100g of a cheap cupboard staple could make you less likely to develop silent killer high blood pressure.
Most of us have a can of beans or packet of dried lentils at the back of our kitchen cupboard.
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A daily serving of beans could help lower blood pressure Credit: Getty
So could a palm-sized amount of tofu Credit: Getty
Eating more legumes like beans, lentils, chickpeas and peas was linked to a 30 per cent lower risk of high blood pressure.
Meanwhile, foods containing soy, like tofu or miso, could also improve the state of your blood vessels, a study published in the journal BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health suggests.
Just a “palm-sized” amount of these foods could help prevent the condition, researchers suggested.
High blood pressure – also known as hypertension – is when your blood pushes against the walls of your blood vessels with too much force as it moves through them.
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It’s dibbed a ‘silent killer’ as it doesn’t cause noticeable symptoms at first.
But over time it can damage blood vessels and lead to other serious health issues, such as heart attack and stroke.
It’s thought that one in three adults in the UK have high blood pressure.
The condition is responsible for more than half of all strokes and heart attacks in the country, according to Blood Pressure UK.
Eating salty foods, smoking, drinking and lack of exercise can all drive up blood pressure.
But some foods can help bring it down to normal range and reduce the risk of developing hypertension.
Legumes and soy foods have previously been linked to an overall lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
Researchers looked into whether they had a specific effect on blood pressure.
They examined 12 existing studies and, after doing a pooled analysis of the data, found that eating more legumes and soy was associated with a lower risk of developing high blood pressure.
How to lower blood pressure
Persistent high blood pressure (hypertension) puts extra strain on your blood vessels, heart and other organs.
It can raise your risk of serious conditions like heart disease, heart attacks and stroke.
Here’s how to reduce it.
Reduce salt
Adults are recommended to limit their salt to 6g per day (around one level teaspoon) to avoid health consequences including high blood pressure.
The top tip is to swap out table salt, according to the Salt Substitute and Stroke Study, replacing it with a reduced sodium and added potassium alternative.
Cut down on alcohol
Excessive boozing can narrow the blood vessels, which raises the risk of hypertension.
Official drinking guidelines advise that people should not regularly drink more than 14 units a week to keep health risks from alcohol low.
Get moving
Exercise is good for the heart and the blood vessels.
Although the guidelines recommend 150 minutes of activity per week, if you’re currently very inactive, just a walk to the shop every day is better than nothing, and you can work up from there.
Studies suggest that isometric exercises – when you hold the body in one position without moving, such as a wall squat or plank – are best for lowering blood pressure.
Stop smoking
Smoking cigarettes is a killer. It makes the arteries sticky and narrow, which can cause blockages.
While smoking is not a direct cause of high blood pressure, it can cause an instant rise to pressure, heart rate and reduce the amount of oxygen that gets to the body’s cells.
Skip coffee
Sadly, caffeine can cause a short, but dramatic increase in your blood pressure – even if you don’t have high blood pressure.
Therefore cutting back on coffee is recommended as a lifestyle tip for those with hypertension.
Lose weight
The above tips can help you to lose weight, which is beneficial because being overweight in itself is a risk factor for hypertension.
Being overweight forces your heart to work harder to pump blood around your body, which can raise your blood pressure.
The only way of knowing whether you have high blood pressure is to have a blood pressure test. All adults over 40 years old are advised to have their blood pressure checked at least every five years.
Compared with those with a low intake of legumes, those with a high intake were 16 per cent less likely to develop the condition.
Similarly, those with a high intake of soy foods were 19 per cent less likely to develop the condition than those with a low intake.
Around 170g of peas, lentils, chickpeas and beans was the optimal amount when it came to legumes.
That’s less than a tin of beans. For reference, a standard 400g can of chickpeas contains about 250g of the legume when drained.
People who ate this amount daily saw their risk of hypertension lowered by 30 per cent.
Meanwhile, the ideal amount of tofu, soy milk, edamame, tempeh, and miso was 60 to 80g.
Eating this amount soy foods lowered participants’ risk of high blood pressure by 28 to 29 per cent.
Researchers said a “palm-sized” serving of tofu amounts to about 100g.
Meanwhile, one cup or five-to-six tablespoons of cooked beans, peas, chickpeas, and lentils amounts to that.
Legumes and soy may have a positive effect on blood pressure as they are high in potassium, magnesium, and dietary fibre, all of which are known for their blood pressure-lowering properties.
Previous research has shown that fermented soy – which produces tempeh and miso – can help too.
Though researchers said their study had limitations, they said “the findings of this meta-analysis have major public health implications, given the alarming global increase in hypertension prevalence”.
“Current legume consumption across Europe and the UK remains below dietary recommendations,” they added.
Brits tend to eat only 8–15 g/day, “far below the recommendations of 65 to 100 g/day recommended for overall cardiovascular health”, researchers noted.
This suggests people should be told to add more legumes and soy in their diet, they said.
