CASE STUDY
NikkiChapman,56,anIT
consultant who lives in
Sussex with her husband
and daughter, switched to
a low salt and sugar diet
after she was diagnosed
with high blood pressure in 2013.
I’d woken up in the night a few times with
palpitations and then one morning my
husband noticed an abnormally large vein
had appeared on my left temple. He was
really worried about it, so I went to my GP,
who took my blood pressure. It was 220/110- which was dangerously high – and I was
advised I should take medication to lower it.
Although I wasn’t keen on taking pills,
I agreed. Over the next few weeks I was
prescribed three different types of pills,
all of which I reacted to adversely. The
side effects were horrendous – I suffered
sickness, headaches, dizziness, felt faint
and experienced nausea and blurred vision.
I decided not to take them and see if I could
find a better way to lower my blood pressure.
ANOTHER ROUTE
I began to do some research online and
discovered the DASH diet, which involves
increasing your intake of fruits, vegetables
and wholegrains. You’re also advised to
stick to low-fat dairy, eat less red meat, cut
down on processed foods, reduce your salt
and sugar intake, and take more exercise. I
considered myself fairly healthy already, as
I wasn’t overweight (I weigh 9 stone and
I’m 5ft 4in tall), I practised yoga and drank
herbal teas, but I was prepared to accept that
my diet could be affecting my high blood
pressure. I decided to see if adjusting what
I ate would make a difference.
I made an effort to increase my fruit and
vegetable content in every meal. I’m now
vegetarian, and my plate is packed withvegetablessuchasspinach,broccoli,green
beans, courgettes,aubergines,kale,sweet
potato, parsnip, carrots,avocados,peasand
edamame beans.They’vebecomemystaples
and I like as muchvarietyaspossible.
I stopped eatingpotatoesandpastaand
instead include morelentils.I packmyown
lunchbox with healthyhomemadesaladsand
soups, or hummus,vegetables,homemade
seeded crackers andfalafels.I avoidall
shop-bought, prepackagedfoodsandyou’ll
never find me inthebiscuitorcrispaisle
in a supermarket.I nolongereatflavoured
yogurts but havenaturalgreekyogurtinstead.FINE TUNING
Something else Idiscoveredwasthatthe
‘healthy’ mint andliquoriceteaI’dbeen
drinking could alsoraisebloodpressure
considerably if drunktoexcess I’dhad
no idea. I replacedit withfruittea,and
I drink lots of waterthroughouttheday.
I check that cannedvegetables,suchas
chickpeas, aren’tpreservedinsaltwaterand
I avoid vegetableproteinfoods,astheyare
often highly processedandcanbeverysalty.
I eat a banana aday,astheycontain
potassium to helplowerbloodpressure,and
a bowl of porridgewitheitherblueberries,
stewed apples orblackberries.I snackonnuts- particularly walnutsandalmonds,asthey
can also help withbloodpressureif eatenas
part of a low saturatedfatsdiet.
I haven’t just madechangestomydiet,
though – I also takemoreexercise.I continue
to do lots of yoga(althoughinitiallyI had
to stop doing inversions,suchasheadstands,
which can raise bloodpressure).I alsotake
a long walk withmydogseverydayand
make sure I get asolidseventoeighthours
of sleep a night.
My GP practiceinitiallyfeltI shouldgo
back on blood pressuremedicationasa
precaution. But havingpurchaseda blood
pressure monitorI wasabletotakeregular
readings and knewmybloodpressurehad
dramatically reduced.It’snowa veryhealthy
113/74 and the practicehasagreedI don’t
need pills any more.
For more informationonloweringyour
blood pressure, seebloodpressureuk.org.
I HAD TO ACCEPT
THAT MY DIET COULD
BE AFFECTING MY HIGH
BLOOD PRESSURE
‘The DASH diet has helped bring my
blood pressure right down’
5
SUPER DIETS