Approximately one in four Americans are suffering from high blood pressure. This condition can lead to a greater risk for heart disease, stroke, and heart attack. If you're one of the many people who has this condition, you can help control it by following a high blood pressure diet. Along with certain things you should avoid, there are great foods that will help naturally lower high blood pressure and lower your risk for other conditions.

One of the things you need to do when following a healthy high blood pressure diet is to exclude anything that could raise your blood pressure, cause more damage, or otherwise woresen the problem. Examples of things to avoid include salt, alcohol, red meat, and sugars. There are salt and sugar substitutes you can always add to your food instead.

Foods that are high in potassium should be a part of your high blood pressure diet. They help to maintain a healthy blood pressure. Bananas, acorn squash, avocados, grapefruit juice, and tomato juice are just a few examples. Calcium and Magnesium rich foods are said to help lower blood pressure levels. Examples of such foods include sardines (with the bones!), broccoli, green beans, tofu, spinach, and legumes.

So what you need to do is omit all those foods that can worsen high blood pressure, and make an effort to eat more of the healthy foods that can help prevent or at least lower high blood pressure. Taking care of yourself will help you reduce the risk of developing medical conditions that are caused by high blood pressure. You can also reduce the risk of having a heart attack or stroke that is blood pressure related. Use the tips and ideas above to help you do that.