Have you been diagnosed with high blood pressure and want to know what you can actively do about it yourself? You can find important tips on dietary changes and lifestyle changes in this blog article.
As the name hypertension suggests, the pressure inside your blood vessels is too high. You probably already know that blood pressure is always described by two values and measured in "millimeters of mercury" (=mmHg). Normal blood pressure values are 130/85 mmHg or below. In this case, the first value (130 mmHg) describes the maximum measured pressure in your vessels, shortly after your heartbeat. This is due to the fact that your blood is actively pumped by your heart into the vascular system. This value is also called systolic blood pressure.
In order for your heart to be able to pump enough blood into your circulation during the next beat, it must first fill with blood again. During this phase, no "new" blood actively enters your vascular system. Your heart relaxes and your blood pressure slowly drops. The lower value - in this example 85 mmHg - thus indicates the minimum pressure in your vessels and is also called the diastolic blood pressure value. In principle, the pressure in your vessels always pulsates back and forth between the systolic and diastolic pressure.
What does high blood pressure mean?
High blood pressure - or the technical term "arterial hypertension/hypertonus" - is defined as blood pressure values of 140/90 mmHg or higher. On the one hand, it is the second most common reason for the development of chronic kidney disease (=CKD). On the other hand, high blood pressure can also develop as a result of impaired kidney function. Therefore, it is particularly important for people with early-stage kidney disease, on dialysis or even after a kidney transplant to keep an eye on their blood pressure.
In turn, healthy blood pressure levels keep your cardiovascular system fit and healthy. As you can see, it is important that you try to influence your blood pressure positively. Among other things, your diet plays an important role in this. Now you can find out how you can positively influence your blood pressure through your diet.
1. Low salt diet
Your body can regulate your blood pressure through various mechanisms. Among other things, the element sodium plays a central role, which is also contained in table salt (=NaCl). Sodium has the property of binding water or taking it with it. Among other things, this can regulate the water balance in your body. Since your blood consists to a large extent of water, your water balance also has a direct influence on your blood pressure.
If the pressure in your vessels becomes too high, the kidneys can ensure that more sodium and thus more water is excreted through your urine. If your blood pressure is too low, less sodium can be excreted. This also increases the amount of water in your vascular system and your blood pressure rises.
As you can probably imagine, too much salt consumption can also affect your blood pressure - especially if you have a genetic predisposition to high blood pressure. That's why the World Health Organization (=WHO) recommends a maximum of 5 g of salt per day. If you are on dialysis, it is particularly important to adhere to this guideline, as your kidneys can no longer regulate your sodium and water balance on their own.
At the same time, your daily sodium intake should be below 2.3 g per day. You can easily document this value in your food diary. In concrete terms, a low-salt diet can be implemented by trying to cook as much as possible yourself. Many convenience foods contain a lot of salt, even though you don't taste it. If you cook yourself, you can replace salt with herbs and spices, for example. This way, your food will still have the desired spice. If it's hard for you to give up salt, you can browse through the Mizu app. There you will find many tips and tricks that should make it easier for you to reduce salt in your diet.
2. Pay attention to the amount you drink
If you are dependent on dialysis or if your kidney function is declining significantly, it may be important for you - in addition to your salt consumption - to pay attention to the amount you drink. As you already know, one of the main tasks of your kidneys is to keep your water balance and thus also your blood pressure in equilibrium. If your kidneys can no longer do this themselves, dialysis will help them. But - as is often the case - a well-functioning kidney is more efficient than dialysis. That's why it's important that you support it by not drinking too much. But what does that mean exactly?
Current nephrology guidelines recommend that the daily amount you drink should be adjusted to the amount of urine you excrete as much as possible. Specifically, this means you can drink as much as you produce urine plus a maximum of 500-800 ml. Here is an example: If you excrete 600 ml of urine per day, this means that you can drink a maximum of 600 ml + 500 ml = 1100 ml per day. Since the amount you should drink is very individual, you should talk to your nephrologist about it.
The good thing is that if you reduce the salt content in your food, you are usually less thirsty. That means you can kill two birds with one stone. Feel free to check out more articles on this topic as well if you're interested.
If your chronic kidney failure is still in the early stages or if you are a kidney transplant, the same guidelines apply to you as to people with healthy kidneys. You should therefore normally drink at least 2 liters a day. As always, however, your doctor has the last word. Why don't you talk to him/her about your recommended drinking quantity at your next check-up appointment?
3. Low phosphate diet
Phosphate is also an element whose excretion is regulated by the kidneys. As kidney function declines, this ability is increasingly lost. But if too much phosphate is left in your blood, calcium-phosphate crystals, among other things, can form and be deposited in the walls of your blood vessels. You can probably imagine that too much "unnecessary" material in your vessel walls can cause the diameter in the areas of these deposits to decrease significantly and the pressure (=blood pressure) to increase. These resulting constrictions (=stenoses) can further restrict the flow of blood through your vessels and thus the supply of oxygen and important nutrients to your body. As a result, the risk of cardiovascular diseases also increases.
In addition, phosphate has a decisive influence on your bone metabolism. Too high phosphate levels can promote the development of osteoporosis (=bone loss). In this disease, the healthy bone structure is increasingly destroyed, which greatly increases the risk of bone fractures.
As you can see, it is important for you to keep an eye on the daily amount of phosphate you consume. You can roughly orientate yourself on the maximum amount of 1200 mg phosphate per day. However, even this guideline value is very individual, which is why you should talk to your doctor about it.
To keep track of all these values, the Mizu app can support you. As part of the food diary, you can document what you eat and it will automatically show you how much phosphate is contained and what percentage of your daily guideline value this represents. Doesn't sound bad - does it? But how exactly can you reduce phosphate?
Low phosphate foods
In general, try to use foods that contain as little phosphate as possible. For example, when it comes to cheese, opt for lower-phosphate products such as cream cheese, camembert or mozzarella. Instead of milk, you can use a mixture of cream and water. Mix 1/3 cream with 2/3 water and use it for cooking and baking.
Additives containing phosphates
If possible, you should avoid foods with phosphate additives altogether. These include cola and sausage. Beer (even non-alcoholic beer!) also contains a lot of phosphate and should therefore be replaced by other drinks as much as possible. You can recognize foods with phosphate additives by the following E-numbers, among others: E 322, E 338-341, E 343, E 450-452.
If you would like to know more about low phosphate nutrition, take a look at the blog article "Which foods contain how much phosphate?"
4. Keep an eye on your weight
Being overweight and having high blood pressure can be a problem for your cardiovascular system. At the same time, a healthy weight has a positive effect on your blood pressure. To maintain or reach your ideal weight, a balanced diet and sufficient exercise are particularly important. A particularly healthy and recommendable form of nutrition - especially in connection with kidney disease and high blood pressure - is the so-called Mediterranean diet. Central components are vegetables, fruit, fish instead of meat and vegetable fats such as olive oil instead of animal fats. By doing a lot of your own cooking, you no longer fall for hidden sugars in convenience foods, and at the same time you control the amount of salt and phosphate you eat. Where you do need to pay attention - especially if you are on dialysis - is your potassium levels. You take in a lot of potassium, especially through fruits and vegetables, which are a central part of the Mediterranean diet. Since the potassium level in your blood is also regulated by the kidneys, declining kidney function or kidney failure can lead to an increase in potassium levels. If left untreated, this can have harmful consequences, such as cardiac arrhythmias. Therefore, whether you are a transplant recipient, have kidney weakness or are on dialysis, your potassium levels should be checked regularly.
Adequate exercise means exercise that makes you sweat easily and at least five times a week for 30 minutes. If you find it easier to motivate yourself in a group, why not activate your circle of friends or see if there is a sports club near you? However, if you have just had a transplant, you should only start exercising after consulting with your medical team. They can best tell you when it is the right time to start again and which sports are particularly suitable for you.
5. Further tips
In general, a healthy lifestyle not only has a positive effect on your blood pressure. You can positively influence your overall health and prevent cardiovascular diseases. In addition to a balanced diet and regular exercise, this also includes avoiding nicotine and alcohol as much as possible. This is because both smoking and alcohol are among the risk factors for the development of vascular wall calcification (=arteriosclerosis), which in turn can lead to increased blood pressure levels.
Healthy sleep is also important for good health. This is because during sleep your body and mind regenerate and you relax. Not only changes in your blood vessel walls can lead to increased blood pressure. Stress can also drive up your blood pressure, which you can counteract with sufficient sleep. As a rule of thumb, an adult needs an average of seven to eight hours of sleep per night.
In some cases, lifestyle changes are not enough to get your blood pressure under control. But that's not the end of the road. It is best to discuss further therapy options directly with your doctor.
