If you are eating fried foods like fried chicken [and] French fries . . . you are increasing your risks of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes," says Nicole Weinberg, MD
a cardiologist at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif. "All the medicine in the world cannot counterbalance a terrible lifestyle," she cautions.
If you want to decrease your risk of high blood pressure, "reduce sodium intake with optimal goal of no more than 1500 milligrams of sodium per day," says David Cutler, MD
Unfortunately, salt may be hiding in many seemingly innocuous foods. "Pre-mixed seasonings often have huge amounts of hidden sodium, some examples being lemon pepper, garlic salt, dry rubs
Alcohol consumption can lead to a decline in renal function, which can result in high blood pressure
Sugar is inflammatory and increases cardiovascular risk," explains Alexandra Lajoie, MD, a non-invasive cardiologist at Providence Saint John's Health Center.
Independent of sodium content, cooking meats at high temperatures contributes to high blood pressure risk,according to research presented 2018 American Heart Association Meeting.
Strange though it may seem, if you're eating a significant amount of licorice, you could be sending your blood pressure into dangerous territory.
"The glycyrrhizin [in licorice] can make your heartbeat at an abnormal rate and increase your blood pressure," says Alexandra Soare, RD, of Food on Mars.