High blood pressure is a major concern for a lot of people. There are millions out there that suffer or are at risk of having this condition, also known as hypertension. Therefore, it would be wise to do what you can in order to lower your blood pressure and prevent any further medical complications such as a stroke or heart attack.

One of the best ways to do this is by following one of the various high blood pressure diets. There are plenty to choose from but they all have common goals: help you drop some pounds and eliminate saturated fat and cholesterol from your diet as much as possible. One easy way to do this is by following a raw diet that focuses a lot on natural foods such as fruits and vegetables that are rich in nutrients but low in fats and calories.

So if you plan on following a raw food diet for blood pressure, you should know what kinds of foods you need to focus on and what kinds to eliminate. First of all, you want to consume as little sodium as possible since this causes your blood pressure to rise. Sodium is, more or less, salt so you need to avoid salty foods. Eating raw foods is a big plus here since they contain a lot less sodium than their canned counterparts. This is because salt is usually added to the mix in order to help keep the products fresh for a longer period of time.

Another thing which you can do without in your diet is fat. Therefore, you want to follow any of the high blood pressure diets that focus on low-fat foods. Again, raw foods have an advantage here because fat is usually added to processed foods in order to give them more flavor and a better taste. Besides fruits and veggies, other healthy raw foods which are also low in fat include non-homogenized and non-pasteurized dairy products.

If you are looking for a certain nutrient to add to your raw food diet to treat blood pressure, then it would have to be potassium. It has been proven to help reduce blood pressure significantly. Lucky for you, there are many types of raw foods which are rich in potassium to choose from. Veggies with plenty of potassium include spinach, carrots, green beans, broccoli, lima beans, potatoes, squash, tomatoes and sweet potatoes. Fruits rich in potassium include apples, bananas, oranges, grapefruits, grapes, mangoes, peaches, melons, strawberries, pineapples, apricots, dates and raisins. You can also get plenty of potassium by eating raw fish and drinking raw milk.

Besides potassium, you should look to add plenty of fiber to your diet. You can do this by eating a lot of nuts, peas and beans. Nuts, in particular, are a very rich source of fiber. Additionally, you should also consume plenty of raw whole grains. They are much healthier than their processed alternatives as they retain most of their nutrients, including a heavy dose of fiber.