High blood pressure is a disease that can harm the health of the heart, kidneys, and even the brain, without any apparent symptoms.

In this report, published by the Spanish magazine "Sapir Viver", the author, Eva Kommero, said that reducing the consumption of salt in food helps reduce blood pressure, but we must know that added salt is not the only food that can harm our health.

The author provided six foods that can raise blood pressure:

1- Chocolate
The writer mentioned that chocolate contains caffeine, which is one of the non-recommended nutrients for people with blood pressure problems. While it cannot be denied the fact that chocolate is good for the health of the heart because it contains flavonoids in cocoa, according to many studies, if chocolate contains a small amount of cocoa, this means that there is more sugar, which is not good for your health. Therefore, it is always best to choose chocolate containing 70% cocoa or more, and low in fat and sugar.

2- Red meat
The writer mentioned that you do not need to completely get rid of red meat from your daily diet, as it provides the body with many nutrients, in addition to the high amount of iron it contains. But the problem is that it is rich in saturated fats that contribute to high blood pressure and negatively affect the formation of platelets and blood clots. In contrast, chicken and fish are healthy alternatives.

3- Sugary drinks
The results of a study conducted by researchers in the United Kingdom and the United States, and published in the scientific journal "Hypertension", indicates that the blood pressure rises gradually with each additional pack of sugary drinks that we drink daily. While the exact mechanism behind this relationship is still unknown, scientists believe that high blood sugar levels change the density of blood vessels and levels of salt in the body.

4- Mustard
The writer added that this sauce does not contain a high percentage of calories, but it is one of the most sodium-rich sauces, at a rate of two grams of sodium per hundred grams of mustard sauce. In this case, you can dilute it or make a homemade sauce by grinding the mustard seeds without adding salt to it.

5- Licorice
The author explained that the problem does not arise when taking small doses of licorice, but rather from regular consumption. If you suffer from high blood pressure, excessive ingestion of licorice can cause sodium retention and loss of potassium, which leads to exacerbation of high blood pressure.

6- Potatoes
If you have high blood pressure, you should not overuse potatoes in the side dishes. According to a study published in the British Medical Journal, eating four or more meals of roasted potatoes may increase your risk of high blood pressure. The problem is mainly over-consumption of French fries, which contain a lot of oil.

In contrast, it is important to recall that potatoes also contain potassium and magnesium, which help to control blood pressure if they are included in the diet in a balanced way.

According to the Spanish Association of Hypertension and the Spanish Association to Combat Arterial Hypertension, about 14 million Spaniards suffer from high blood pressure, and only about four million of them have been diagnosed, meaning that ten million do not know of their disease! This is dangerous because if a person does not know that his blood pressure is higher than the recommended rate, he will not be able to receive the appropriate treatment.

Now, once the problem is discovered, it must be addressed. In this regard, we should know that a diet with a low salt content and moderate exercise can help you enjoy a healthy life.

As for the diet, it is not only limited to avoiding adding salt to salads or using aromatic herbs in our recipes instead of it, it is also related to avoiding or reducing the consumption of many other foods that are considered an "invisible" enemy of cardiovascular health, given that they contain Sodium and other harmful substances.