2026/10/02 07:20
Nutritionist Xue Xiaojing said that if you want to protect your heart, people who eat out may wish to "drink less soup, less sauce, and less processed meat" to help manage blood pressure; the picture shows the situation. (Picture taken from freepik)
[Health Channel/Comprehensive Report] If you want to protect your heart, don’t just focus on fried foods and cholesterol! Nutritionist Xue Xiaojing reminds that high blood pressure often has no obvious symptoms. The absence of headaches and chest tightness does not mean that blood pressure must be normal. It is also necessary to measure blood pressure regularly to detect risks early. Daily diet can start with the DASH diet, increase fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and reduce sodium intake. When eating out, master "less soup, less sauce, and less processed meat." She also suggested 5 things to do to protect your cardiovascular health.
Xue Xiaojing shared on Facebook "The Life Notes of Nutritionist Mom Xiaojing" that protecting the heart is not about eating a certain super food alone, but how to match the whole plate. A systematic review and meta-analysis published in "Advances in Nutrition" in September 2020 compiled 30 randomized controlled trials with a total of 5,545 adults. Compared with the general control diet, the DASH diet reduced systolic blood pressure by 3.2mmHg on average and diastolic blood pressure by 2.5mmHg.
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Xue Xiaojing explained that the focus of this study is that it is not looking at a certain "hypertension-lowering food", but the overall dietary pattern. The core of the DASH diet includes more vegetables, fruits, low-fat dairy and other foods, and related studies often incorporate lifestyle adjustments such as reducing sodium intake, weight management, or exercise.
To reduce sodium, focus on soups, sauces, and processed products first
Xue Xiaojing mentioned that if you want to pick one thing worth checking first in a heart-protecting diet, sodium intake is difficult to ignore. A dose-response integrated analysis published in "Circulation" in April 2021 included 85 clinical trials with a total sample of more than 10,000 people. The study evaluated sodium intake using 24-hour urinary sodium. The results showed that sodium intake has a nearly linear relationship with systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure. Putting it into easier-to-understand figures, for every 1 gram reduction in daily sodium intake, systolic blood pressure will decrease by approximately 2.42 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure will decrease by approximately 1.01 mmHg.
She went on to say that people who eat outside do not need to become "boiled food ascetics". The noodle soup can be eaten but does not need to be finished; the hot pot uses ingredients as the main ingredient, with less soup and less sauce; the braised version reduces the number of processed dumplings, sweet and spicy dishes and sausages, and there is no need to add additional marinade; the bento main dish already has the flavor, so there is no need to add a lot of sauce to the side dishes.
5 tips to protect your heart
If people want to protect their hearts on a daily basis, Xue Xiaojing suggests that they might as well start with these five things:
●Enjoy enough vegetables at lunch and dinner
Start with at least half a bowl to a bowl of cooked vegetables at each meal, and slowly increase according to your original eating situation. You don’t need to eat it all at once.
●Arrange whole fruits every day
Replace some desserts and sugary drinks with whole fruits instead of pureeing them into juice. This retains fiber and makes it easier to control portion sizes.
●Change one meal a day with whole grains
You don’t have to eliminate all white rice. You can add brown rice, five-grain rice, oats, sweet potatoes, and corn in turn.
●Start with “soups, sauces, and processed products” when reducing sodium
By picking the one that appears most frequently each day and adjusting it first, it's easier to find the true source of sodium than by simply focusing on the salt shaker.
●People with high blood pressure should make blood pressure measurement a regular routine
According to the medical staff's advice, measure at a fixed period of time and in the correct posture and keep a record, and provide medical staff with judgment during the return visit.
Xue Xiaojing reminded that if people are already taking antihypertensive drugs, diet and lifestyle adjustments are important. Do not stop or reduce the medication on your own just because your blood pressure improves. You still need to be evaluated by a doctor based on your actual blood pressure and health status.
Xue Xiaojing concluded that protecting cardiovascular health starts from drinking half a bowl of soup and a spoonful of sauce; leaving an extra space in the lunch box for vegetables; restarting the blood pressure monitor at home that has not been taken out for a long time. This is a complete heart protection plan.
