What is blood pressure?
Blood pressure
Every time your heart pumps, blood is pushed against your artery walls. The strength of the push is your blood pressure. A blood pressure reading has two numbers. The first number is the pressure when your heart beats (systolic pressure). The second number is when your heart relaxes (diastolic pressure).
High blood pressure
High blood pressure (hypertension) is when the strength of the blood pushing against the artery walls is higher than what’s recommended. If your blood pressure is high for an extended period, your arteries can become damaged and your risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, dementia and eye damage all increase.
What's normal?
For most people an ideal blood pressure is 120/80. For people taking high blood pressure medication, the target blood pressure is 130/80 or below. Your target advised by your health professional may be different. If you’ve been told you have high blood pressure, you’ll need to check in with your health professional on a regular basis to manage your condition.
Lowering blood pressure with lifestyle
1. Swap to lower salt foods
Salt (sodium) is found in most packaged foods like crackers, chips, bread, breakfast cereals, sauces, condiments and snacks. You may add salt to meals when cooking or at the table so use less! The more whole foods on your plate the better.
2. Eat more fruit and vegetables
Fruit and vegetables contain potassium, an essential mineral that your body needs for your nerves, muscles and heart to work properly. Potassium also helps to lower your blood pressure which means eating fruit and vegetables counters the blood pressure raising effect of salt. Plus, vegetables are full of vitamins, minerals and fibre which keep your body healthy.
3. Make plants the main part of meals
Dietary patterns based around plant-based foods like vegetables, whole grains like brown rice, legumes like chickpeas, nuts and seeds have been consistently linked to lower blood pressure and better health. So don’t be shy of making these foods the star of your meals.
4. Increase physical activity
Building in regular movement and exercise is a great way to reduce blood pressure – and makes you feel good too. At least 2.5 hours (150 minutes) of moderate-intensity physical activity is recommended each week.
5. Cut down or cut out alcohol
There’s now strong evidence to show us that drinking alcohol increases your risk of high blood pressure, which is a significant risk factor for heart disease. Set a goal to drink less alcohol or cut alcohol completely to benefit your blood pressure and overall health.
6. Manage stress
Stress can raise your heart rate and your blood pressure in the short-term. We may cope with stress by skipping meals, eating more takeaways or drinking alcohol, which also impacts our blood pressure in the long-term. On stressful days, take time out by going for a walk, meditation or mindfulness.
What is the DASH Diet?
The Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet was developed to treat and prevent high blood pressure and there is a good body of evidence on this approach. Studies have shown this diet lowers blood pressure, improves blood sugar control and lowers the risk of heart disease and cancer.
A typical plate contains vegetables, legumes, low-fat dairy products and moderate amounts of whole grains, fish, chicken and nuts. These ingredients feature regularly in Fresh Start meals.
This way of eating is consistent with the Ministry of Health’s Eating and Activity Guidelines and is an effective way to lose weight and improve health at the same time.
How Fresh Start can help
Improve Your Diet
Fresh Start can help you to improve the quality of your diet. Meals based around whole foods like vegetables and lean meat that are naturally lower in sodium.
Improve Your Diet
Fresh Start can help you to improve the quality of your diet. Meals based around whole foods like vegetables and lean meat that are naturally lower in sodium.
Nutrition Info
We show you full nutrition info including the sodium per serve so you can choose meals that fit with your health goals.
Nutrition Info
We show you full nutrition info including the sodium per serve so you can choose meals that fit with your health goals.
Recipe Picks
Look out for our Mediterranean, Heart Healthy and Calorie Controlled (under 450 calorie) recipes.
Recipe Picks
Look out for our Mediterranean, Heart Healthy and Calorie Controlled (under 450 calorie) recipes.
Try Vegetarian
Choose a vegetarian meal or two to increase the plant foods in your diet, As these meals contain lentils, chickpeas, edamame beans, nuts, seeds and tofu.
Try Vegetarian
Choose a vegetarian meal or two to increase the plant foods in your diet, As these meals contain lentils, chickpeas, edamame beans, nuts, seeds and tofu.
Our favourite swaps
Here are a few of our favourite swaps to help you to reduce your salt intake:
- Choose reduced salt pantry staples when cooking Fresh Start meals. Reduced salt soy sauce and stock are great options.
- Use fresh herbs, spices, chilli oil or chilli flakes instead of automatically grabbing the salt shaker!
- For products you eat often like bread and breakfast cereals, swap to a similar product that has lower level of sodium per 100g .
- For snacks choose unsalted nuts instead of chips or crackers .
- Buy lean meats instead of processed deli meats like ham and salami.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between “low salt” and “salt reduced” and “unsalted”?‘
Low salt’ means the product contains less than 120mg of sodium per 100g. ‘Reduced salt’ means that the product is at least 25% lower in salt than a comparative standard product. ‘Unsalted’ means no sodium has been added to the product, however the food may naturally have a small amount.
Can meals taste good without salt?
Culinary ingredients like herbs, spices, lemon juice, fresh garlic and onion, vinegar, sesame oil, chilli oil and olive oil all add plenty of flavour to your meals without salt. These ingredients feature regularly in Fresh Start meals.
How much salt is recommended?
The recommended amount of salt for adults is no more than 5g of salt per day (2,000mg of sodium). If you have high blood pressure or heart failure, your recommended amount may be less than this.
Do I need to add salt at the dinner table?
We always recommend trying your meal before adding salt out of habit. It can take 7-12 weeks for your taste buds to adjust to less salt!