Eating out is something everyone looks forward to as it gives them a chance to try new cuisines and indulge in their favorite foods. However, if you have high blood pressure, the whole experience can get spoilt as it vastly limits the kinds of food you can have. Thankfully, there are solutions to this. With awareness and little planning, you can also enjoy a wholesome experience eating out.

It is essential for one to follow diet tips for lowering blood pressure when dining at a restaurant. One solution is to convey to the chef about your need to have food with little or no added salt. It is also recommended by nutritionists to keep these tips in mind when just going out to a friend’s place for a meal or some other informal situation. Here are some of the important ones to remember.

Diet tips for lowering blood pressure

• Select dishes that are cooked in a healthy way. You need to order foods that are either boiled, steamed, grilled or broiled. This also means that you need to avoid ordering dishes that are fried, pickled, smoked, cured or battered.
• Choose healthier side dishes such as baked potatoes instead of french fries while ordering food.
• One of the best diet tips for lowering blood pressure is to request your food to be cooked with olive oil or less unhealthy fats instead of butter.
• Go slower on salads served with fast foods. They generally contain extra dressings or cheese which should be avoided.
• Try to know about the nutrition information of the food items of your selected dine-out place either online or offline.
• When eating out in a fast-food joint, select a plain single hamburger (it has lower sodium content than a fish or chicken sandwich), whole wheat bread, low-fat milk or yogurt.
• Another of the good diet tips for lowering blood pressure is to avoid oversized portions. You can split meals with a companion or keep some meal in a takeout container before you start eating.
• It is best to choose plain water, iced tea with lemon, fresh fruit juice, coffee, tea, or club soda. If you need to have alcohol, then do so with moderation. Nutritionists recommend not having more than two drinks a day for men and one drink for women.
• When going for a healthy option such as salads, order tossed green salad, fruit salad, or any salad without extra added eggs, cheese, meats or dressings.
• Choose whole-wheat or wholegrain breads, breadsticks, or multi-grain rolls when ordering breads. It would be beneficial to keep them unbuttered.
• A dine-out meal is incomplete with a dessert at the end. You can choose sherbet, plain cake with pureed fruit, fresh fruit sorbet, fruit mousse, fruit pie without crust or fruit ice instead of rich, chocolatey desserts.
• Go for appetizers that have vegetables or fruits in them rather than salted options.
• Request your food to be prepared without additional salt or MSG (Mono Sodium Glutamate).
• Do not add salt after the dish is served. Simply staying away from saltshaker is one of the easiest diet tips for lowering blood pressure.
• You can also limit intake of sodium by using little or no condiments such as pickles, sauces, mustard, or ketchup. You can ask for them to be served separately.
• Do not order dishes with cheese, butter, or visible fats.
• Ask for natural seasonings such as lemons or fresh herb.

The best diet tips for lowering blood pressure essentially involve sticking to a diet low in sodium, low in saturated fats, and as little as possible added salt or preferably no salt.