The Unexpected Reason You Should Avoid Eating Raisin Bran If You Have High Blood Pressure – Health Digest

High blood pressure is often called the “silent killer” because you might have it for many years without knowing it. Even though almost half of people in the United States have high blood pressure, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says just 25% of them take measures to control it.

Controlling high blood pressure often includes exercise, losing weight, quitting smoking, and limiting alcohol. You also manage blood pressure by reducing the amount of sodium in your diet. A cup of Raisin Bran has 225 milligrams of sodium, which is 15% of the American Heart Association’s recommended limit of 1,500 milligrams per day.

Although Raisin Bran has a healthy 8 grams of fiber and less than a gram of fat, Raisin Bran and other cereals might have more hidden sodium than you might realize. However, Raisin Bran also has 310 milligrams of potassium, which is a key mineral that can help reduce high blood pressure because it controls the effects of sodium. It’s important to consider the ratio of sodium to potassium not only in your breakfast cereal but also in your diet.

The National Institutes of Health says that most Americans get too much sodium and not enough potassium. Whether you have high blood pressure or not, you should aim for 4,700 milligrams of potassium in your diet each day. Therefore, you should look closely at your nutrition labels and choose foods that have more potassium than sodium, particularly if you have high blood pressure.

Raisins are naturally high in potassium, providing 270 milligrams in ¼ cup with less than 10 milligrams of sodium. If you love your Raisin Bran, you could add more raisins to boost the potassium. You typically don’t eat Raisin Bran dry. Adding a cup of skim milk to your Raisin Bran will add 382 more milligrams of potassium and 102 milligrams of sodium. If you don’t like milk, unsweetened almond milk isn’t the best option. It has twice the sodium and half the potassium of skim milk, which means there’s more sodium than potassium in almond milk.

If you’re looking for the best cereal to help lower your blood pressure, look for Post’s Shredded Wheat N Bran. You won’t find a single milligram of sodium in a serving, plus you’ll get 231 milligrams of potassium. If you add skim milk, you’ll start your day with 13% of your recommended potassium. You could top your cereal with a cup of yellow peaches to add 293 more milligrams of potassium. Familia Swiss Muesli provides a whopping 602 milligrams of potassium with just 10 milligrams of sodium. Not only that, but muesli gives you 10 grams of fiber to control your cholesterol and keep your colon happy.

You’ll want to skip the grits if you have high blood pressure. Quaker’s cheddar cheese corn grits have 460 milligrams of sodium with just 37 milligrams of potassium. Even if you drink a glass of milk with these grits, you’ll still have more sodium than potassium. Cream of Wheat isn’t much better, even though it has slightly less sodium and a little more potassium.