Carrot Juice For High Blood Pressure: Freshness And Health!

The following contribution Carrot Juice For High Blood Pressure: Freshness And Health! is due to Blood Pressure Nutrition Website

High blood pressure is medically controlled using medication. However, if you can tap into the rich natural reserves that can help you to lower blood pressure – you can actually reduce the amount of medication you take. And that is not all – by including natural vegetables and fruits into your diet to control blood pressure, you also automatically get all the other health benefits of these vegetables and fruits. And when you go natural, you obviously decrease the side effects of your medication. And one such secret ‘potion’ that is great for high blood pressure and hypertension is carrot juice! And today we have brought you 3 recipes for carrot juice for high blood pressure….

We will be taking a look at the benefits of carrots and then move on to the recipes. So let’s start with…

Benefits of Carrots for High Blood Pressure

So we first look at exactly why the carrot is such a desirable ingredient to juice or use in smoothies when you have high blood pressure. There are 3 major reasons for it and here they are one by one:

Carrots are rich in pectin (a fiber) content

Pectin or calcium pectate is actually a healthy fiber that actually binds with the bile in your stomach and helps to flush it. It also keeps you digestion regulated. The result is that you have low cholesterol and less plaque buildup along your arteries. In other words, it keeps your arteries healthy and their walls from hardening. And as you know, supple blood vessels mean lower blood pressure!Pectin or calcium pectate is actually a healthy fiber that actually binds with the bile in your stomach and helps to flush it. It also keeps you digestion regulated. The result is that you have low cholesterol and less plaque buildup along your arteries. In other words, it keeps your arteries healthy and their walls from hardening. And as you know, supple blood vessels mean lower blood pressure!

High in antioxidants and vitamins

Carrots are naturally high in beta-carotene – an antioxidant. It also contains quite a bit of Vitamins C and A. While the vitamins help to boost your health and immunity, the antioxidants have a much larger role to play. Your blood carries a lot of free radicals. And these free radicals actually damage the cells in your body – most often the cells that line the blood vessel walls. But the anti-oxidants fight the free radical damage leading to better arterial health.

A good source of Potassium

Those with high blood pressure are usually seen to have a high level of sodium in their blood. Sodium leads to water retention, which also leads to high blood pressure. But potassium actually balances out the sodium, and also helps to maintain a healthy fluid balance in the body. The result is that your blood pressure doesn’t soar quite as much. And carrots are a very good source of Potassium.

Overall, carrots are really healthy – in all these ways and more. But when you want to use carrots for controlling blood pressure, these are the factors that really come into play.

Carrot Juice Contents - Nutritional information

100 g of fresh carrot juice contains:

• 2.1 mg of beta-carotene and 350 micrograms of vitamin A
• Up to 3 mg of vitamin C, which is necessary for maintaining the immune system
• 0.2 mg niacin, works well on different metabolic processes in the body
• 0.01 mg of vitamin B1, which is necessary for the proper functioning of the nervous system and the brain
• 0.02 mg of vitamin B2, needed to support metabolism and vision.
• 0.3 mg vitamin E, for healthy cells and the synthesis of hormones (it is much higher than in other beetle juices)
• 130 mg of potassium, beneficial when having high blood pressure
• rich in phosphorus, iron, magnesium, sodium, calcium
• has enzymes, organic acids, phytonzides, flavonoids  as well as starch, mono- and disaccharides.

So, now moving on to…

Carrot Juice Recipes To Try Out

So here are our 3 top recipes – these mix together healthy vegetables and fruits to give you a medley of flavors as well as health benefits! Do try them out:

The Golden ‘Potion’ This first one is actually a golden colored smoothie that gets much of its sweetness from the pears and its lovely color from golden beets and carrots. And there is no doubt about how good beets are for high blood pressure. To make this just place all the following in a blender and blend till smooth – or juice: Carrots – 3 large Beetroot (preferably golden) – 1 Ginger root – 1 inch piece Celery – 4 stalks Cucumber – ½ of one Pear – 1 medium And enjoy!

Photo Credit: Food Thinkers via Compfight cc

 

Beet And Carrot Smoothie Like the first one, this too uses carrots and beets together. And since here we have used, for that lovely candy pink color! As for the flavor and sweetness, the apples really add aroma and sweetness to this smoothie. Again, to make it, just blend together: Carrots – 4 medium sized ones Beet root – 1 Apples – 2 medium sized ones Ginger root – 1 inch piece Celery – 3 stalks Cucumber – ½ of one This makes for a delicious smoothie, but if you like a smoother texture, just strain.

 

Rainbow Smoothie This is a perfect smoothie to have on the DASH Diet that is especially aimed at controlling high blood pressure. This one features carrots as a major ingredient but contains a host of other things that are very healthy for you! So, here’s all you need for this: Carrots – 5 medium sized ones Cucumber – 1 Pear – 1 medium sized one Apples – 2 medium sized ones Spinach – 2 handfuls Ginger root – 1 inch piece Lemon – 1 The fruits add sweetness whereas the lemon gives a hint of acidity. Overall, it is a rainbow of flavors and health!

Photo Credit: Daniel E Lee via Compfight cc

And with that we come to the end of our list of recipes for carrot juice for high blood pressure. And while you may juice all of these – the fibers you get from the smoothies are going to go the extra mile in protecting you against high blood pressure. So make the most of carrot juice, and cut back on the medicines!