High blood pressure can lead to a host of problems. Stroke, heart disease, eye and vision problems, painful edema…all of these can be career ending and even life ending problems for truck drivers. Gray Transportation wants to give you a list of foods to limit (we don’t like to say “never eat”) to lower your risk of high blood pressure.
- Pickles- Give up the gherkins! Pickles are low in calories, but they are loaded with sodium. One medium pickle can have around 570 mg of sodium. The delay sodium limit is 2300 mg for the whole day!
- Canned Chicken Noodle Soup- It may be good for a cold, but canned chicken noodle soup can have up to 880 mg of sodium in a one cup serving. And who eats just one serving?
- Sauerkraut- Who knew? What’s a bratwurst without the kraut, right? Healthier. A half cup of Sauerkraut has about 13 calories, but it also has over 460 mg of sodium. Du meine Güte!
- Fast Food French Fries- Sorry burger fans, but that tater is toxic! French fries still provide a large dose of sodium. A medium serving of fries has about 19 grams of fat and 270 mg of sodium. Never order fries with your canned chicken noodle soup!
- Bacon- (Sorry about this one) Three slices of bacon (delicious, savory bacon) have 4.5 grams of fat and about 270 mg of sodium. Turkey bacon instead of pork is a “better” option. Make bacon a “special treat”, not part of every meal.
- Frozen pot pies – Beneath that flakey crust lies trouble! A single pot pie equals a serving of about 1300-1400 mg of sodium. And about 35 g of fat! For you math folks, that’s over 50% of your daily recommended values for both.
- Donuts – Who doesn’t love a donut? Just one donut those round and tasty breakfast treats packs in 200 calories with 12 grams of fat. So yes, those maple frosted donuts with bacon are a no-no. Again, sorry…
- Booze- While alcohol may dull mind, alcohol causes the blood pressure to elevate. Worse news, it also damages the walls of the blood vessels, which leads to more health problems.
Gray Transportation cares about your health! Everything in moderation, and if you have to eat the bad (but delicious) stuff, balance it out with good stuff and exercise.