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Statistics have extremely worrying results: about one quarter of the American adult population has a high blood pressure and need immediate help, to prevent the risk of kidney failure, stroke or heart attack.

Against the risk of hypertension and the complications derived from it, a healthy alimentation represents one of the most powerful weapons, because the attack of hypertension is annihilated and the blood pressure lowers.

The recommended diet is based on the increase of the amount of vegetables, fruits and aliments without fat or with low fat content and the decrease of the amount of salt, states the American Heart Association (AHA). This recommendation is the first one made by Nutrition Committee of AHA that associates the fruit with vegetables and low-fat aliments to the reduction of salt in the diet for hypertensives.

Further, the importance of potassium, magnesium, calcium and low-fat foods in emphasized by the Nutrition Committee, that also advises to avoid the consume of sodium, products that increase cholesterol and fats.

A diet based on all these recommendation lowers blood pressure and neutralizes the effect of high blood pressure on other organs.

More room should be made in a hypertensive diet to dietary products, fruits and vegetables that have a rich content of vitamins, electrolytes and minerals, says dr.Kotchen, the one that made the report. Potassium is another vital element in controlling hypertension, which can be found in potassium, bananas, raisins and dates and it is proved by the studies to lower blood pressure.

The result of the Nutrition Committee's study indicates a decrease by 15 % of the risk of stroke and by 6 % of that of heart attack, in case diastolic blood pressure is reduced by 2 units.

The most important of the above recommendations, the one that should be absolutely followed, is the one referring to the decreasing of the salt amount in a hypertensive's alimentation.

In addition, weight should be kept strictly under control, and the alcohol consumption avoided or dramatically reduced, as the Nutrition Committee recommends.