ANDRES QUIÑONEZ writes a weekly column for our sister online journal The Baja Post, Andy is better known along the Baja Peninsula as the “Vegan Coach”, and starting this week, the man is going to be publishing for THE MAZATLAN POST too!
Andy is an expert nutritionist on the quest of removing the stigma that lingers around Veganism y Vegetarianism providing objective and useful information on the subject. Check it out…
Let’s talk about Hypertension
Do you have any direct relative (father, brother or sister) with hypertension?
Are you overweight or obese?
Do you suffer from dream apnea?
Are you stressed?
Do you smoke?
Do you drink alcohol?
Do you use too much salt on your food?
If you (or the relative of yours) answered YES to 2 or 3 of the questions above (risk factors), be careful … cause you could suffer from hypertension and in the long run, cardiovascular illness which is death cause number 2 in Mexico.
The relationship between food and hypertension is a very close one and the key word is sodium (salt).
The recommended dose for adults is 2.4 grams every day, which means about 6 grams of salt, in an easier manner: 1 small teaspoon of salt a day (including salt processed included in food products and mentioned in the ingredient list).
The normal diet in Mexico is high in sodium, it goes well beyond the recommended daily amounts and most of the products we buy have salt and we don’t know it.
What can we do? If we make some changes when cooking and preparing our meals we can reduce the high salt amounts and even lose weight. Follow the food list below and say goodbye to hypertension:
Reduce or avoid |
Prefere |
| Dry meat, machaca (beef jerky), processed or fried meat. Canned tuna or sardine. Sausages, ham, wiener, pepperoni, bacon. Cheese: parmesan, yellow, aged or fondue. |
Chicken, turkey or fish fillet or papered. Chicken: Boiled in water and shredded Lean Meat Panela cheese, yoghurt or cottage cheese. |
| Box cereal, packaged oats
Croutons Pretzels Frito Lays, Potato chips, etc. |
Oat (homemade)
Sunflower seeds, sesame or pumpkin seeds Oatmeal cookies Carrot, celery, cucumber, jicama |
| Canned produce | Fresh, frozen or season’s produce |
| Olives | Salt free nuts |
| Maruchan instant soups
Beef, chicken or fish soup |
Caldo de Verduras (Minestrone) |
| Japanese peanuts | Regular salt free peanuts |
| Teri Yaqui sauce, dressings, vinaigrettes, ketchup | Olive oil, lemon or orange juice, spice and herbs |
| Concéntrate chichen sour | Vegetal seasoning, herbs, chili peppers, parsley, coriander, cinnamon, etc. |
| Ordinar salt | Marine or vegetal salt and keep the salt off the table. |
by ANDRES QUIÑONEZ for Post Group Mexico
