« I recently discovered that I suffer from hypertension. I am aware that this may be dangerous for my health but I find it difficult to take care with my diet as I don't feel unwell. It is therefore difficult to motivate myself to change my food habits… »

What is hypertension?

Hypertension is blood pressure in the blood vessels. It is a cardiovascular risk factor (like : smoking, diabetes, obesity or sedentary lifestyles, for example). Hypertension can be genetic in origin or may be due to your lifestyle: in all cases, it is advisable to adopt a few healthy lifestyle rules.

So how can I limit hypertension and its risks?

Excess salt in the diet can favour high blood pressure in the case of a personal predisposition. We recommend limiting salt consumption. Two practical tips: avoid leaving the salt cellar on the table and always taste your dishes before adding salt.
We also advise you to be careful when buying ready-to-eat dishes: as salt is a taste enhancer, certain processed foods contain too much.

Yoplait guides you…

The aim is not to adopt an insipid diet. That is why we have prepared a few useful tips to enjoy and maintain the flavour of food:

• Generally speaking, if you have a tendency to put on weight, we recommend that you avoid eating excessively fatty foods (pork delicatessen products, sauces, etc.) as well as excessively sweet foods (sweets, cakes, biscuits, etc.) to prevent or limit excess weight, particularly around the girth, which may favour the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases,
• Prepare your dishes and pastries yourself, using, for example, low calorie cream, low calorie fromage frais or skimmed milk …,
• Combine vegetables with starch to restrict calorie intake, while guaranteeing good appetite control and fibre, vitamin and mineral intake,
• Rediscover the taste of food by eating less sauce, salt and choosing spices, herbs, pickles, juices and zest of lemon, condiments, etc.
• Remember to drink all day long (at least 1.5 litres of water per day), choosing flat or carbonated water but do watch its salt content!
• Limit alcohol consumption: beer and spirits. You can nevertheless drink one or two glasses of good quality red wine per day. Certain phenolic compounds in wine are supposed to have anti-oxidizing properties, leading to vaso-relaxing and anti-hypertension actions.
• Drink fruit or vegetable juice cocktails and alcohol free drinks: you may also replace savoury nibbles with vegetable sticks, surimi, guacamole, etc.
• If you want, try to give up smoking using nicotine substitutes, sugar free chewing gum, sport and acupuncture.
• Sport, even a little, helps to regulate your weight and blood pressure, and it is good for the morale. If you cannot join a sports club, stimulate your daily energy expenditure by taking the stairs rather than the lift, by walking or cycling with family or friends…

Here is a day's balanced, low-salt menu plan:

A small amount of bread and as much water as you want can accompany your main meals.

Breakfast:

• 20 % Calin fromage frais
• Granary bread spread lightly with margarine
• Freshly squeezed orange juice
• A cup of light tea or herbal tea without sugar

Lunch:

• Cucumber with single cream
• Fillet of whiting with oregano
• Couscous and ratatouille
• Two Petits Yoplait
• A just-ripe banana

Afternoon snack (optional):

• A Golden Delicious apple
• One glass of Yop

Dinner:

• Artichoke with dressing
• Grilled chicken breast
• Baked parsnips and potatoes
• One Panier de fruits en Quartiers 0% 
• 1/2 grapefruit

	RECOMMENDED FOODS	FOODS TO BE AVOIDED
Milk and dairy products	Milk, yoghurt, fromage frais (unsalted)	Cheese
Meat, fish, eggs	Beef, veal, poultry, eggs, fish, seafood	Pork delicatessen products, tinned fish products  Processed foods, ready-to-eat dishes
Starch	Potatoes, pasta, rice, couscous, wheat, pulses	Nibbles, olives
Fruit and vegetables	All, fresh and frozen, drained if tinned	Tinned vegetables with their brine
Fat	All in small quantity	Salted butter
Sweet products		Pastries, Viennese pastries, biscuits
Drinks	Water, light tea, herbal tea without sugar, 100% fruit juice	Certain salty carbonated waters, soda, tomato juice
Accompaniments	Spices, herbs, onions, shallots, garlic, mustard	Commercial sauces (mayonnaise, ketchup, piccalilli, aioli…)

"Yoplait" advice:

It is recommended to eat one dairy product at each meal to cover calcium requirements. The latter is not only indispensable for the good health of bones but it will also intervene in the reduction of blood pressure levels. So you can vary your pleasures…!