Phillip Schofield gets blood pressure checked in Istanbul in 1991

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High blood pressure – which is also known as hypertension – puts extra stress on blood vessels and vital organs. The condition could lead to some deadly complications, including strokes and heart attacks. It could be caused by eating an unhealthy diet, or by not doing enough exercise. You could be raising your chances of deadly hypertension if you regularly eat potatoes, it’s been revealed.

Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard Medical School found those who replaced one serving of boiled, baked, or mashed potatoes with a non-starchy vegetable had a lower risk of hypertension.

Lead study researcher Dr Lea Borgi, a physician at Brigham, said few independent studies have examined the impact of potatoes and this new research could be part of the conversation about what constitutes a healthy diet.

“Potatoes are very nutrient rich for sure, but one should also know they’re very high on the glucose index.”

Over the long term, diets high in potatoes and similarly rapidly digested and high carbohydrate foods can contribute to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, studies have found.

Research also suggests weight gain is attributed to high consumptions of potatoes which is a particular concern.

Another study published in The New England Journal of Medicine tracked the diet and lifestyle habits of 120,000 men and women for up to 20 years.

Researchers found that people who increased their consumption of French fries, baked potatoes or mashed potatoes gained more weight over time with an extra 3.4 and 1.3 pounds every four years, respectively.

Dr Mark Harris, a professor of general practice at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, wrote in an editorial accompanying Borgi’s research that too much emphasis is often placed on isolated food items and not dietary patterns.

He wrote: “Prevention and early management of hypertension is a major priority of governments and international organisations in their attempts to reverse the rising prevalence of chronic disease.

“Diet has an important part to play. However, dietary behaviour and patterns of consumption are complex and difficult to measure.

“We will continue to rely on prospective cohort studies, but those that examine associations between various dietary patterns and risk of disease provide more useful insights for both policy makers and practitioners than does a focus on individual foods or nutrients.”

Other foods which surprisingly raise your blood pressure include:

Dairy products

Alcohol

Refined sugar

Pork and red meat.

The most common high blood pressure symptoms include a pounding in your chest, finding blood in your urine, and severe headaches.

It’s crucial that all adults over 40 years old check their blood pressure at least once every five years.

You can check your blood pressure by visiting your local doctor’s surgery or pharmacy.

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