Dr. Prabhat AryaMBBS, MD (Internal Medicine) · DMC Reg. No. DMC-83759drprabhatarya.com

Reviewed by Dr. Prabhat Arya, MD (Internal Medicine) on 29 September 2026

Diet chart for high blood pressure

Food can bring BP down almost as much as one tablet. The biggest step is less salt; the next is more vegetables, fruit and dal from ordinary Indian home food.

½ Vegetables and salad ¼ Dal, paneer, curd, egg, fish, chicken ¼ Roti, rice or millet
  1. Salt: less than one level teaspoon a day in all, for the whole day’s food. Cook with less and keep the salt shaker off the table.
  2. Fill half the plate with vegetables and salad, a quarter with dal, paneer, egg or chicken, and a quarter with roti or rice.
  3. Most hidden salt is in pickle, papad, namkeen, bread and packaged food. Cut these before anything else.

Eat more

  • Vegetables at every meal: lauki, tori, palak, methi, beans, tomato, cabbage, carrot
  • Fresh fruit, twice a day: banana, orange, papaya, guava, apple, melon
  • Dal, chana, rajma, lobia, sprouts, paneer, eggs, fish, chicken
  • Curd, chaas without salt, milk: two to three katoris a day
  • Whole grains: atta with chokar, bajra, jowar, ragi, dalia, oats
  • A small handful of unsalted nuts or seeds: almonds, walnuts, flaxseed

Eat less, and measure

  • Salt in cooking: measure it with a teaspoon, and add none at the table
  • Chaat masala, black salt, sendha namak: they are salt too, count them
  • Cooking oil and ghee together: 4 to 5 teaspoons per person for the whole day
  • Butter, malai, cheese slices: a little, once in a while
  • Tea and coffee: two or three cups a day
  • Sweets and sugar: small amounts, as extra weight raises BP

Avoid

  • Pickle, papad, salted chutney
  • Namkeen, bhujia, chips, salted peanuts, instant noodles
  • Bread, pav, bakery items, ready-made soups and sauces
  • Processed meat: sausage, salami, ham
  • Alcohol and all tobacco, including gutka and khaini
  • Low-sodium "lona" salt without asking Dr. Arya: it contains potassium

A sample day

Vegetarian first; the swap is for those who eat eggs, fish or chicken.

On waking
Water. Tea or coffee with little or no sugar. 4 or 5 soaked almonds
Breakfast
One bowl of vegetable dalia or poha with little salt, or two moong chilla with a katori of curdSwap: Two-egg omelette with vegetables and one roti, no added salt at the table
Mid-morning
One fruit: banana, orange or papaya
Lunch
Salad with lemon, not salt. A big katori of sabzi, a katori of dal, two rotis or one roti with a small katori of rice, plain curdSwap: Chicken or fish curry in place of dal
Evening
Tea with roasted chana without salt, makhana or a fruitSwap: A boiled egg without salt
Dinner, by 8 pm
Sabzi, paneer or dal, one or two rotis. Lighter than lunchSwap: Grilled fish or chicken with sabzi
Bedtime
A glass of milk with little or no sugar, if you like

Common myths

Sendha namak or black salt is safe.
They are still salt and raise BP the same way.
BP is normal now, so the tablets can stop.
It is normal because of the tablets. Ask Dr. Arya before any change.
I feel fine, so my BP is fine.
High BP usually has no symptoms. Only a check tells.
Garlic or lauki juice cures BP.
They cannot replace tablets. Salt and weight matter far more.

Dr. Arya’s note for you

If your BP is 180/110 or higher with headache, chest pain, breathlessness, blurred vision or weakness of one side: go to hospital at once. Do not take extra tablets on your own.

This is general advice for adults. With kidney disease, fruit and "lona" salt can raise potassium dangerously: the kidney chart wins. With heart failure, its salt and fluid limits win; with diabetes, its fruit limits. Ask Dr. Arya.