The Food We Love Is Not Always the Food Our Hearts Can Handle
I take Losartan daily for hypertension. I am 47 and I have accepted this as part of my life.
What took longer to accept is that the food I grew up with — the food that smells like home, that gets passed around at every family gathering, that I genuinely love — is one of the main reasons my blood pressure is where it is.
Filipino cuisine is generous, communal, and deeply tied to identity. It is also, if we are being honest, quietly catastrophic for anyone managing high blood pressure. The sodium alone would alarm a cardiologist.
This is not about giving up Filipino food.
Oh no no no no…
I don’t think I could ever do that…
Let’s say that this is more about knowing which dishes are doing the most damage and making smarter choices around them… without pretending that ‘just eat salad’ is practical advice for someone who grew up eating rice three times a day.
Three?
Maybe 5…
Table of Examples… Table… Hehehehe Oh the Irony
| Ulam / Food | BP Impact | Why |
| Lechon / Lechon kawali | High risk | Very high saturated fat and sodium; hardens arteries over time |
| Crispy pata | High risk | Deep-fried pork skin and fat; significant sodium from marinade and soy |
| Tinola (chicken, ginger, sayote) | Good choice | Light broth, lean protein, vegetables; low sodium if you go easy on the patis |
| Sinigang (fish or pork) | Moderate — depends | Tamarind broth is good; pork version adds fat; commercial sinigang mix is very high in sodium — use fresh sampalok |
| Pinakbet | Good choice | Vegetable-forward; bagoong is the concern — use sparingly or substitute with low-sodium patis |
| Daing na bangus / tuyo | High risk | Heavily salted dried fish; some of the highest sodium per serving of any Filipino food |
| Adobo (chicken) | Moderate | Soy sauce is the problem; reduce toyo by half and increase vinegar — it still tastes like adobo |
| Laing (gabi leaves in coconut milk) | Moderate | Coconut milk adds saturated fat; bagoong adds sodium; occasional serving is fine, not daily |
| Grilled fish (inihaw na isda) | Best choice | Lean protein, minimal sodium if grilled plain; one of the best ulam options for hypertensive Filipinos |
| Instant noodles (Lucky Me, Payless) | Very high risk | One pack contains close to 800 to 1,000mg of sodium — nearly half the daily recommended limit in a single meal |
My Recommendation
The biggest lever for most Filipino hypertensives is sodium — not fat, not calories, sodium. Patis, toyo, bagoong, soy-based sauces, and dried or cured fish are the main culprits in the daily diet, and small swaps make a measurable difference. Use less soy in your adobo. Choose fresh fish over daing. Cook sinigang with real sampalok instead of the powdered mix. These are not drastic changes. They are the kind of adjastments that add up quietly over months.
If you are on maintenance medication for blood pressure like I am, food alone will not replace it — but food choices absolutely affect how hard that medication has to work. Talk to your doctor about your diet, not just your dosage. And get your blood pressure checked regularly. Mercury Drug does free BP monitoring at most branches. Use it.
DISCLAIMER
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please consult a licensed physician or registered nutritionist-dietitian for personalized dietary guidance.
