Foods to avoid while taking ACE inhibitors

Key takeaways

• Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors like lisinopril are common medications that can help your blood vessels relax. What you eat can help improve the function of ACE inhibitors.
• A heart-healthy diet can help support the function of ACE inhibitors like lisinopril. Consider limiting foods high in salt and saturated fats.
• Also consider monitoring your potassium intake when taking ACE inhibitors, as these medications can cause a buildup of potassium in your blood.

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Overview

Your heart health plan will often include more than just medication. If you’re taking an ACE inhibitor like lisinopril (Zestril), you may also have particular dietary requirements.

Healthcare professionals originally prescribed ACE inhibitors to treat hypertension (high blood pressure) exclusively, although they can now be used for other conditions. These drugs work by blocking a complex protein called an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), which constricts blood vessels.

With less active ACE, your blood vessels are able to relax, allowing the blood to flow more easily. The food you eat and avoid can help ACE inhibitors manage your blood pressure more effectively.

Diet and ACE inhibitors

The most common uses of ACE inhibitors include the treatment of hypertension, coronary artery disease, and certain types of heart failure and kidney disease.

Common ACE inhibitors include lisinopril (Qbrelis, Zestril), benazepril (Lotensin), and enalapril (Vasotec). If you’re taking one of these medications, it’s likely as part of a treatment plan to support heart health. Alongside medications, this treatment plan may also involve paying close attention to the food you eat.

In fact, diet and other lifestyle modifications may even reduce your need to take the medication.

Consuming less salt and alcohol (if you drink), getting more exercise, and effectively managing your weight can sometimes lead to a reduction in blood pressure, so you may no longer need medications like ACE inhibitors.

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Foods to avoid when taking ACE inhibitors

Eating well can help you manage your heart health and live a long, healthy life, and limiting or avoiding some foods is important to your eating plan.

Sodium

Sodium, the mineral in salt, is one of the main foods to be aware of if you have high blood pressure. The American Heart Association (AHA) suggests keeping your intake below 2,300 milligrams (mg) per day, ideally 1,500 mg or less.

That means that if you’re eating three meals a day, you should aim for each one to contain 500 mg of sodium or less.

The challenge with avoiding sodium is that many supermarket foods contain high levels of salt, making it difficult to find packaged foods that don’t have a lot of sodium. It’s important to read packaging labels to check how much sodium is in a product.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) list the following foods as some of the top sources of sodium for U.S. adults and children:

• sandwiches
• pizza
• soups
• savory snacks like cheese and crackers
• cured meats
• rice and pasta

You don’t need to cut these foods out completely. Instead, aim to be more mindful of how much you’re consuming per day.

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Potassium

In addition to sodium, it is important to try to monitor your potassium intake. ACE inhibitors may interfere with how your body processes potassium, leading to a buildup of potassium in your blood.

Additionally, as ACE inhibitors can raise potassium levels, they can affect kidney function, so a doctor or healthcare professional may monitor you if you have a condition affecting your kidneys.

This could mean limiting high-potassium foods like:

If you’re trying to reduce sodium intake by using salt substitutes like Nu-Salt, you should be aware that these are also high in potassium (525 mg per 1.25 g).

However, this is more of a concern if you already have a kidney condition. Doctors will generally monitor your potassium to ensure there are no problems, but you can likely still eat bananas while taking ACE inhibitors as they can form part of a healthy, balanced diet.

Foods to try when taking ACE inhibitors

More than 20 years ago, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) developed a diet for heart health called Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH). The DASH diet is a very useful guide to help you choose what to eat and what to avoid while taking an ACE inhibitor.

To follow the DASH diet, you’ll generally want to focus on foods like:

• fruits
• vegetables
• nuts
• low fat dairy products
• fish
• poultry
• whole grains

DASH limits salt in recipes and suggests monitoring sodium in packaged foods.

According to the DASH Eating Plan, it’s also important to avoid foods high in saturated and trans fats and include foods rich in fiber, magnesium, and protein.

Summary

Fruits, nuts, and whole grains are good choices for your heart health. Choosing these foods and others that are part of the DASH diet can help you manage your heart health while taking ACE inhibitors like lisinopril.

When initially making changes to your diet, try to keep your salt intake below 2,300 mg per day and aim for 1,500 mg per day or less. It is also important to monitor your potassium intake, as ACE inhibitors can raise potassium levels in the blood.

Regular contact with a healthcare team can help ensure the best outcomes for your heart health.

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