5 Ways To Lower Blood Pressure Naturally

For many people living with high blood pressure, the notion of having to take blood pressure lowering drugs everyday is not encouraging. That is why, so many people skip their medication, which is an extremely dangerous thing to do.

A recurrent question I see posted in forums, and on blogs is how can I lower my blood pressure naturally? Here are 5 ways by which you can lower your blood pressure naturally. Research has shown over, and over that implementing these strategies as part as your blood pressure lowering regimen will not only lower it, but your overall health will also improve.

1. Switch To The DASH Diet Eating Plan.

Studies sponsored by the National Institutes of Health have proven that the DASH diet can lower blood pressure in just 14 days. So what is the DASH Diet?

DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. It is A well-balanced, easy to understand way of eating that gives you lots of choices. It is a high fiber plan with medium levels of protein, and higher levels of whole carbohydrates.

If you're not used to eating this way, don't overwhelm yourself. Start by making small changes. Increase your consumption of fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and low, and non fat dairy products. Switch to leaner meats, and reduce your daily sodium intake

2. Exercise

You do not have to run a marathon, or spend endless hours in a gym to get the blood pressure lowering benefits from

exercising.  Research has shown that just 30 minutes of moderate exercise 3 times a week can lower blood pressure significantly.

The good news is that you can break up the 30 minutes throughout the day. How about taking a brisk walk for 15 minutes, then spend another 15 minutes dancing to your favorite music?

My favorite kind of exercise is dancing to salsa music. If you have a music that just stirs you up the way Salsa does to me then, 15 to 30 minutes of dancing will not only be fun, and give a good cardio workout, but it will also release endorphins in your brain giving you a great feeling of well being while lowering your blood pressure.

3. Lose The Weight

By adopting the DASH Diet, and including at least 30 minutes of exercise into your lifestyle, you're bound to lose weight. An article in the American Journal of Hypertension indicates that long-term weight loss brings a sustained reduction in blood pressure.

 

The article goes on to say that even a modest degree of weight loss over the long term is highly beneficial to overweight, and obese patients with high blood pressure. In addition, losing weight might be considered as the first, and sometimes the only treatment necessary for otherwise low-risk overweight subjects with high blood pressure.

4. Decrease The Stress In Your Life

Your blood pressure increases when you are under physical or emotional stress, but stress is so much a part of modern life, that you may feel that it is difficult to control the amount of stress in your life without making a drastic change in your lifestyle.

Many people fool themselves into believing that they're controlling their stress by eating, smoking or drinking alcohol,

but these things only mask the problem, and precipitate lots of health problems, including high blood pressure.

There are lots of natural, healthy things you can do to reduce stress, and they don't take a lot of time. Here a just a few:

1. Spend some quiet, undisturbed time every day to de-stress. Turn off the lights, light some candles, burn some calming essential oil such as lavender while listing to your favorite music.

2. Get a pet. There's nothing like spending a few minutes with a purring cat in your lap, or petting your dog. Even people who are allergic to furry pets can get great stress relief from watching colorful fish swimming in an aquarium.

3. Laughter is a great stress buster. Laughing lowers blood pressure, reduces stress hormones, and boosts immune function by raising levels of infection-fighting T-cells. Laughter also triggers the release of endorphins, the body's natural pain killers, and produces a general sense of well-being.

I spend at least 30 minutes every day before going to bed watching re-runs of the Fresh Prince Of Bel Air. I don't know what it is, but it doesn't matter how many times I watch it, that silly show still makes me laugh like crazy.

5. Control Your Drinking.

Excessive alcohol use can raise your blood pressure to an unhealthy level. Alcoholic drinks are often high in calories, and may contribute to weight gain. Also, alcohol can interfere with the effectiveness of some blood pressure medications, and increase their side effects.

If you drink alcoholic beverages, limit them to two drinks a day. That's equivalent to 2 ounces of 100 proof spirit ( whiskey, tequila, vodka..etc), 10 ounces of wine, or 2 12 ounces cans of beer.

What is High Blood Pressure?

Also known as: Hypertension

According to the American Heart Association, nearly one in three adults in the United States has high blood pressure. But nearly one-third of those people don't know they have high blood pressure, because it's a silent disease. People can have high blood pressure for years without experiencing symptoms or knowing they have it.

The upper or first number in a blood pressure reading is the systolic pressure and the lower or second number is called the diastolic pressure. According to National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute guidelines:

Normal blood pressure is below 120/80 mmHg. Prehypertension is systolic pressure that's between 120 to 139 or diastolic

pressure between 80 and 89. Stage 1 hypertension is systolic pressure between 140 to 159 or diastolic

pressure between 90 and 99. Stage 2 hypertension is systolic pressure higher than 160 or diastolic

pressure of 100 or higher.

High Blood Pressure Symptoms

High blood pressure usually doesn't cause any symptoms in the early stages. Symptoms associated with high blood pressure can include:

Dizziness or dizzy spells Headache Nosebleeds

Causes of High Blood Pressure

In most cases of high blood pressure, the American Heart Association says there is no one identifiable cause. This kind of high blood pressure is called primary hypertension oressential hypertension. It is usually a combination of factors, such as:

Weight. The greater your body mass, the more pressure there is on your artery walls. That's because more blood is produced to supply oxygen and nutrients to tissues in your body.

Activity level. Lack of physical activity tends to increase heart rate, which forces your heart to work harder with each contraction.

Tobacco use. Chemicals in cigarettes and tobacco can damage artery walls.

Sodium intake. Excessive sodium in the diet can result in fluid retention and high blood pressure, especially in people sensitive to sodium.

Potassium intake. Low potassium can result in elevated sodium in cells, because the two balance one another.

Stress. Stress can raise blood pressure.

Alcohol consumption. Excessive alcohol intake can, over time, increase the risk of heart disease.

Age. The risk of high blood pressure increases as you get older. Family history. High blood pressure often runs in families.High blood pressure can also be caused by an underlying condition, such as kidney disease, hormonal disorders, thyroid disease, adrenal gland disease, and the use of certain drugs, such as oral contraceptives, or herbs such as licorice. This type of high blood pressure is called secondary hypertension.

Natural Remedies for High Blood Pressure

Lifestyle changes and natural remedies may help to control high blood pressure, but your doctor may also recommend medication to lower high blood pressure. It is important to work with your doctor, because untreated high blood pressure may damage organs in the body and increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, brain hemorrhage, kidney disease, andvision loss. See a drawing of a hypertensive heart.

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)

There is some evidence that the supplement CoQ10 may help to reduce high blood pressure. A 12 week double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 83 people with systolic hypertension examined the effect of CoQ10 supplements (60 mg twice daily). After the 12 weeks, there was a mean reduction in systolic blood pressure of 17.8 mm Hg in the Coq10-treated group.

Another study conducted at the University of Western Australia looked at the effect of CoQ10 on blood pressure and glycemic control in 74 people with type 2 diabetes. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either 100mg CoQ10 twice daily, 200mg of the drug fenfibrate, both, or neither for 12 weeks.

CoQ10 significantly reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure(mean reduction 6.1 mm Hg and 2.9 mm Hg respectively). There was also a reduction in HbA1C, a marker for long-term glycemic control.To learn more about CoQ10, read the Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) fact sheet.

Garlic

In a meta-analysis of seven randomized controlled trials of garlic supplements, three trials showed a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure and four in diastolic blood pressure. Researchers concluded that

garlic powder supplement may be of clinical use in patients with mild high blood pressure.

Garlic supplements should only be used under the supervision of a qualified health practitioner. Garlic can thin the blood (reduce the ability of blood to clot) similar to aspirin. Garlic may interact with many drugs and supplements such as the prescription drugs such as Coumadin (warfarin) or Trental (pentoxifylline), aspirin, vitamin E, gingko. It is usually recommended that people taking garlic stop in the weeks before and after any type of surgery.

To learn more about garlic, go to the articles about garlic.

Hawthorn

The herb hawthorn is often used by traditional herbal practitioners for high blood pressure.

In a randomized controlled trial conducted by researchers in Reading, UK, 79 patients with type 2 diabetes were randomized to receive either 1200 mg of hawthorn extract a day or placebo for 16 weeks. Medication for high blood pressure was used by 71 percent of the patients.

At the end of the 16 weeks, patients taking the hawthorn supplement had a significant reduction in mean diastolic blood pressure (2.6 mm Hg). No herb-drug interactions were reported.

Fish oil

Preliminary studies suggest that fish oil may have a modest effect on high blood pressure. Although fish oil supplements often contain both DHA (docohexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), there is some evidence that DHA is the ingredient that lowers high blood pressure. Learn more about fish oil.

Folic acid

Folate is a B vitamin necessary for formation of red blood cells. It may help to lower high blood pressure in some people, possibly by reducing elevated homocysteine levels.

One small study of 24 cigarette smokers found that four weeks of folic acid supplementation significantly lowered blood pressure. Learn more about folic acid.

1. Go for power walksHypertensive patients who went for fitness walks at a brisk pace lowered pressure by almost 8 mmhg

over 6 mmhg. Exercise helps the heart use oxygen more efficiently, so it doesn't work as hard to pump

blood. Get a vigorous cardio workout of at least 30 minutes on most days of the week. Try increasing

speed or distance so you keep challenging your ticker.

2. Breathe deeplySlow breathing and meditative practices such as qigong, yoga, andtai chi decrease stress hormones,

which elevate renin, a kidney enzyme that raises blood pressure. Try 5 minutes in the morning and at

night. Inhale deeply and expand your belly. Exhale and release all of your tension.

Here are 12 things you can do to lower your blood pressure naturally:

1. Follow the DASH diet. The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet is high in fruit, veggies and low-fat dairy, and low in fat, red meat, sweets and sugary beverages. Following this plan can drop your systolic blood pressure reading by 8-14 points. In fact, some research has shown that this approach may be as, or more, effective than drugs at combating hypertension.

2. Lose weight. Okay, we know this can be hard. But it packs the biggest punch. It’s estimated that you could drop 5-20 points for every 22 pounds you lose. Even a 5 pound loss can help, though.

3. Limit your sodium to 2,400 mg day and you could drop 2-8 points.

4. Exercise 5-7 days a week for 30 minutes and you could drop 4-9 points.

5. Limit alcohol to 2 drinks a day for men, 1 for women and you could drop 2-4 points.

6. Get a good night’s sleep. Not getting enough sleep may contribute to hypertension.

7. Reduce your stress. It can raise your blood pressure and over time, may contribute to the permanent condition of hypertension. Find ways to relax.

8. Get enough potassium by eating a varied diet containing plenty of fruit, veggies, dairy and fish.

9. Get enough calcium. Take a calcium supplement to make sure you are getting 1,000 mg a day if you’re under 50 and 1,200 mg if you’re over 50.

10. Get at least 500 mg of vitamin C a day. Vitamin C may work as well as some prescription medications to lower blood pressure with long term use. In one study average blood pressure dropped 9% after one month. (If your blood pressure is normal, vitamin C will not affect it.)

11. Get enough omega-3 fatty acids by eating fatty fish and by taking a high quality fish oil supplement (not contaminated with mercury.) In Japan, a study showed that men with the highest intakes of omega-3s had the lowest blood pressure.

12. Try alpha lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine. Some people have high blood pressure because their blood vessels can’t “relax.” They don’t dilate when they should, which can lead to high blood pressure. A study found that people who took 200 mg of alpha lipoic acid and 500 mg of acetyl-L-carnitine for eight weeks increased the diameter of their arteries and lowered their blood pressure. Ask your doctor if this combo might be right for you.