Ways to Lower Blood Pressure
it's only normal that your father's blood pressure
would shoot up after you didn't listen and drove him crazy as a kid what isn't
normal however is a consistently high blood pressure that can lead to scary
consequences like heart disease kidney disease and even death. so why is high
blood pressure such bad news ? read to end of the article we'll give you the
seven ways to naturally reduce high blood pressure without the need for
medication.
what is high blood pressure
when you go to the doctors to get your blood
pressure checked he'll give you two values of blood pressure instead of one the
higher value is the systolic pressure and the lower value is the diastolic
pressure. a systolic pressure less than 120 millimeters of mercury in a
diastolic reading of fewer than 80 millimeters of mercury is considered normal
blood pressure. high blood pressure is defined as being over 130 systolic in
over 80 diastolic millimeters of mercury.
the elevated levels of blood pressure are dangerous for the heart and blood vessels alike as they need to work harder to pump the blood and thus the oxygen to all the organs. this condition can interfere with the normal functioning of the body's organs and can even lead to their death in severe cases.
the heart that has to suffer
through this constantly develops a condition called hypertrophy. where the heart
muscles enlarge and loses its ability to function properly that then leads to
severe problems like heart disease, stroke, kidney failure and eventually death. don't be scared because just a few small changes in your daily life can rid you of
this evil.
let's look at the seven natural ways to reduce high blood pressure
No 1. get physically involved
the modern jobs have become more and more office based where everything gets taken care of by the computers. the shopping can be done online, the food well it's just a call away from being delivered and to top it off robots are almost here to rob us of the little physical exertion that we used to get. in an ideal world like this who'd want to sweat and get themselves all smelly. the people who don't want to die young it seems.
you exercise to stay healthy there are many health benefits of exercise and weight loss is just one of them. another major benefit of exercise is that it can help you in lowering your blood pressure. an analysis of 65 studies on the effects of exercise on blood pressure suggest quite emphatically that aerobic and resistance exercise has a definite link with lowering of blood pressure especially for men.
regular exercise helps to increase the breathing and heart rates that
over time leads to a stronger heart that can pump the blood smoothly which
leads to lowering of blood pressure.
studies reveal that just a moderate
intensity workout for 40 minutes a day should do the trick. but if you can't
even spare that much then 10 to 15 minutes of many workouts for three to four
times a day will be more than enough to get your heartbeat going.
No 2. lose weight
being overweight is like being a disease magnet. you'll attract every evil out there to yourself. high blood pressure is no different so losing extra weight should be a priority but you don't need to lose a whole lot to see an improvement just a mere five to ten pounds off of your body could lower your blood pressure considerably.
we mentioned that exercise is the most
important factor in lowering blood pressure.
regular exercise can also start you off on your weight loss journey but it's
important to note that even if you work out for two hours daily if you don't
take care of your diet then you won't see any weight loss. exercise cannot
cover for your bad eating habits so focus on getting your food priorities
straight for starters try to eat whole foods and avoid processed foods whenever
possible.
No 3. more potassium and less sodium
another critical factor in maintaining your blood pressure is the potassium sodium ratio. when the ratio starts to shift more towards the side of sodium it can increase blood pressure. potassium is the heart's best friend, potassium not only lessens the effect of salts but also helps to loosen up the blood vessels.
one disclaimer though potassium is great and all for lowering blood pressure but it can be harmful to people with kidney disease. so it is always best to run everything by your doctor before making any changes especially in your diet. some of the potassium-rich foods include fish, bananas, apricots, avocados, potatoes, tomatoes, spinach and many others.
now to lower the salts in your diet the national
institute of health recommends the dash diet. dash stands for dietary approach
to stop hypertension. this diet consists of low sodium foods, fruits and
veggies, low-fat dairy, whole grains, fish, beans and poultry. also not everyone
needs to be wary of their salt intake.
some people are salt sensitive whose blood pressure
increases on intake of salts. but others are salt insensitive that may take
the extra salt to one way and release it the other way without experiencing an
increase in blood pressure.
No 4. sugar needs to go
we mentioned in the last point the salts can
increase your blood pressure. so cutting back on them should lower your blood
pressure. according to a review published in 2014
sugar especially fructose may be more harmful to your blood pressure than even
salt.
everyone's favorite sugar is found in almost all
processed foods and don't even get me started on soft drinks they add these
unhealthy amounts of sugar in their products to make them addictive. No! this
is not a conspiracy theory research has found that sugar can stimulate the brain's
pleasure centers in a manner that is similar to the effects of drugs.
these enormous amounts of sugar make these
processed foods and beverages very difficult to avoid. but is that all these
excess amounts of sugar are the number one reason for the increase in the
prevalence of type 2 diabetes and also high blood pressure.
No 5. the high protein food is equals to the lower blood pressure
where sugar can take you to the pit hole of high
blood pressure high protein foods can rescue you from there. a 2014 study found
that high protein foods lower the risk of high blood pressure. for instance, people who ate 100 grams of protein a day had a 40 percent lower risk of having
high blood pressure than people who were on a low protein diet.
the risk further decreased to 60 by complementing
the high protein diet with fiber. take everything that we recommend especially
the dietary recommendations with a grain of salt. while the information that we
provide is based on research.
it is still no substitute for professional advice. since
a high protein diet is not for everyone like kidney patients it is best to
consult your doctor first. that being said some of the clean sources of high quality
protein include fish, eggs, poultry, beef, beans and legumes chickpeas and nuts.
No 6. there is no alternative to good night's sleep
among the many evils that sleep deprivation brings high blood pressure is one of the more pronounced ones. where sleep regulates many of our systems it also regulates our blood pressure. while it can be tempting to put sleep on the back burner just to finish a netflix season in the night and earn the bragging rights in front of friends.
it's not worth it for you to be sacrificing your
health and potentially your life. if you are like a lot of people then it isn't
so much an issue of watching tv shows that keep you awake. it's your inherent
inability to fall asleep even if you turn to bed earlier than most.
to fix this issue, there are a few things that you can try,
- don't strain yourself before going to bed.
- exercise during the day
- avoid sleeping during the day
- make your room dark and a bit cooler
- blue light is the enemy of sleep, so avoid using screens before going to bed
how many hours should you be sleeping to avoid the wrath of
high blood pressure. well not fewer than seven hours but also not more than
nine. furthermore if you sleep less than five hours a night then high blood
pressure can turn into a long-term thing.
No 7. stress management
the boss wants to report tomorrow the kids want new
clothes the wife wants more time and your favorite team just got knocked out of
the tournament. how should you even go about managing all of this. short-term
stress simply cannot be avoided but if that stress starts to pile up then it
can lead to an onslaught of diseases.
to prevent this from happening you should have a stress relieving activity ready just in case there are a lot of different ways of relieving stress and you can choose any. it all depends on your preference and whatever works for you. for example for some people reading seems to do the trick and for others sport seems to be the solution to their stress problems. similarly yoga, meditation, listening to music and watching a comedy movie are all some of the ways that can help you in relieving stress.