Lowering blood pressure without resorting to drugs and medications is quite easier than you think. Changes in lifestyle, diet, and even bad habits can be a great help. There are natural ways to keep blood pressure down and some of these are listed below:
1. Quit Smoking
We all know the effects of smoking on our health. So quit smoking! But even second-hand smoke can affect your blood pressure, causing damage to your arteries.
2. Cut on Your Salt Intake
This means not just cutting on sodium from the salt shaker, which amounts to just 15% of salt intake. The most important thing to watch out for is the sodium in the processed foods you eat. Just season foods with herbs, lemon, spices, and other salt-free seasonings, this will greatly help in lowering salt intake.
3. Exercise more
People who move and exercise regularly can reduce the number of hypertension medicines they’re taking. Choose an exercise that best suits you like running, biking, swimming or just walking. If you have been inactive for a while, try aerobic exercise to help reduce your systolic blood pressure to at least 3-5 points.
4. Breathe Deeply
Try to indulge in meditative practices and slow breathing such as yoga, tai chi, I, and qigong. These can help decrease stress hormones, which are responsible for elevating renin – an enzyme that elevates blood pressure. Do this for 5 minutes in the morning and night. Inhale deeply and exhale all your tensions away!
5. Keep Weight Under Control
You might be eating a healthy and balanced diet, but those extra pounds could harm you. Studies revealed that hypertension in overweight persons was a secondary condition due to their excess weight. To make it short, once you lose weight, the high blood pressure goes as well.
6. Drink Moderately
Drink moderately as the saying goes. Men and women who are over 65 can have one drink and younger people can have two drinks to help in reducing blood pressure. Anything more than that can have negative effects and increase blood pressure.
7. Go Vegetarian
Studies revealed that plant-based foods are low in sodium and high in potassium. Sticking to a vegetarian diet can lower your blood pressure by at least 7 points. So remember, when you are dining out, go for that veggie burger instead of meat.
8. Eat Dark Chocolate
Studies revealed that people who eat dark chocolate daily saw a drop in blood pressure. This is because this yummy treat contains flavanols that make blood vessels more elastic. Just make sure that the chocolate contains at least 70% cocoa and consume 1 1/2 ounce daily.
9. Manage Stress
We all know the effects of stress on the body, especially on your blood pressure. Effectively managing stress may help reduce blood pressure, so it is recommended that people with high blood pressure practice stress management. Find an effective approach to help you manage stress efficiently.
10. Avoid Coffee
Coffee has some healthy benefits but we all know that reducing blood pressure is not one of them. Caffeine can cause short-term spikes in blood pressure so it is best to skip this for people with hypertension.