How can you reduce your blood pressure?
We live in a “pill for every ill” culture- but it’s important to remember that how we live affects our health- and we have the power to do something to tackle our health problems if we choose to. There are several natural ways to reduce high blood pressure before reaching for medication. Even if you are already on tablets for high blood pressure, it’s never too late to try a few of these simple life-changing strategies.
Ways to reduce high blood pressure:
- Fill your diet with a high intake of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Other recommendations include consuming low-fat dairy products, poultry, fish, legumes, non-tropical vegetable oils, and nuts, whilst reducing intake of sweets, sugar-sweetened beverages, and red meat.
Google “the DASH Diet” for more info!
- Eat less salt: Consume less than a teaspoon a day of salt to see a difference in your blood pressure readings. Or go further and cut to less than half a teaspoon a day for an even greater effect. Pre-packaged and restaurant foods have a lot more salt than home cooked food, so be careful- you could be taking in more hidden salt than you realise.
- Get moving: Do more than 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week regularly and you’ll start to see benefits. Moderate exercise includes brisk walking, cycling, jogging and swimming. Also, yoga, meditation and any other activities that focus on slow deep breathing are thought to reduce the “ fight or flight” response and therefore have an impact on blood pressure.
- Lose weight: Losing 10kg can result in up to 20mmHg reduction in your blood pressure readings. That’s more bang for your buck than you’ll get from a lot of standard blood pressure medicines.
- Monitor your own blood pressure: Studies show people who monitor their own blood pressure have lower readings at 12 months. Knowledge is power!
And the other important stuff? Quitting smoking dramatically lowers chances of related problems such as heart attack or stroke. And yes, sometimes medication is the answer- untreated high blood pressure can slowly and silently damage blood vessels, leading to a higher risk of heart attacks, stroke and kidney disease.
If you have questions or concerns about high blood pressure, speak to your doctor.
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