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What is Hypertension?
You must have heard about hypertension but what is it? Also referred to as high blood pressure, hypertension is a health condition where the pressure of your blood against the walls of the arteries is too high. It’s generally brought on by lifestyle conditions such as improper diet, smoking, and lack of exercise.
If not treated, hypertension can result in severe diseases such as stroke and heart attack. This is why taking some measures to decrease your blood pressure naturally like reducing stress, refraining from junk foods, boosting exercises and dietary changes are essential.
These 10 natural remedies are simple to integrate into your lifestyle and will assist you in maintaining your blood pressure under control:
- Consuming a lot of fruits and vegetables
- Reducing stress using relaxation techniques
- Stopping smoking and staying off alcohol
- Having regular moderate exercise
- Supplementation with fish oil
- Eating more complex carbohydrates
- Eating more potassium
- Drinking water during the day
- Staying away from high sodium foods such as prepared snacks
- Restricting caffeine consumption
- Dietary Changes to Lower Blood Pressure
Making changes to your diet is a critical aspect of managing hypertension naturally. A healthy and balanced diet is the key to lowering your blood pressure. Below are some nutritional guidelines you can use to reduce your blood pressure.
Boost the consumption of lean proteins and plant foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes, and seeds.
Limit added sodium intake. Start by avoiding the usual canned soups, ready-to-cook meals, processed meats, and other highly processed foods that are way loaded with sodium chloride.
Increase potassium rich foods such as bananas, sweet potatoes, oranges, avocados, and beets to reduce sodium impacts on high blood pressure.
Increase your calcium intake by including low fat dairy products like milk and yogurt in your diet. Calcium helps relax your blood vessels to ensure proper blood flow throughout your body.
Finally, make sure to drink plenty of water as this helps cleanse toxins from the body which can help reduce hypertension levels.
Exercise Tips for Fighting Hypertension
Exercise is one of the best natural methods to fight hypertension! However, if you are at home and do not have a gym nearby or a regular workout schedule, don’t panic there’s still enough you can do.
Tip 1: Get Up and Move!
One of the easiest things you can do is stand up and walk around the house. It doesn’t matter if it’s sweeping the floor, dusting, taking out trash, or doing a few yoga stretches anything that makes your heart beat faster will work.
Tip 2: Break it Up Into Intervals
If you have an exercise bike, jump rope, or treadmill in your home, divide your cardio workout into intervals. For instance, warm up at a low pace for 5 minutes and then sprint for 30 seconds to 1 minute with a brief break in between. Do this interval a few times to provide yourself with a good workout without being at the gym for hours.
Tip 3: Get Creative!
You can also come up with inventive ways to squeeze in movement into your daily routine. Take the stairs rather than elevators whenever you can; park in spaces farther away from the stores so that you can get some extra steps in; take a walk when you’re at lunch; or make chores “exercise time.” With imagination and self-drive, it’s simpler than ever to remain active!
Natural Supplements for Maintaining Blood Pressure
You did not know this, but natural supplements are available that can manage hypertension. Believe it or not, these natural alternatives are more subtle and sustain healthy blood pressure levels without the unwanted side effects that come with conventional medications. Here are a few of the most sought-after natural supplements that you can utilize for combating hypertension:
Fish Oil
Fish oils have omega-3 fatty acids in them, which help decrease inflammation in your body and maintain your cardiovascular health through the reduction of blood pressure. It has also been proven in a study that the intake of fish oil supplements can lower systolic blood pressure by as much as 9mmHg, hence making it an efficient strategy for managing hypertension.
CoQ10
CoQ10 is a crucial enzyme present in all of the cells in your body, and is vital to energy production and in protecting cells against oxidative damage. It also possesses antioxidant action that can counteract oxidative stress, which is involved in heart disease and hypertension. Studies indicate that using CoQ10 supplements will decrease systolic blood pressure by as much as 17 mmHg.
Magnesium
Magnesium is a crucial mineral for a number of functions in your body, such as proper muscle and nerve function, energy creation, maintaining your heartbeat and aiding immune system enhancement. It was also found through studies that high magnesium intake equates to reduced systolic blood pressure levels a meta analysis concluded that a 200mg per day intake of magnesium supplement lowered systolic blood pressure by 2-4mmHg when compared with the placebo group.
Herbal Remedies to Manage Hypertension
You might be aware of the use of over the counter drugs to manage hypertension, but do you know that there are herbal remedies you can use to manage blood pressure naturally? Herbal remedies have been in use for thousands of years and have become a favorite among people who prefer a natural alternative.
Here are some of the herbs and supplements that have been proven to reduce high blood pressure:
Garlic
Garlic has been employed as an herbal remedy for centuries, and research indicates that it can be effective in reducing blood pressure if taken regularly. Indeed, a 2015 study revealed that daily intake helped in reducing systolic blood pressure by 6-10 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure by 5-8 mmHg.
Ashwagandha
Also referred to as Indian ginseng, ashwagandha is an adaptogenic herb that stabilizes hormones and decreases stress levels. It also decreases cortisol levels and inflammation, both of which eventually result in lowered blood pressure levels. According to one study, subjects who consumed 500 mg of ashwagandha extract twice daily for 8 weeks improved in their systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings when compared with a control group.
Ginkgo Biloba
Ginkgo biloba is a medicinal herb that has been used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine. Ginkgo biloba functions by enhancing the flow of blood throughout your body, thereby easing the workload on your heart and consequently lowering your level of hypertension. In a 2002 study, daily intakes of 240 mg of ginkgo biloba extract were found to lower diastolic and systolic BP readings.
Natural Lifestyle Practices to Reduce Hypertension
Making lifestyle changes are one of the most important steps you can take to reduce hypertension. From eating a heart healthy diet to exercising regularly, there are many natural ways to keep your blood pressure in check.
Diet
Following a diet of plenty of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and low-fat proteins will help maintain healthy blood pressure. Omega-3 fatty acids and garlic are particularly useful as they reduce cholesterol and triglycerides levels. Other foods that are useful include:
- Low sodium foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains and nuts.
- Potassium rich foods like bananas, spinach and oranges.
- Diet rich in magnesium, such as dark green vegetables, legumes, and nuts.
Exercise
Regular exercise reduces high blood pressure by raising your heart rate and enhancing the functioning of your body with oxygen. Try doing a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise five times a week something as easy as walking briskly or swimming can work! Make sure to consult your doctor first before you begin an exercise routine if you’ve had any medical problems previously.
Stress Reduction Methods
Stress leads to high blood pressure thus learning how to manage stress is crucial in controlling hypertension. Deep breathing, yoga, meditation and sufficient sleep are all natural stress-reducing methods.
By incorporating these natural lifestyle habits into your daily routine, you can successfully reduce hypertension without taking medications!
