How to effectively lower your blood pressure without medication – Insider – INSIDER
High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, affects over 100 million people nearly half of all adults in the US according to the most recent guidelines by the American Heart Association (AHA).
Hypertension is often symptomless, and if left untreated, could lead to serious health threats like heart disease, heart attack, or stroke.
Unfortunately, there is no cure for high blood pressure. But with positive lifestyle changes, it's possible to manage your blood pressure and reduce the risk of health complications.
Common causes of hypertension include a lack of regular exercise, a high-sodium diet, being overweight, and smoking cigarettes.
Sanjiv Patel, MD, and cardiologist at MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Orange Coast Medical Center, says working to make positive changes in these areas can have a big impact on your blood pressure.
Below, you'll find seven helpful tips to lower your blood pressure levels naturally.
Whether a person has a healthy or unhealthy weight has a significant correlation with blood pressure. Unhealthy weight is determined by Body Mass Index.
If you're overweight and have hypertension, losing even a small amount of weight can have a big effect on lowering your blood pressure. Shedding 10 pounds can drop your systolic blood pressure by as many as 10 to 12 mm Hg, Patel says.
One major way to maintain a healthy weight is with physical activity. Regular exercise trains the heart to expand and contract, which in the long-term helps the heart pump more efficiently, resulting in lower blood pressure.
For those with hypertension, research has found that regular physical activity can lower systolic blood pressure (the top number) by an average of seven mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) by an average of five mm Hg.
To get these benefits, Patel recommends at least 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity each day. This can be a combination of aerobic exercise like walking, jogging, or bike riding and strength training with low weights and high repetitions.
In regards to how quickly exercise can help lower your blood pressure, it depends on the lifestyle factors you're addressing, and how high your blood pressure is to begin with.
For example, if you have moderate to severe hypertension and begin exercising regularly, you are likely going to see a shaper reduction in your blood pressure when compared with someone who has mild hypertension and works out regularly.
A steady, well-balanced diet can have a lasting impact on your blood pressure. In fact, an entire diet was developed by the National Institutes of Health for the express purpose to help lower blood pressure.
DASH, which stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, may be a diet designed to help people overcome hypertension, but its overall philosophy is widely applicable to sustaining healthy eating habits.
The DASH diet encourages people to limit sodium, sugar, and saturated or trans fats while increasing the variety of foods rich in nutrients like potassium, calcium, and magnesium. This well-rounded plan is heart-healthy and has been found to significantly reduce blood pressure for those with hypertension.
For example, potassium is known to accelerate the secretion of sodium from the body and relax the blood vessel walls to help lower blood pressure.
Overall, the DASH diet focuses on foods like vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, beans, whole grains, and fish and discourages fast food, packaged items, and processed snacks.
There are many studies that link consuming too much sodium and having high blood pressure.
Keep in mind that salt and sodium are not the same and refer to two different things.
Sodium is a mineral that occurs naturally in foods, but also used as an additive to processed foods to typically enhance flavor, preserve freshness, or improve texture. Salt the kind we use for cooking and seasoning is a combination of sodium and chloride.
According to a study by the AHA, the average American adult consumes 3,400 mg of sodium every day well above the recommended limit of 2,300 mg. For reference, the FDA recommends that people with hypertension consume no more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day.
Depending on your choices, it doesn't take much to exceed your daily amount of sodium. But even a small decrease can make a big difference. To make better choices, keep the following in mind:
Drinking too much alcohol can raise your blood pressure, so drinking in moderation is key.
Moderate drinking is considered no more than one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men. A standard drink is defined as 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits.
According to the Mayo Clinic, heavy drinkers who practice moderation can lower their systolic blood pressure by two to four mm Hg and their diastolic blood pressure by one to two mm Hg.
As the leading cause of preventable death worldwide, smoking is known to temporarily raise blood pressure.
According to the American Heart Association, the nicotine from smoking cigarettes increases the risk of plaque buildup in the arteries, which also happens to people diagnosed with hypertension.
While there is no association between smoking and the development of hypertension, people with high blood pressure who smoke are at greater risk of hypertensive crisis, heart disease, and stroke.
While more research is needed to understand the correlation between stress and heart health, excessive stress has been known to contribute to hypertension.
Furthermore, chronic stress is associated with a higher risk of many types of heart disease: coronary artery disease, heart failure, and heart rhythm disorders like tachycardia.
Reducing and managing stress looks different for everyone, so it's important to take a realistic look at the stressors in your life, adjust what you can, and spend time to find out what works for you. Beyond regular physical activity, here are just a few ways you can manage stress:
Preventing and managing high blood pressure requires a well-rounded plan and a lifelong commitment of healthy choices.
For those who have hypertension, changes may come slowly, but they will come. "It takes a few months to see good results, although some lifestyle changes can make a bigger impact," Patel says. "Blood pressure can drop by 10 to 20 points depending on what kind of change you're implementing."
Even if you are able to lower your blood pressure, you'll need to continue monitoring it, because it can creep back up as you age. Overall, the key to lowering blood pressure with lifestyle changes is maintaining those healthy practices over the long-term.
"Lifestyles changes need to be permanent, not just for two or three months," Patel says. "Once you break that cycle, [your health] gets better and then you need to sustain that."
Excerpt from:
How to effectively lower your blood pressure without medication - Insider - INSIDER
- The Food Detective Instructional Video [Last Updated On: May 6th, 2011] [Originally Added On: May 6th, 2011]
- Cellulite Exercise with 20 day Instant result [Last Updated On: August 10th, 2011] [Originally Added On: August 10th, 2011]
- How to Treat Pills Effectively- Best Natural Home Remedies for Piles [Last Updated On: September 5th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 5th, 2011]
- Best Foods For Weight Loss [Last Updated On: September 6th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 6th, 2011]
- Creatine On Trial - How To Use Creatine Effectively (maybe) [Last Updated On: September 6th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 6th, 2011]
- Effectively Treat IBS Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Naturopathic Medicine - Dr. Trebilcock, ND [Last Updated On: September 9th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 9th, 2011]
- Low Carbs Diet - Carbohydrates diet explained [Last Updated On: September 9th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 9th, 2011]
- How to Get Rid of Spider Veins Naturally [Last Updated On: September 10th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 10th, 2011]
- SUPER Gorgeous Fat Woman [Last Updated On: September 11th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 11th, 2011]
- Healthy Foods That Any Succesful Diet Plan Should Include [Last Updated On: September 13th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 13th, 2011]
- Invitation to Dr. Will Tuttle's World Peace Diet Mastery Program [Last Updated On: September 13th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 13th, 2011]
- Fat Woman Very selfconfident [Last Updated On: September 14th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 14th, 2011]
- How to lose body fat effectively [Last Updated On: September 14th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 14th, 2011]
- Low Carb Meal Plans For Weight Loss [Last Updated On: September 15th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 15th, 2011]
- How To Lose 10 Pounds Fast [Last Updated On: September 17th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 17th, 2011]
- Kidney Diet - The Best Diet for Kidney Disease Sufferers? [Last Updated On: September 20th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 20th, 2011]
- Weight Loss Plans [Last Updated On: September 20th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 20th, 2011]
- Weight Loss Solutions [Last Updated On: September 20th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 20th, 2011]
- Weight Loss Meal Plan [Last Updated On: September 21st, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 21st, 2011]
- A Fast Way To Lose Weight [Last Updated On: September 21st, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 21st, 2011]
- Weight Loss Program [Last Updated On: September 25th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 25th, 2011]
- Weight Loss System [Last Updated On: September 25th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 25th, 2011]
- 3. The Last Diet You'll Ever Need [Last Updated On: September 27th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 27th, 2011]
- Effectively Treat Psoriasis [Last Updated On: September 27th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 27th, 2011]
- A Low Glycemic Diet [Last Updated On: September 27th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 27th, 2011]
- Effectively Treat Asthma with Naturopathic Medicine - Dr. Shannon Sinsheimer, ND [Last Updated On: September 27th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 27th, 2011]
- Banana Diet [Last Updated On: September 28th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 28th, 2011]
- HCG Diet - How do you take HCG drops [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2011]
- Dr Amanda's 'The Don't Go Hungry Diet' [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2011]
- Menopause and Raw Foods Diet [Last Updated On: October 2nd, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 2nd, 2011]
- How to be healthy and lose weight Effectively [Last Updated On: October 4th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 4th, 2011]
- 7 Day Cabbage Soup Diet Plan [Last Updated On: October 4th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 4th, 2011]
- Dr Amanda explains 'The Don't Go Hungry Diet' [Last Updated On: October 4th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 4th, 2011]
- Diabetic Diet - 5 Ways To Lower Your Blood Sugar Level [Last Updated On: October 4th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 4th, 2011]
- The Power of Plant Foods in Anti-Aging and Lifestyle Medicine [Last Updated On: October 4th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 4th, 2011]
- Eating Healthy Foods to Lose Weight Effectively [Last Updated On: October 4th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 4th, 2011]
- Waist Training 2: diet, exercise, fashion [Last Updated On: October 4th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 4th, 2011]
- Healthyliving Carb Confusion [Last Updated On: October 4th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 4th, 2011]
- Fat Belly Diet [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2011]
- THREE KEYS TO FAT BURNING: Hormone Triggers [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2011]
- Race For Glory!: Post-Workout Meal and Diet Update! [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2011]
- Weight Loss Programs [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2011]
- How To Lose Weight Fast and Effectively [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2011]
- Diet Specialist - Issam Ghannam [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2011]
- The Diet Solution Program Ebook Guide Overview [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2011]
- Diet Specialist - Dr Issam Ghannam [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2011]
- Bulking - How to Add Muscle to Your Frame Effectively [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2011]
- Dr. Marc K. Weinberg, DC - Free Fat Burning Seminar [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2011]
- Workouts for Physical Conditions : How to Exercise on a Low-Carb Diet [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2011]
- Best Way To Lose Weight Fast [Last Updated On: October 6th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 6th, 2011]
- Who Else Wants to Lose Excess Weight Effectively [Last Updated On: October 6th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 6th, 2011]
- How Protein Helps You Lose Weight [Last Updated On: October 7th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 7th, 2011]
- Effectively Treat Anxiety Disorder with Naturopathic Medicine - Dr. Tamara Trebilcock, ND [Last Updated On: October 7th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 7th, 2011]
- Fat Loss Diets - How To Lose Belly Fat Now - Video [Last Updated On: October 13th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 13th, 2011]
- Healthy Eating or Junk Food - What is a Good Diet? - Video [Last Updated On: October 13th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 13th, 2011]
- The Empowered Nutrition Meal Plan Story with Vince DelMonte and Patrick McGuire - Video [Last Updated On: October 13th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 13th, 2011]
- Effectively Treat The Flu Influenza With Natural Medicine - Dr. Patti Kim, ND - Video [Last Updated On: October 14th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 14th, 2011]
- Diverticulitis Diet: Here's What Works! - Video [Last Updated On: October 14th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 14th, 2011]
- How To Lose Baby Weight - Video [Last Updated On: October 15th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 15th, 2011]
- HCG Diet is the Proven System to Lose Weight Effectively - Video [Last Updated On: October 15th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 15th, 2011]
- African Mango Diet-Buy African Mango-Pure African Mango - Video [Last Updated On: October 16th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 16th, 2011]
- How to Treat Rosacea Naturally and Effectively? Boris Malayev - Video [Last Updated On: October 18th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 18th, 2011]
- Smoothie Diet Time Now The Juice Fast Is Over? - Video [Last Updated On: October 19th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 19th, 2011]
- Colon Cleansing and Liver Detox Diets Part 1 - Video [Last Updated On: October 19th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 19th, 2011]
- How to Lose Weight Fast - The truth about Fat Burning Foods and Weight Loss Programs - Video [Last Updated On: October 19th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 19th, 2011]
- Danger of diet partches - Video [Last Updated On: October 19th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 19th, 2011]
- Weight Loss Exercises - Video [Last Updated On: October 20th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 20th, 2011]
- The best diet to follow is NO diet at all " Easy .." - Video [Last Updated On: October 21st, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 21st, 2011]
- Best Kept [ Diet] Secret. Part 5. Its all up to you - Video [Last Updated On: October 21st, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 21st, 2011]
- Effectively Treat High Cholesterol with Natural Medicine - Dr. Angela Agrios, ND - Video [Last Updated On: October 23rd, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 23rd, 2011]
- How To Lower Your Cholesterol Naturally [Last Updated On: October 23rd, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 23rd, 2011]
- Effectively Treat Rheumatoid Arthritis with Natural Medicine by Dr. Angela Agrios, ND - Video [Last Updated On: October 25th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 25th, 2011]
- Blood Type Diet Gets My Thumbs Up As It Balances Me - Video [Last Updated On: October 25th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 25th, 2011]
- Foods for Health: Eating for Heart Health - Video [Last Updated On: October 26th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 26th, 2011]
- 3/10/08: Safe and Effective Detox Part I - Video [Last Updated On: October 27th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 27th, 2011]
- FASTEST WEIGHT LOSS DIET - Video [Last Updated On: October 27th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 27th, 2011]
- Raw Sangha #57 - Black American Diet - A Raw Food Revolution Coming Soon! - Video [Last Updated On: October 27th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 27th, 2011]
- Easy-as Ways To Lose Weight Fast - Video [Last Updated On: October 27th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 27th, 2011]
- Diet tips101 - Video [Last Updated On: October 28th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 28th, 2011]
- Foods To Gain Weight Pre- And Post-Workout - Video [Last Updated On: October 28th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 28th, 2011]