Natural Ways to Lower Blood Pressure

Adopt Power walks

Power walks the way you go !!

Hypertensive patients who went for fitness walks at a brisk pace lowered pressure by almost 8 mmhg over 6 mm Hg.

Exercise helps the heart use oxygen more efficiently, so it doesn’t work as hard to pump blood.

Get a vigorous cardio workout of at least 30 minutes on most days of the week. Try increasing speed or distance so you keep challenging your ticker.

Be salt smart

It has been found out that Hypertensive patients usually have family history of hypertension. This has been recently found to be due to family sensitivity to salt.

Watch for sodium in processed foods, That’s where most of the sodium in your diet comes from. Try seasoned foods with spices, herbs, lemon, and salt-free seasoning blends.

Breathe deeply

Slow breathing and meditative practices such as  yoga, and tai chi decrease stress hormones, which elevate renin, a kidney enzyme that raises blood pressure.

Try 5 minutes in the morning and at night.

Inhale deeply and expand your belly. Exhale and release all of your tension.

These stress-busting yoga also helps to relieve tension.

Potassium for sodium

Aim for potassium levels of 2,000 to 4,000 mg a day.

Loading up on potassium-rich fruits and vegetables is an important part of any blood pressure-lowering program.

Top sources of potassium-rich produce include sweet potatoes, tomatoes, orange juice, potatoes, bananas, kidney beans, peas, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, and dried fruits such as prunes and raisins.

Indulge in dark chocolate

Dark chocolate varieties contain flavanols that make blood vessels more elastic.

Studies have shown eating dark chocolate have shown to decrease Blood Pressure.

Have 1/2 ounce daily (make sure it contains at least 70% cocoa).

Drink Alcohol

Don’t get excited !  Drinking a little Alcohol is good ( Beware: Only LITTLE”). Studies have found that light drinking (defined as one-quarter to one-half a drink per day for a woman) may actually reduce blood pressure more than no drinks per day.

One “drink” is 12 ounces of beer or 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of spirits.

Other studies have also found that moderate drinking—up to one drink a day for a woman, two for a man—can lower risks of heart disease. But moderate alcohol is protective of the heart. If you are going to drink, drink moderately.

Switch to decaf coffee

Scientists have long debated the effects of caffeine on blood pressure. Studies found that caffeine consumption of 500 mg—roughly three 8-ounce cups of coffee—increased blood pressure by 4 mm Hg, and that effect lasted until bedtime.

Caffeine can raise blood pressure by tightening blood vessels(Vasoconstriction) and by magnifying the effects of stress.

When you’re under stress, your heart starts pumping a lot more blood, boosting blood pressure and caffeine exaggerates that effect.

 If you drink a lot of Coffee, it is better that you switch over to Decaffeinated Coffee.

Take up tea

Lowering high blood pressure is as easy as one, two, tea.

The phytochemicals in hibiscus are probably responsible for the large reduction in high blood pressure, says studies.

Many herbal teas contain hibiscus-  look for blends that list it near the top of the chart of ingredients—this often indicates a higher concentration per serving.

Work (a bit) less

Putting in more than 41 hours per week at the office raises your risk of hypertension by 15%, according to a University of California.

Overtime makes it hard to exercise and eat healthy.

It may be difficult to clock out early in today’s tough economic times, but try to leave at a decent hour—so you can go to the gym or cook a healthy meal—as often as possible.

Set an end-of-day message on your computer as a reminder to turn it off and go home.

Take a break of few minutes between work so relax your mind.

Music Therapy

Want to bring down your blood pressure a bit more than medication or lifestyle changes can do alone?

The right tunes can help, according to researchers at the University of Florence in Italy. 

Listening to soothing classical, Celtic, or Indian music for 30 minutes daily while breathing slowly lowers systolic pressure by 3-4 mm Hg after a month.

Seek help for snoring

It’s time to heed your partner’s complaints and get that snoring checked out. Loud, incessant snores are one of the main symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

University of Alabama researchers found that many sleep apnea sufferers also had high levels of aldosterone, a hormone that can boost blood pressure.

In fact, it’s estimated that half of all people with sleep apnea have high blood pressure.

If you have sleep apnea, you may experience many brief yet potentially life-threatening interruptions in your breathing while you sleep.

In addition to loud snoring, excessive daytime tiredness and early morning headaches are also good clues.

If you have high blood pressure, ask your doctor if OSA could be behind it; treating sleep apnea may lower aldosterone levels and improve BP.

Jump for soy

A study from Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association found for the first time that replacing some of the refined carbohydrates in your diet with foods high in soy or milk protein, such as low-fat dairy, can bring down systolic blood pressure if you have hypertension or prehypertension.