Natural Ways to Control High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is a dangerous condition that can quietly cause damage to your heart. It affects around 1 billion people worldwide, and one in three people in the United States. If you don’t control it, it may lead to life-threatening heart disease and stroke. So, you must bring the numbers down with the help of a high blood pressure doctor online.

Sometimes it gets tough to see the signs of increased blood pressure until it’s too late. But, a healthy lifestyle can help you in preventing such a condition. And if you succeed in controlling your blood pressure with your lifestyle and natural ways, you might avoid or delay the requirement of medication. There are various things that you can do to lower your blood pressure naturally. So, let’s go through them.

1. Keep yourself active

Exercising regularly is the best way to lower your blood pressure. Keeping your body active makes your heart stronger and helps it in pumping blood more efficiently. This automatically lowers the pressure in your arteries.

Regular exercise for 150 minutes a week, or around 30 minutes every day can lower your blood pressure if you have high blood pressure. Also, make sure that you are consistent with it, or your blood pressure can rise again. Exercise can help you in avoiding developing hypertension. And if you are already suffering from hypertension, keeping yourself active can help in bringing your blood pressure down to safer limits.

There are various aerobic exercises that you can do to lower your blood pressure. These include walking, cycling, running or jogging, swimming, or dancing. You can also opt for high-intensity short interval exercising. In this, you have to do alternate short bursts of intense training or exercise that includes succeeding recovery time of low-intensity activity. You can also consult your doctor about following an exercise program.

2. Reduce your sodium intake

We all consume salt, mainly because of processed and prepared foods. This is why many public health efforts are focusing on lowering salt in the food industry. Reducing even a small amount of sodium in your diet can help in improving your heart health and lower blood pressure.

However, recent research shows that it is still not very clear how sodium can impact blood pressure. This is because of the genetic differences in how every individual process sodium. Almost 50 percent of people who are suffering from high blood pressure, and one-fourth of people with normal blood pressure, tend to have sensitivity towards salt.

But if you are already suffering from high blood pressure, reducing your sodium intake can be a good option. Try doing it and see the results if there is any difference or not. Prefer fresh foods over processed foods, and include herbs and spices instead of salt. And you do not have to cut back sodium intake suddenly, ease into it and gradually reduce the amount of salt you use. This way it will be easier for your body to adjust to it.

3. Consume less alcohol

Drinking alcohol is the easiest way for you to increase your blood pressure. It is the reason behind 16 percent of high blood pressure cases worldwide. You can drink at times but you need to take care of moderation. Some research suggests that a low to moderate amount of alcohol (especially wine) may help in protecting your heart. But, negative effects can easily overshadow these benefits if you are not being careful.

If you are a woman who consumes more than one drink per day, or a man who consumes more than two drinks per day, then you need to cut back to avoid problems. Drinking more alcohol for a long time can increase your blood pressure. It can even lead to problems like diabetes, however, more research is needed on this. So, alcohol can be both bad and good for your health, depending upon how much you are consuming. If you drink alcohol only in moderation, it can help in protecting your heart. But drinking too much can cause problems and that protective effect gets lost.

4. Cut back on caffeine

Well, caffeine can cause an instant boost to your blood pressure. Although it is still debatable, it can raise blood pressure in people who consume it very occasionally. And people who drink caffeine regularly may experience only a little or no effect on their blood pressure levels. But, you need to understand that there is not a lot of evidence that shows that caffeine can have long-lasting effects on blood pressure. In fact, caffeine and tea can help in reducing the risk of heart disease, which also includes blood pressure. But, if you don’t consume caffeine regularly, it may cause some stronger effects. If you suspect that you are caffeine-sensitive, cut back to see if it helps in lowering your blood pressure.

5. Learn to manage your stress

I know it is easier said than done, you must learn how to control it as it can surely raise your blood pressure. It is one of the key drivers of high blood pressure. Chronic stress makes your body go into a constant fight-or-flight mode. This means you will have a fast heart rate and tightened blood vessels. Occasional stress can also become a cause of high blood pressure if you start eating unhealthy food, drinking alcohol, or smoking due to stress. All these things can increase your blood pressure.

So, whenever you feel stressed, take your time and think about why you are feeling stressed. Look for the causes, that may include your work, family, finances or any illness. Once you figure out the cause behind your stress, you can move to eliminate or reducing your stress.

There are various ways to cope with your stress if you can not eliminate it. This can help in lowering your blood pressure. Some of the best ways are –
1. Exercising.
2. Eating healthy food.
3. Getting enough sleep.
4. Listening to good and soothing music as it can help in relaxing your nervous system.
5. Working a bit less.
6. Changing your expectations and focusing on the priorities.
7. Avoiding stress triggers (which is possible only if you know the cause of your stress).
8. Doing things that you like or enjoy.
9. Practicing gratitude.

Chronic stress can increase your blood pressure. And following these tips can help in reducing your stress, and hence lowering the blood pressure.