[April Bradford]

Five easy tips to lower your blood pressure without medication​

As we get older, it's more important than ever to pay attention to our health and wellbeing. And that includes keeping an eye on our blood pressure.

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is usually caused by the body's inability to deal with an overload of stress hormones.

It is typically a result of a combination of genetics, habitual stress patterns, unhealthy eating, and inactive lifestyles.

While you can't simply wave a magic wand to instantly eradicate your stress, it is still possible to improve your cardiac health through regular exercise and better nutrition.

There are ways to lower your blood pressure that aren’t medication. Image Credit: Pexels​

In fact, simply lowering your blood pressure is a great way to avoid a multitude of cardiovascular complications such as heart attacks, strokes, and peripheral artery disease.

According to Dr Leslie Cho, a cardiologist and a clinical research investigator at the Women's Health Institute and Experimental Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, 'In general, the lower your blood pressure is, the better off you are.'

Here, she shares five quick tips for lowering blood pressure that you can start doing today!

1. Meditate, relax, and de-stress

Learning how to meditate and do breathing exercises is a great way to lower stress levels and blood pressure.

When the body is under constant, unrelenting stress, hormone levels can become imbalanced, potentially leading to high blood pressure.

Meditation can help bring hormonal levels back into equilibrium, making it a simple, stress-based blood pressure-lowering technique that you can use at any time and any place.

2. Switch to a mostly plant-based diet

A plant-based diet can be great for your health. Image Credit: Pexels​

Studies have shown that a mostly plant-based diet can have an impact on blood pressure, even with small amounts of dairy and meat.

According to Joshua Gibbs, a fellow at the University of Warwick School of Life Sciences, a diet heavy in vegan choices could help reduce an individual's probability of cardiovascular events by as much as 9% (for heart attacks) and 7% (for overall mortality).

'This is a significant finding as it highlights that complete eradication of animal products is not necessary to produce reductions and improvements in blood pressure. Essentially, any shift towards a plant-based diet is a good one,' he said.

Don’t want to switch to a plant-based diet? That’s fine! The Heart Foundation reports significant benefits from reducing meat consumption, even if you don’t totally abstain. When choosing meat, opt for lean options and try to limit your intake to 1-3 days per week.

3. Make time for some moderate and consistent physical activity

Make sure you're getting your blood pumping on a daily or weekly basis.

Even a 60-minute walk a couple of times a week can help make a drastic difference in your blood pressure and cardiovascular health in general.

According to clinical exercise physiologist Laura Gray, ACSM-CEP, MS, regular exercisers should always remember to 'focus on breath control’, as breathing improperly can potentially spike blood pressure levels.

4. Consistently prioritise 8 hours of quality sleep

Poor sleep habits are the bane of a number of people's health, and apparently, they can even cause high blood pressure.

If you have trouble getting in the requisite amount of zzz's, openly admit it to yourself and get help. By seeing a doctor or a sleep professional and learning more about how to sleep better, you may reduce your blood pressure as a side effect.

5. Stop smoking once and for all

Smoking can have a devastating impact on your health, and high blood pressure is one of the many risks.

According to Thiviyanath Sellathurai, MD, nicotine makes it harder for your blood to flow through your arteries, which can result in a spike in blood pressure.

When you give up smoking, your blood pressure eventually normalises and begins to drop back to where it should be.

So there you have it, folks! Going forward, reach for that kale salad or that veggie burger, and get moving.

Will you give these tips a try? We’d love to hear from you.

 

[JayKay]

I've had hypertension since 14 years of age.
I already do all the above, as well as limit salt intake.....meaning no added salt to food, and no mineral water, manufactured meat, or cheese.
We can't change the genetic makeup we inherit.

 

[Lizzie1149]

I've had hypertension since 14 years of age.
I already do all the above, as well as limit salt intake.....meaning no added salt to food, and no mineral water, manufactured meat, or cheese.
We can't change the genetic makeup we inherit.

There is some interesting research into familial hypertension. It is manageable. I know many who eat low carb and get reasonable results. Just be very careful with cutting out salt, we do need it to survive. I'd probably look at electrolyte mix as it can give you the right balance without affecting overall blood pressure

 

[JayKay]

There is some interesting research into familial hypertension. It is manageable. I know many who eat low carb and get reasonable results. Just be very careful with cutting out salt, we do need it to survive. I'd probably look at electrolyte mix as it can give you the right balance without affecting overall blood pressure.

Thank you, Lizzie.
I don't use low salt margarine, and there's plenty of salt in other manufactured foods.
It's just extra salt I don't add to my cooking. I've been on antihypertensive drugs for many years, and was hospitalised for months when pregnant with both my children.
I had a stroke just before my daughter was born...just before second stage because my blood pressure suddenly hit the roof.
I am closely monitored, even all these years later.

 

[Lizzie1149]

I refuse to believe that going plant based will fix this. I have gone the other way pretty much and found my blood results have improved markedly. We need meat in our diet to get the right animal acids and nutrient contrary to popular belief. Type 2 diabetes is rampant and for anyone not brought up on a really clean food diet, going plant based can be bloody dangerous as the carb load is far too high for their system to cope with and insulin dumps would be seriously inflammatory as insulin is. a hormone

There is some interesting research into familial hypertension. It is manageable. I know many who eat low carb and get reasonable results. Just be very careful with cutting out salt, we do need it to survive. I'd probably look at electrolyte mix as it can give you the right balance without affecting overall blood pressure

yeah it's pretty scary. My hubby had a stroke and his blood pressure has gone up on a couple of occasions. Quite scary. I don't use salt in cooking either. I put some magnesium liquid in a bottle and drink it over the day. I use an electrolyte sodium, potassium, mag mix in my salt grinder, with half of it sea salt. I've found a few in my groups on Facebook with the issues you have.

 

[hdhensel]

Blood pressure !!! now there's a topic of endless debate. Being middle-aged (I dream a bit) my blood pressure has climbed a bit higher than it should be. So, research needed to be done!! The over-riding fact about blood pressure is that it is still not well understood. It varies from day to day and even many times during the day. Whenever I saw my doctor he would affix the machine and then tell me that the BP is too high and gave me a script to get tablets. Now this is important: to get an accurate reading you should not have eaten for an hour and you should be seated calmly somewhere for at least 30 minutes. You should not have clothes under the cuff and the cuff should be about 2cm above your elbow join. Note the incorrect positioning of the cuff in the initial picture. So typically you might have got out of the car and hurried over to the GP. I am so surprised that most (or none) of the GP's follow these strict guidelines issued by the manufacturer, e.g. Omron. In other words most of your BP readings are incorrect and the issuance of tablets to reduce an artificial high BP reading is negligent. Because I didn't believe my GP's readings I finished up with 4 BP meters. Then came a 3 month period of intense study of my BP (many times a day at the same time with similar parameters). It suffices to say that there were some trends but the readings were still too variable and well outside the accuracy and reproducibility of the machines. Trying to discuss and find out the exact reasons for my variations remains a fruitless search. Basically the medical profession still does not know a lot of basics of our body. So don't be hasty in accepting medicines that you really don't need. They could cause you more problems in the long run.

 

[peter ayres]

I am a 90 years old male and 4 months ago I had a mild heart attack. I eat little rice or pasta, bread, eat salmon once a week and eat little red meats. I walk around 2 kms as often as I can but I still have high blood pressure. Yes, I consume vegetables every week but my sleep patterns are up and down.

 

[Plastic Druid]

If you are able, the weather is conducive and your destination is near, walk instead of driving or catching public transport. The exercise works together with the dietary changes to improve your overall health.

 

[Lizzie1149]

Peter Ayres, this is not uncommon. I have gone to mostly red meat as I have learned that we need it for a lot of our nutrients. I don't eat much fruit or veg. Weigh loss has escaped me but I'm very well otherwise. I know so many in your age group who have lived long lives. I think it has to do with living through the war years, eating from the back yard, being outdoors as kids, and little or no junk food and. low intake of sugar and stuff

 

[Tipsy]

As we get older, it's more important than ever to pay attention to our health and wellbeing. And that includes keeping an eye on our blood pressure.

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is usually caused by the body's inability to deal with an overload of stress hormones.

It is typically a result of a combination of genetics, habitual stress patterns, unhealthy eating, and inactive lifestyles.

While you can't simply wave a magic wand to instantly eradicate your stress, it is still possible to improve your cardiac health through regular exercise and better nutrition.

There are ways to lower your blood pressure that aren’t medication. Image Credit: Pexels​

In fact, simply lowering your blood pressure is a great way to avoid a multitude of cardiovascular complications such as heart attacks, strokes, and peripheral artery disease.

According to Dr Leslie Cho, a cardiologist and a clinical research investigator at the Women's Health Institute and Experimental Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, 'In general, the lower your blood pressure is, the better off you are.'

Here, she shares five quick tips for lowering blood pressure that you can start doing today!

1. Meditate, relax, and de-stress

Learning how to meditate and do breathing exercises is a great way to lower stress levels and blood pressure.

When the body is under constant, unrelenting stress, hormone levels can become imbalanced, potentially leading to high blood pressure.

Meditation can help bring hormonal levels back into equilibrium, making it a simple, stress-based blood pressure-lowering technique that you can use at any time and any place.

2. Switch to a mostly plant-based diet

A plant-based diet can be great for your health. Image Credit: Pexels​

Studies have shown that a mostly plant-based diet can have an impact on blood pressure, even with small amounts of dairy and meat.

According to Joshua Gibbs, a fellow at the University of Warwick School of Life Sciences, a diet heavy in vegan choices could help reduce an individual's probability of cardiovascular events by as much as 9% (for heart attacks) and 7% (for overall mortality).

'This is a significant finding as it highlights that complete eradication of animal products is not necessary to produce reductions and improvements in blood pressure. Essentially, any shift towards a plant-based diet is a good one,' he said.

Don’t want to switch to a plant-based diet? That’s fine! The Heart Foundation reports significant benefits from reducing meat consumption, even if you don’t totally abstain. When choosing meat, opt for lean options and try to limit your intake to 1-3 days per week.

3. Make time for some moderate and consistent physical activity

Make sure you're getting your blood pumping on a daily or weekly basis.

Even a 60-minute walk a couple of times a week can help make a drastic difference in your blood pressure and cardiovascular health in general.

According to clinical exercise physiologist Laura Gray, ACSM-CEP, MS, regular exercisers should always remember to 'focus on breath control’, as breathing improperly can potentially spike blood pressure levels.

4. Consistently prioritise 8 hours of quality sleep

Poor sleep habits are the bane of a number of people's health, and apparently, they can even cause high blood pressure.

If you have trouble getting in the requisite amount of zzz's, openly admit it to yourself and get help. By seeing a doctor or a sleep professional and learning more about how to sleep better, you may reduce your blood pressure as a side effect.

5. Stop smoking once and for all

Smoking can have a devastating impact on your health, and high blood pressure is one of the many risks.

According to Thiviyanath Sellathurai, MD, nicotine makes it harder for your blood to flow through your arteries, which can result in a spike in blood pressure.

When you give up smoking, your blood pressure eventually normalises and begins to drop back to where it should be.

So there you have it, folks! Going forward, reach for that kale salad or that veggie burger, and get moving.

Will you give these tips a try? We’d love to hear from you.

some of these things I can agree with except for the vegan style BS..... increasing your Lung capacity is a better one especially strengthening the breathing..... I am on a Keto style eating schedule so I am loosing weight as well as lowering my blood pressure, it is mainly protein (meat) style food with 16 to 20 hour fasting routine.... works for me. https://www.healthline.com/health/breathing-exercise

 

[Penny4]

My husband has taken high blood pressure medication since he was 21. Inherited genes from his mother.
Luckily our 2 sons averted it.
It's akin to migraines passing on from mothers. My father suffered debilitating migraines inherited from his mother. My brother and I escaped that one too.

 

[kinmalpractice]

You are right about age. Lowering blood pressure becomes important, especially for people with stressful jobs. Removing fast food and smoking habits will help you fight against high blood pressure. However, they are not the only problem, and I can add that the additional problem of high blood pressure can be a high cholesterol level. It may happen because you are eating a lot of fast food. Buying over counter drugs for cholesterol can solve the issue, but remember, if you will, keep eating unhealthy food. The best advice I can be given is to go to the gym and try to reduce your unhealthy habits as fast as possible to have a happy retirement and see your grandchildren.