High blood pressure is a common condition in adults across the world, with around 47% of people in the US alone living with it. It can be caused by a range of factors, and the symptoms that it can bring range from mild to life-altering, making it crucial that everyone works hard to keep their blood pressure in check.
While you can find medications that can help you with this, you can also work to find ways to naturally decrease your blood pressure. Let’s take a look at some of the best ways to naturally reduce your blood pressure, giving you the chance to enjoy a healthier life while also making yourself feel a whole lot better in the process.
Improve Your BMI
A BMI, or body mass index, is a tool that is used by medical professionals to determine the balance of fat, muscle, and other components in your body. This can give a much better indication of health than simply weighing yourself, as it takes your body shape and structure into account. Most people should be aiming for a BMI that puts them into the “healthy” category. This may mean that you need to either gain or lose weight, but a doctor will be able to help you to determine the best choice for you.
Most people associate being overweight with high blood pressure, and there is certainly a connection between these two areas. At the same time, though, being underweight can also cause a spike in your blood pressure, and this makes it crucial that you are working towards a healthy BMI rather than simply trying to lose as much weight as possible. Many modern diets take an approach like this.
Do More Exercise
Unlike many other animals, humans have to use their muscles to keep them strong. Your heart is included in this, with exercise making your heart stronger, and a sedentary life making it weaker. Exercise can help to lower your blood pressure, reducing the risk of developing issues like hypertension. Thankfully, there are loads of different exercises you can try when you’re working to make this work for you.
The exercises you choose should be aerobic, at least to start with, as this will have the biggest impact on your blood pressure. Walking, cycling, running, and swimming are all popular examples of aerobic exercises. Most people have the resources they need to achieve a goal like this at home, making it nice and easy to get the results you want in no time at all.
A Better Diet
Your diet and blood pressure have a direct connection that should never be ignored, but this becomes even more crucial when you are working to decrease your blood pressure. There are several elements of a diet that can influence your blood pressure, and they all have their own solutions.
- High Sodium: Sodium is one of the key elements found in salt, something your body needs to be healthy. Of course, though, too much sodium can have a dramatic impact on many of your vital organs, including your heart. Lowering the amount of sodium you consume can be a great way to improve your blood pressure, with most adults doing best when they have about 1,500 mg of sodium each day.
- Low Potassium: Potassium is another element that your body needs and many people don’t get enough of the stuff. This element can lower the impact that sodium has on your blood pressure. Bananas are an excellent source of potassium, though you can also find natural supplements to help with this.
- A Clean Diet: The types of food you eat can also impact your blood pressure. Grains, fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products come with loads of health benefits, all while helping to lower your blood pressure. Of course, this also means that you should avoid things like saturated fats.
Improving your diet doesn’t have to be a challenging process. Most people are able to achieve this goal quite quickly, and it can help to use methods like a food diary to make it easier for yourself. As time goes by, you will be able to improve your blood pressure more and more if you keep up with a good diet.
Lowering Caffeine Intake
The idea of getting up in the morning without a strong cup of coffee can be painful to a lot of people. More than half of the adults in the US drink coffee regularly, but this can quickly lead to drinking too much caffeine, raising your blood pressure in the process. Lowering your caffeine intake is one of the best ways to reduce your blood pressure, and this is something that just about any coffee drinker can achieve. It’s worth noting that a lot of energy drinks and carbonated soft drinks also contain high levels of caffeine.
Reducing your caffeine intake can be achieved in a number of different ways. Getting rid of the coffee you have at home is a good place to start, and stopping visits to local coffee shops can also help. Taking away your need for caffeine can also help with this. Getting a good night’s sleep each day is essential, but you could also think about using options like decaffeinated coffee.
Stopping Unhealthy Habits
There are a lot of unhealthy habits out there. While some won’t change the way you feel for a very long time, they will be having an impact from day one, and this is something you have to work hard to overcome. You can find some examples of the types of habits you should be working to avoid.
- Smoking: Smoking is bad for many aspects of your health, like your lungs and your throat. It can also raise your blood pressure, and this is a good enough reason to quit on its own.
- Alcohol: Drinking alcohol is a big part of life for many people, and it’s fun to go out and enjoy yourself from time to time. Regular drinking and occasional heavy binges can be very bad for your body, raising your blood pressure while also harming other organs.
- Junk Food: It’s easy to fall into the trap of eating junk food on a regular basis. Most people have access to countless food options close to them, but eating food like this can quickly become similar to an addiction.
These are just a few examples of common unhealthy habits that can impact your blood pressure. Most people have access to loads of professional support that can help them with issues like this, but you have to want to make a change for yourself to be able to achieve your goals with a habit or addiction.
Lowering Stress Levels
Stress is a survival trait that motivates animals to do the things they need to survive. The vast majority of humans in the modern world don’t have to deal with daily concerns about survival, with food, water, and safe shelter becoming increasingly accessible. So, why do people feel stressed?
This essential survival trait can also be linked to things like work, financial commitments, and even raising a family. Stress can raise your blood pressure, and this means that feeling it too often can harm your physical health. Reducing stress can be very challenging, but you can find support that will help you with this. Learning about and practicing mindfulness is a good start. Alongside this, though, you could also consider the idea of getting therapy to help with your stress.
Getting Professional Support
Naturally lowering your blood pressure is a challenge that many people struggle to overcome on their own. While a lot of doctors will recommend medication for issues like this, you can usually push them to give you answers that will help you to achieve this goal without having to get a prescription. This can be well worth the time you put into it, with many people finding that the advice they receive from a doctor is much better than what they can figure out for themselves online.
Alongside your doctor, you could also talk to other professionals to help with your blood pressure. A nutritionist will be able to help you to work on a diet that makes you happy without hurting your health, while a therapist can give you the power you need to overcome the stress in your life. It’s always worth working on elements of your life like this, giving yourself the chance to improve your life without having to do it by yourself.
Your blood pressure should always be important to you. While it can be all too easy to ignore elements of your life like this, you need to work extremely hard to make sure that your body is getting the support that it needs. Thankfully, though, there are plenty of options available that can help you with work like this.
Proper Supplementation
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