How to Lower Your Blood Pressure

Did you know that one in every three Americans are affected by high blood pressure or hypertension? This includes teenagers and children as well. What it basically translates to is that millions of people are now at an increasing risk of a coronary heart disease, heart attacks or a stroke due to the increased pressure of the blood flow in the arteries. Knowing how to lower your blood pressure can thus decrease your chances of developing a heart disease or having a heart attack. Here is a look at some of the ways to lower your blood pressure naturally.

How to Lower Your Blood Pressure Naturally

Managing Your Weight: Managing weight is one of the most important measures for lowering high blood pressure naturally. This is because more the body mass, the greater is the pressure exerted on the walls of your artery. Since the body needs more oxygen and nutrients for the various tissues, the blood flow through the artery increases, creating hypertension. Not only does reducing weight decrease cardiovascular risks, but also makes the medication much more effective. For losing weight you need to eat fewer calories than what you can burn. Please do not resort to unhealthy "fad" diets which usually result in a temporary weight loss only. Along with this you also need to increase the levels of physical activity to lose weight.

Say "No" to Salt: Researchers have found that cutting back on the salt or sodium in your diet can effectively reduce your blood pressure. This means cutting down the normal salt intake to almost half of that. So if a healthy person eats 2,400 milligrams of sodium or one tablespoon of salt everyday, people suffering from high blood pressure are restricted to half a tablespoon of salt. You can instead, substitute it with bay leaf, nutmeg, pepper, basil, garlic, ginger, oregano, rosemary and other natural herbs and spices. Also watch out for processed food products which contain high levels of sodium.

DASH Diet: "Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension" or the DASH diet as it is commonly known, incorporates a lot of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products. This is accompanied by some amounts of red meat, sweets or foods with fat. This diet plan is known to reduce blood pressure in around two weeks. Read more on foods to lower blood pressure.

Reduce Alcohol and Caffeine Consumption: If you are a habitual or a heavy drinker then cutting back on the alcohol consumption may show significant changes in your pressure levels. It has been observed that heavy drinkers who reduced their alcohol consumption to one or two glasses a day could lower their systolic blood pressure by nearly 4 millimeters of mercury. Along with this the reduced alcohol can help you lose weight and cut back on the excess calories consumed. In addition to alcohol, caffeine is also linked to high blood pressure. So an average consumption of 125 mg of coffee, tea or cola can increase the blood pressure significantly. So if you cannot make it through the day without your morning cup of coffee then look for decaf versions to maintain your blood pressure. Read more on caffeine side effects.

Meditation: Decreasing stress by meditation and yoga has been a beneficial method of reducing heart diseases and lowering blood pressure. Relaxation techniques like tai-chi and yoga help calm the nervous system and slow the breathing rate. High levels of stress in the body can affect the blood pressure because our body's inbred preparation for reacting to or retreating from danger, also known as the fight-or-flight response, can have adverse effects on a person with high blood pressure.

Other Lifestyle and Diet Changes: Exercising everyday not only helps you shed those extra kilos and get back in shape, but also strengthens the heart and helps it pump blood more efficiently. Thirty to sixty minutes of moderate to intense exercises such as jogging and running in a week can regulate your blood pressure. In addition to this, eat foods rich in potassium, calcium and magnesium and reduce the consumption of foods rich in fats and cholesterol to lower your blood pressure without medication. More on natural ways to lower blood pressure.

Read more on:

• Lowering Blood Pressure Naturally
• Natural Remedies for High Blood Pressure

These methods on how to lower your blood pressure naturally can help you control the problems related to an elevated blood pressure. To effectively lower your blood pressure, please consult a doctor immediately because left untreated, high blood pressure can increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, brain hemorrhage and kidney disease.