1. Try Yoga: Yoga is a great way to reduce stress, which contributes to hypertension. But there are some poses in particular recommended for those wanting to improve their cardiac health. These include:
- forward bends like virasana and upavista konasana, which are both sitting postures.
- horizontal asanas which allow the heart beat to slow down when they are practised slowly and rhythmically
- asanas like uttanasana and adhomukha savasana
2. Regular exercise: It doesn’t have to be yoga. Any regular exercise like walking, biking or gardening is great for lowering blood pressure. Your physician will be able to give you an exercise plan that suits your heart condition and physical fitness levels. It’s important not to overdo it too quickly. Tai chi is actually an excellent way to reduce hypertension. Like yoga, it is relaxing, rhythmical, a stress reducer, and has great benefit on the nervous and parasympathetic systems within the body.
Having a regular exercise program may even reduce your need for blood pressure medication.
3. Eat more bananas! Bananas are high in potassium, which is great for reducing hypertension. Other dietary improvements include eating more fruit and vegetables generally. Studies have found 8 servings of fruit and vegetables daily to be preferable, with these having a particular benefit for cardiovascular health:
- Lettuce
- spinach
- cauliflower
- cabbage
- broccoli
- swiss chard
- citrus fruits
And when these changes are combined with exercise, there are more significant improvements in blood pressure.
4. Make sure you get your folic acid: A study by the Harvard Medical School looked at the benefits of folic acid on blood pressure, and found it to be highly beneficial, particularly amongst younger women. It seemed to have a protective effect against hypertension. Younger women who took at least 1mg of folic acid a day lowered their risk of hypertension by 46%. Older women who had reasonable amounts of folic acid daily lowered their risk by 18%. The study was conducted on 156,000 nurses, 19,720 of whom had high blood pressure.
5. Blessed chocolate: Dark chocolate, and foods and supplements that had high levels of cocoa including chocolate confectionary, cocoa sandwich filling and drinks, have been found to be associated with a lower blood pressure and reduced risk of dying from any cause in a small study conducted on 470 elderly men (they were on average 72 7ears old). The study followed them for 15 years, and those that ate more than 2.3 grams of cocoa a day had lower blood pressure than those that didn’t. Researchers believe it is the flavanol component of cocoa that provides this beneficial effect.
Before thinking this is a green light to eat lots of chocolate, you’ll need about 100 grams of dark chocolate a day to get the blood pressure benefits. That equates to an extra 500 calories per 100 grams, with an average fat content of 30%. Raw cocoa is not well taken by people when it is eaten in large amounts. The calorie and fat considerations need to be taken into account, although there are some chocolate bars out there that have a higher flavanol content.
Rebecca Prescott
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/top-5-natural-ways-to-reduce-your-blood-pressure-55433.html
9 comments ↓
What are the best natural ways to reduce blood pressure?
I have been trying to watch the sodium, diet and exercise. Anymore suggestions?
A good herbal supplement I have tried is Pressure Lo.This can be found
at The Vitamin Shoppe and other health food stores.
References :
Long time advocate of herbal medicines.
It’s very good that you’ve already adjusted your diet (including salt restrictions) and exercise to help… too many people don’t do that. Thankfully, there are some herbs that are very beneficial for Blood Pressure for those that need more help.
The most popular ones are Fish Oil, Hawthorn Berries, L-Arginine, Resveratrol (which is in Red Wine), milk protein casein peptides (I’ve seen a few different brand names, but most of them have ‘peptide’ in the name), Bonito Peptides, and Garlic.
Good luck and I hope I helped!
References :
Health/nutrition classes and I’m a Product Specialist for a vitamin company
Are you on any medications? Some medications like anti-inflammatories, steroids & contraceptives can raise blood pressure.
Being overweight can cause high BP
The sodium issue is really important. It’s crammed into so many things. Even when I feel like I ate low sodium in one day, if I add it all up, it’s still high. Avoid canned, marinated & pickled foods, cheese, deli meats… and a lot of those ‘diet’ and ‘healthy choice’ options are higher in sodium than other other foods I’ve seen. So always check the labels. Even milk & bread contain high amounts of sodium & sugar. And of course, don’t use table salt
Don’t drink alcohol
Don’t consume a lot of sugar, but DEFINITELY DON’T use artificial sweeteners instead. They are not good for any aspect of health, including high BP.
Eat a diet full of fresh vegetables, whole grains like quinoa, brown rice(wholemeal bread from the supermarket doesnt count – its just as processed as white), foods low in saturated fat, but adequate in ‘good’ fats like oily fish, avocado, nuts, seeds. Fish oil capsuled can be good, but a lot of them are cheap and nasty, made from unhealthy farmed fish.
Also consider going to a Naturopath who is experienced in herbal medicine. There are a lot of herbs that are hypotensive & can help in lowering BP. A Naturopath has access to high dose, high quality extracts that you can’t buy yourself at a chemist. Plus everyone’s body is different, so you might respond to certain herbs better than others… a Naturopath would need to monitor the treatment
References :
studying a degree in Naturopathy/nutrition
Supplements:
Calcium, Magnesium, Garlic, L Carnitine, L glutamic acid, L glutamine, Selenium, Co Q10, EFAs (flaxseed oil) Vitamin C, Lecithin granules and Vitamin E.
Animal fats (meat and dairy) should be avoided. Broiled white fish and skinless chicken may be consumed in moderation only. Primary protein sources should be from vegetables, grains and legumes.
Avoid all alcohol, caffeine and tobacco.
Fast for three days each month to periodically cleanse and detoxify the body.
References :
* Cayenne Pepper is probably the fastest way to lower high blood pressure. Either mix one teaspoon of cayenne pepper with half a cup of luke-warm water and stir, or better still, mix two tablespoons of honey with two teaspoons of cayenne pepper and boil them with a glass of water and drink when it is warm. Not only will this bring great relief to your high blood pressure, but it also tastes good!
* Hawthorn berries have rightly been called "food for the heart". They lower blood pressure as well as protecting arterial walls and preventing and treating hypertension and angina.
* Two Evening Primrose oil pills a day can drop blood pressure about 10 points off of both the bottom and top numbers.
* Cutting out all caffeine can lower blood pressure by 10-15 points off the top and 8-10 points off the bottom.
* Eat lots of garlic, preferably raw minced garlic. Studies have proven that garlic significantly lowers both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
* Likewise cinnamon can help lower blood pressure, as well as lower circulating blood glucose, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol and overall cholesterol.
* Mix 1/2 onion juice and 1/2 honey. Take two tablespoons once a day for one to two weeks.
* Eat one Papaya on an empty stomach daily for a month. Do not eat anything after for about two hours.
* A healthy diet with plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits, and quality fish oils and other good omega 3 fats will also help.
References :
http://www.tbyil.com/High_Blood_Pressure.htm
Meditation helps lower blood pressure. Go to http://www.visitthegarden.com and try the swim with the dolphins. Very relaxing and will lower your blood pressure naturally.
References :
life
http://www.universalformulas.com/5010.product.html?keywords=coq10&SID=d876975d224e3be53cd2d0c13932623f&4a6178d371fa7cb6=4a6178d371fa7cb6&blFromSearch=1
References :
Our body is 75% water including our blood. to lower blood pressure naturely is to drink alkaline water at least 64+ oz. per day. Alkalized water is ionized negative charged water. the + part of water is acidic and causes all kinds of problems. If you hydrade with alkalized water you body will start to tweak over to alkaline pH 7 versis acidic pH5.6. Kangen Water @ 9.5pH is the best way to correct the problem and when you drink it the body will take care of the rest. all bottled waters out there are acidic 5.5 pH, and sodas and power drinks are extremly acidic 4.5pH. soon the 75% (that is water) of you body will be alkaline and you will have good health.
References :
Dr. Dave Carpenter, on YouTube part 1>4 – Dr. J. Baroody Alkalize or Die – Kangen water site } http://the-roundup.com