High blood pressure or hypertension is dangerous because it makes the heart work harder and contributes to hardening of the arteries or atherosclerosis, stroke, kidney disease, and to development of heart failure. Consider doing these natural ways to reduce high blood pressure before consuming a drug.
What is High Blood Pressure or Hypertension?
High blood pressure or hypertension is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated.
A blood pressure reading has a top number (systolic) and the bottom number (diastolic).
The blood pressure ranges are:
- Normal: less than 120 over 80 (120/80)
- Prehypertension: 120-139 over 80-89
- Stage 1 high blood pressure: 140-159 over 90-99
- Stage 2 high blood pressure: 160 and above over 100 and above
- High blood pressure in people over age 60: 150 and above over 90 and above
Watch a video about what is high blood pressure or hypertension below:
High Blood Pressure Symptoms:
High blood pressure is a largely symptomless “silent killer“. We should not ignore our blood pressure because we think a certain symptom or sign will alert us to the problem. Read other diseases that threaten women over 40 here.
High Blood Pressure Causes:
The exact causes of high blood pressure are not known. These are some factors and conditions may play a role in its development:
- Smoking
- Being overweight or obese
- Lack of physical activity
- Too much salt in the diet
- Too much alcohol consumption (more than 1 to 2 drinks per day)
- Stress
- Older age
- Genetics
- Familly history
- Chronic kidney disease
- Adrenal and thyroid disorders
- Sleep apnea
Of the several causes of high blood or hypertension mentioned above, it can be prevented and treated easily. The important things to be considered are the healthy lifestyle and the foods + drink we consume.
Natural Ways To Reduce High Blood Pressure
These are some healthy lifestyles in order to reduce blood pressure:
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Go For Walk
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Breathe Deeply
Picture 1. Breathe Deeply (credit to Pixabay)
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Eat Less Salt
An adult should eat no more than 6g of salt a day. Eating too much salt is the biggest cause of high blood pressure. The more salt we eat, the higher our blood pressure will be. Salt makes our body retain water. if we eat too much, the extra water stored in the body raises our blood pressure.
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Work Less
Working a lot and stressful work situations are linked to high blood pressure. Chronic stress is an important contributor to high blood pressure. We should try to accept things we can not change. Make time to relax and to do activities we enjoy. Expressing gratitude to others can help reduce stressful thoughts.
Picture 2. A Relax Woman (credit to Pixabay)
5.Consume Certain Foods and Drinks That Help To Reduce Blood Pressure
Here are foods and drinks that good to be consumed as natural ways to reduce high blood pressure or hypertension:
1. Vegetables
Vegetables can help lower blood pressure in many ways. Most contain a high level of nitrate and nitrite, good sources of nitric oxide (NO), a blood vessel relaxing signal molecule. Consume vegetables such as acorn squash, asparagus, beet greens, beetroot, broccoli, carrot, cauliflower, celery, chayote, corn, green beans, kale, lettuce, mushrooms, potato, pumpkin, radish, snow peas, spinach, sweet peppers, sweet potato, tomato, yam, zucchini are good to reduce blood pressure.
Tomato which rich in vitamins and minerals is very good for the body. Tomatoes contain calcium, potassium and vitamin C. Potassium and calcium can help the body in lowering high blood pressure.
Potato has many benefits for the body. In addition to a healthy source of carbohydrates, potatoes also contain magnesium and potassium. Both of these compounds will be very useful for controlling blood pressure in the body. Magnesium is also very reliable to facilitate the flow of blood. Both of these compounds can help the body in maintaining blood pressure.
Picture 3. Potato (credit to Pixabay)
Green vegetables are very helpful in treating high blood pressure. Spinach leaves have potassium content. Celery also has a lot of potassium and calcium to help cure hypertension. Add celery to the healthy diet every day to overcome hypertension.
Picture 4. Celery (credit to Pixabay)
Picture 5. Beetroot (credit to Pixabay)
2. Fruits
Fruits are sources of vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidant. Consume fruits such as apples, apricots, banana, blueberries, cantaloupe, dates, figs, grapefruit, guava, kiwi, mangoes, oranges, prunes, strawberries, watermelon are natural ways to reduce high blood pressure. Dried fruit provides the same benefits as fresh as long as it is not pickled, salted, or processed with added sugar, fat or salt.
Read about benefits of eating rainbow color fruits and vegetables here.
Picture 6. Various Fruits (credit to Pixabay)
3. Beans and Peas
All beans and peas can help reduce high blood pressure due to their high content of fiber, potassium, and magnesium. Beans and peas have a variety of vitamins and minerals that are very useful for our body and can reduce high blood pressure. Canned beans and peas provide the same benefits as fresh, as long as they do not contain added sugar, fat or salt.
Consume black beans, kidney beans, lentils, lime beans, pinto beans, soybeans ( and its food product such as tofu, tempeh, soybean milk), split peas are good to reduce high blood pressure. Soybeans have high potassium and magnesium content that help lower blood pressure in the body.
Picture 7. Soybean (credit to Pixabay)
Picture 8. Pea (credit to Pixabay)
4. Nuts and Seeds
Nuts and seeds that contain higher amounts of omega-3 and lower amounts of omega-6 are the optimal choices to reduce blood pressure. They are cashews, flax seeds, hickory nuts, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, walnuts.
Picture 9. Nuts (credit to Pexels)
Picture 10. Seeds (credit to Pixabay)
5. Whole Grains
The bran and the germ found at the heart of the grain are the cause of blood pressure lowering effect. It is important to read the nutrition label and make sure the products we select are low sodium and low fat. Consume amaranth, barley, buckwheat, oatmeal, quinoa, wheat bran, wheat germ, whole wheat products are good to reduce blood pressure.
Picture 11. Quinoa Food (credit to Pixabay)
6. Dark Chocolate
Picture 12. Dark Chocolate (credit to Pixabay)
We should be very careful not eat it too much because chocolate is also high in calories. Choose dark chocolate consisting of at least 70 percent cocoa powder.
7. Spices
Consume spices such as garlic, cardamom, cinnamon, curcumin, ginger, and cayenne pepper are fantastic ways to reduce the high blood pressure. Researchers have discovered a connection between the phenol content of certain spices and their capacity to prevent glycation and formation of AGE compounds that are responsible for premature aging and heart disease. Learn more about benefits of consuming cardamom, curcumin, and ginger.
Garlic is very good in helping to heal high blood or hypertension. It is proven to prevent the occurrence of blood clotting process and able to withstand the effects of high blood on the body. In addition, garlic is a low cholesterol food that can help to reduce the blockage in our heart.
Picture 13. Spices (credit to Pixabay)
8. Drink Tea
Picture 14. Tea (credit to Pixabay)
9. Drink Skim Milk
Changing the type of milk we drink is a dietary approach to treating high blood pressure. Fat-free or skim milk contains only 0.2 grams of fat, with 0.15 grams being saturated fat. Fat, especially saturated and trans fat, increases our risk of gaining weight. Carrying extra weight makes hypertension patients condition worse.
10. Drink Lemon Water
An ingredient in citrus fruit like lemon called auraptene (Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences, Feb.2015) can reduce high blood pressure.
11. Consume Honey
Honey has a soothing effect on our blood vessels and helps in reducing high blood pressure. Consuming 1 or 2 tbsp of honey daily will help us in controlling high blood pressure or hypertension.
12. Switch To Decaffeinated Coffee
CONCLUSION
There are many natural ways to reduce high blood pressure. We can choose and apply the most suitable ways for us. It is better if we can monitor our blood pressure at home. It helps alert us to potential health complications. It seems not too difficult to reduce blood pressure naturally, doesn’t it? What are your experiences in reducing high blood pressure? You can add your comment on the comment column and I will be more than happy to reply your comment.
Great preventive tips to reduce hypertension !!
Hypertension is one of the common health problems facing by most of the people which can affect health badly. Taking preventive health checkup on regular basis can be a good option to detect diseases like hypertension.
Yes, you are right. But usually, people only take the checkup when they have problems related to their body. Doing the regular checkup has not been a habit for many people.
Very good article Melani, I have a close family member who has survived 2 heart attacks one resulting in a quintuple by-pass. He is now on warfarin and a couple of other bloodthinners. I’ve read about some pretty negative side effects with those. I would rather he get on a regimen synonymous with the info in this post. Brad
Natural remedy is the best for our body, Brad.
Yes. Amen to that
Hi, thanks for reminding me to check my blood pressure. Yes I agree it is very important to do so and many people take it lightly and wait for symptoms or signs to warn them when really they should be checking it regularly.
You are right, Gayla. We should be checking it regularly.
Thanks you very much for this article. It has been most useful. I realize now that I have stage 1 high blood pressure and I need to do something about it. Thanks for all of the tips. I was also able to identify 4 possible causes so I will address those as well.
I hope that works well for you. You’re welcome.
THis is a great review, so far more than Hight Blood pressure I have some high cholesterol, which might be genetic because I think I have a healthy life, I try to eat and live in a balanced way. I will need to probably make some changes if I want to lower my cholesterol, If you have any posts related to this please let me know.
My article about that still in progress. I will inform you if the article already published. Thank you for the comment.
Very informative and I love the part on Work Less. I wish I could do that. But the modern pace of life, it seems so challenging to work less but I try to balance. I also take Earl Grey every day. It seems to have a calming effect on me.
Having said that, I think exercising is so important and often resolves the bulk of any problems we may face in our body.
Yes, Jude. Exercise is very important to smooth our blood circulation. You are right, it is rather difficult to work less although we 😍 love that, lol.
Hello, Melani.
Great article. Thanks so much for bringing awareness to a very common health issue. And more importantly, for offering so many suggestions to resolve the issue. I was very surprised about the variety of spices that can help lower high blood pressure – I learned something new today.
I know a few people who have this health issue, I will certainly share some of your recommendations with them.
Thanks so much for sharing.
Michelle
Hi, Michelle. Spices are great as various health problem healer. They have strong antioxidants effects too. You are welcome.
Thank you Melani for this very good and interesting article. It really helped me because at the moment my husband is suffering from high blood pressure so to see all these things that could help him that are natural was very good.
You also helped me with knowing how you work out what a blood pressure reading is done as I was never too sure.
I hope your husband get well soon, Cheryl.
Hello, your post is well detailed and gives a good breakdown of high blood pressure. I am sure that your readers will love what you are sharing and will learn a lot from your post. I love the layout, it is and easy read.
Thank you.
Blood pressure is a cause for concern. It cannot be too high or too low. Your post is informative, I have been practicing some of the tips you have given. I walk regularly and try to eat as many vegetables as I can.
Medications are not my friend, I always suffer from the side effects so I try to avoid taking pills. I use my diet to control my Blood Pressure and it works. My sister has Low Blood pressure and is clueless about what natural products can help her.
Do you have any information on low Blood Pressure?
Thanks for the post.
Not yet. I will try to compile that, Luna.
Thanks Melanie for this wonderful post and your tips on natural ways to reduce high blood pressure. Till now I have never got problem with high or low blood pressure but your post has made me conscious that I must check to know in which category I fit since I am above 40. I will be happy to share your tips with my mother in law because she is always suffering from high blood pressure despite warning her many times to cut down on salt!
I hope the best for your mother in law’s health, Shalini.
Awesome tips on how to reduce high blood pressure the natural way.
Hypertension is not only common among people above 40 but even among younger ones. Some in their late 20’s or early to mid-30’s are already suffering from hypertension and are taking maintenance medications. So yes, this is of great concern and if there are natural ways to help reduce high blood pressure, I’m all for it.
Going for a walk is something we all can do no matter how busy we are with our job and family. Salt is one of the main causes of hypertension so avoiding salty foods will surely make a huge difference. Preparing your own meals at home is a better alternative to buying cooked foods outside.
Thanks for this article. I’m going to share it to my colleagues who are hypertensive.
Thank you for the support, Alice.
Excellent tips. My mother had high blood pressure. She took a walk on fresh air every day, morning begins with a time of water with lemon and honey and consumes a lot of fresh vegetables. Within a few months, her blood pressure returned to normal.
I am happy to hear that. I will search about lemon water and honey and edit my article if I can find a study about that. Thank you very much for your feedback. Hope the best for your mother’s health.
Great list many of these changes are really easy to make. Thank you for sharing.
Glad you like it.
What a great post. So informative. Definitely something to keep in mind as I get older. Will share on FB.
Thank you for the encouraging comment.
My constant battle is against low blood pressure. It was interesting to read this article. I didn’t know the research about chocolate lowering blood pressure.
I will try to search about low blood pressure too. Thank you for commenting.
Thank you for this interesting post! Do you think that if a person eats a high saturated fat diet but is not overweight, that they will still be at risk for high blood pressure?
Yes.Consuming too much high saturated fat increases the risk of high blood pressure although our weight is normal.