High blood pressure can quietly attack your heart, kidneys and overall health. There are fewer than half of people with high blood pressure who have it under control.
When your hypertension is diagnosed, your doctors may often recommend medication to bring your blood pressure down and protect vital organs. In fact, some older adults are able to get their blood pressure under control just by changing what they eat.
So, let’s look at some of the natural ways to lower your blood pressure without extreme diets.
1: Follow a Heart-Friendly Diet
Food plays an important role in managing your blood pressure. According to scientific studies, a nutritious diet can reduce your systolic blood pressure and decrease your risk of cardiovascular complications. A healthy diet can be just as effective as medication in treating mild hypertension.
You need to follow diets that help you keep your blood pressure under control. Two of the best diets are the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet and the Mediterranean diet.
Try to eat more whole foods and less processed foods. A diet that is high in vegetables, fruits, lean protein, healthy fats, and fiber is one of the ideal natural ways to lower blood pressure.
In your plate, add ½ plate of vegetables and ¼ plate protein like fish, chicken, beans, lentils, eggs and ¼ plate of whole grains like brown rice, roti made with whole wheat, oats, quinoa.
This healthy plate can naturally increase your potassium and fiber content. Potassium is known to flush out excess sodium from your body. Its excellent sources include bananas, oranges, spinach, tomatoes, and chickpeas.
2. Try to lose some weight
One of the main reasons for high blood pressure is carrying too much weight, especially around your belly area. Besides that, being overweight can also cause disrupted breathing while you sleep, leading to a condition called sleep apnea. Sleep apnea then further increases your risk of high blood pressure.
Even a 10 pounds reduction in weight can help you to bring down your systolic blood pressure by around 5-10 mmHg. Also, your blood pressure is affected a lot by the size of your waist. If you are a BP patient, monitor your weight, especially waist circumference weekly. Men should keep their waist size below 40 inches and women should keep it below 35 inches.
Following a weight loss DASH or Mediterranean diet can certainly help you to lower blood pressure further.
3. Do BP Lowering Exercise
One of the best natural ways to lower blood pressure is exercising regularly. It is important to know that more is not always better. Without proper guidance and rest, vigorous training can actually increase your blood pressure.
Cardio is the most researched type of exercise for blood pressure reduction. Thus, going for a walk, dancing, cycling, or swimming can greatly reduce your blood pressure. But the trick is to do these exercises on a daily basis.
Another well known method of lowering BP is strength training combined with cardio. It consists of exercises such as squats, push, ups, lunges, planks, etc. 2-3 strength training sessions would be a perfect plan for hypertensive patients.
Do you know that even minor movements like taking stairs instead of elevators and standing and stretching every 1–2 hours, can greatly lower your BP.
But if you are going through chronic stress or other diseases, it is best to start with slow movement exercises and gradually build your intensity.
4: Focus on Your Sleep and Circadian Health
People follow the latest diets and exercises but they forget to focus on their sleep. Even if you are a healthy individual, poor sleep quality can substantially increase your blood pressure. Some hidden health problems like sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome and insomnia can be the reason for your sleep being disturbed.
When you are sleeping, especially in deep sleep, your blood pressure automatically goes down by 10-20%, this is known as nocturnal dipping. So, if you don’t get enough sleep or have sleep disturbances, this process doesn’t occur and your overall cardiovascular risk is higher.
To keep your circadian health in good shape, make it a habit to sleep and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. It is recommended to avoid screens for 60 minutes before bed.
If you feel exhausted when you wake up or have breathing pauses, talk about it with your healthcare professional, because untreated sleep problems can keep your blood pressure high.
5: Manage your Stress
Continuous stress leaves your body in a never-ending fight and flight mode, and this increases your blood pressure with time. Even if you eat properly and exercise often, your readings are strongly influenced by stress. First, you have to identify the reason that causes your stress and then try to control it.
It is all about your breathing patterns, nervous system regulation, and emotional load. Calm down your nervous system with slow diaphragmatic breathing, mindfulness, prayer or gentle yoga.
- Plan your day and prioritize your most important tasks. Start saying no
- Try a 5, minute session of slow, deep diaphragmatic breathing twice a day
- Gentle yoga, tai chi, or stretching routines are best methods to treat stress
- If you have a problem at work, don’t stress but talk it out with your manager
- Take some time each day and sit quietly to relax your mind
- Plan ahead your schedule, meals, and other things to prevent an immediate panic.
At Kairos Integrative Care, we recognize your invisible stressors including overwork, bad boundaries and sleep debt and develop realistic coping strategies that fit your lives.
6: Eat Foods That Lower Your Blood Pressure Naturally
There are certain foods loaded with nutrients like potassium, magnesium, fiber, antioxidants, and natural nitrates. When you consume these regularly, your blood vessels get relaxed and your body retains less sodium.
It includes some fruits, veggies, and nuts, make sure you eat these frequently:
- Fruits such as bananas, oranges, citrus fruits, blueberries, strawberries, pomegranate, and watermelon. Mix these and eat at least 2–4 servings of fruits per day.
- Vegetables such as spinach, kale, garlic, tomatoes and beetroot are the best way to lower blood pressure. Have at least 3-5 servings of 1 cup cooked or 2 cups raw vegetables daily
- Sweet potatoes are the richest source of potassium, magnesium, and fiber, so they’re ideal for controlling your BP.
- Instead of munching on chips or candies, try nuts like almonds, walnuts, and pistachios. The best way is to eat these unsalted, to add some crunch and flavor to your salads.
- Cut down on your alcohol intake as it can make your medications less effective.
Conclusion
It is possible that you can lower your blood pressure by following these natural strategies. However, there are certain situations when medication is required to save your heart, brain and kidney especially when your blood pressure is extremely high or there is organ damage.
In lowering your BP, you also need to control some hidden conditions like your cholesterol and blood sugar. To do that, you need to get the right tests done, eat healthy foods, exercise, lose weight, and stop smoking. Always ask your medical provider on how to control blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar.
At Kairos Integrative Care, Lola, one of our integrative nurse practitioners, focuses on the root causes behind high blood pressure and guides you on how to manage it properly.
We see patients in Houston, Sugar Land, Richmond, and nearby areas (77046 & 77478) and accept major insurance plans, including Blue Cross, Aetna, Ambetter, Cigna, and more. New patients are always welcome, and if coming into the clinic isn’t possible, telemedicine appointments are available across Texas.
If you are not sure what to do first, book a consultation with us to discuss your tests, lifestyle needs, and to get a plan that matches with your current body needs.
