Lowering Your Blood Pressure

Posts Tagged ‘Controlling High Blood Pressure’

If you are diagnosed with high blood pressure your first reaction may be to worry. However, provided you are diagnosed early enough you can start taking positive steps towards managing your condition and help reduce the damage it can cause.

The first step to combatting high blood pressure is by taking the appropriate prescription medication which your doctor recommends. Anti-hypertensive drugs are often prescribed to help reduce high blood pressure, often alongside alpha blockers and beta blockers. In emergency situations medication may be prescribed that lowers blood pressure suddenly, but this practice is very dangerous. Before you even consider taking any medication be sure to consult a trained doctor and seek advice.

Using medication is just one of many ways you can manage high blood pressure. Improving your diet can help reduce blood pressure. A poor diet leads to the insides of your veins and arteries being coated in a layer of fat which increases the pressure of your blood. Consuming extra fruit and vegetables will help because they contain high amounts of fibre, vitamins and minerals. High blood pressure can also be caused by chronic dehydration and as many of us know alcohol causes dehydration (hence why you often want another beer, then another beer etc). Therefore, consuming high amounts of water and lowering your alcohol intake will keep you hydrated and decrease the risk of high blood pressure. Although it is a good idea to make positive changes to your diet, this is best done under the supervision of a trained dietician or your doctor. Be sure to consult with your dietician or doctor prior to making any serious changes to your diet.

Improving your lifestyle will also help lower your blood pressure. A daily exercise routine and/or yoga routine should help reduce your body fat and therefore lower your blood pressure. Before embarking on an exercise routine you take the advice of a personal trainer and have them forumlate an exercise plan for you. If you smoke, cutting down can yield positive results. Smoking releases chemicals into your body which make your blood vessels sticky and causes fatty deposits to collect in the arteries. Furthermore, smoking can cause your arteries and veins to shrink which will increase your blood pressure.

You can also try natural remedies which include aromatherapy, herbs and yoga. With aromatherapy you should choose oils which have a soothing effect and relax your muscles including rose, lavender and cypress. Herbal remedies, such as stinging nettles and lemon balm, can also help lower your blood pressure. Finally, yoga may help you relax and therefore lower your blood pressure.

In conclusion, you should first seek the advice of your doctor before attempting to treat your high blood pressure. If medication is required then they will let you know. However, making improvements to your diet and lifestyle, or even trying some natural remedies can assist you greatly in combatting high blood pressure.

Hypertension is such a common health problem that one out of three of you reading this has it, and uncontrolled hypertension is a serious health concern that can cause heart disease and increase your risk of having a stroke. It’s especially danger­ous because it often has no warning signs or symptoms.

Many people confuse the term hypertension with being overly tense. This is a common misunderstanding. However, hypertension simply means that you have high blood pressure. And although tension and anxiety can be contributing factors, it is for the most part not the primary reason why people have high blood pressure.

Medical books will tell you that 95 percent of the causes of hypertension is idiopathic, meaning they don’t know what’s causing it. But that’s not true! We do know what the cause of hypertension is, which I will go over in just a moment.

Even better news: over 85 percent of those who have hypertension can normalize their blood pressure through lifestyle modifications.

It’s important to realize that drugs that treat hypertension will not change, modify, or in any way address the underlying cause of your high blood pressure. Additionally, statistics show that over half of people taking multiple medications for high blood pressure are still not able to manage their condition, so for many these drugs simply don’t work as promised.

What is High Blood Pressure?

You are generally diagnosed with pre-hypertension if your blood pressure is between 120/80 and 140/80, and anything above 140/80 is generally diagnosed as hypertension.

The first number is your systolic pressure, which should typically be below 120. The second number is your diastolic pressure, which should typically be below 80. If either your systolic or diastolic number is higher than the typical 120/80, you may get a diagnosis of hypertension, or pre-hypertension.

If you’ve been diagnosed with high blood pressure, you should know that a common risk factor for high blood pressure is weight. So if you’re obese that is going to increase your risk for developing high blood pressure.

However, it’s important to realize that your blood pressure reading may be inaccurate if you’re getting your pressure measured with an ill-fitting blood pressure cuff. Your blood pressure is measured by placing a cuff around your arm, and these cuffs are available in different sizes. So, if you are large, you will require a larger cuff in order to get an accurate reading. Likewise, a child’s blood pressure should be measured using a pediatric cuff.

What Causes High Blood Pressure?

For the most part, high blood pressure is related to your body producing too much insulin. As your insulin levels rise, it causes your blood pressure to increase. Research published in 1998 in the journal Diabetes reported that nearly two-thirds of the test subjects who were insulin resistant also had high blood pressure.

This crucial connection between insulin resistance and hypertension is yet another example of how wide-ranging the debilitating effects of high insulin, leptin and blood glucose levels can have on your body.

I highly recommend you get a fasting insulin level test done by your doctor. The level you want to strive for is about 2 or 3. If it’s 5, or over 10, you have a problem and you definitely need to lower your insulin levels to lower your risk of high blood pressure and other cardiovascular problems.

Fortunately, there are a few very simple techniques that will lower your insulin levels. And if your hypertension is the direct result of an out-of-control blood sugar level, then normalizing your blood sugar levels will also bring your blood pressure readings into the healthy range.

How to Effectively Treat High Blood Pressure Without Drugs

A vast majority of people can normalize their blood pressure by implementing a few simple techniques that address the underlying cause, namely high insulin levels.

Exercise – One of the most effective ways to lower your insulin levels is through exercise. A regular, effective exercise program consisting of aerobics, sprint-burst type exercises, and strength training, can go a long way toward reducing your insulin levels and your blood pressure.

Ideally, you’ll want someone to supervise your program and monitor your progress. To reap the optimal effects from your exercise program, you’ll need about an hour a day. Just remember to start slowly and work your way up to that level.

Avoid foods that boost insulin levels – Another effective method is to avoid foods that will raise your insulin, such as sugar-type foods and grains. Even whole, organic grains will rapidly break down to sugars, so they too should be avoided.

If you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or obesity, you’ll want to avoid foods like:

* Breads

* Pasta

* Rice

* Cereal

* Potatoes

While vitamin C may be helpful, you’ll also want to avoid eating too many fruits; the types and amounts being adjusted based on your nutritional type.

One food that can be helpful for reducing your blood pressure is crushed, raw garlic. Many people swear by it, and it’s something you can easily add to your diet.

Reduce your stress – You’ll also want to take steps to reduce your stress, as that is a factor for some people. Prayer, meditation, or the Emotional Freedom Technique are all useful techniques.

Normalize your vitamin D levels – It has recently become clear that normalizing your vitamin D levels can have a powerful effect on normalizing your blood pressure. Lower Vitamin D levels is also unquestionably associated with an increased risk for heart disease.

Additionally, previous research has revealed that if your blood pressure doesn’t drop notably overnight, you run an increased risk of having cardiovascular problems. Here, the connection is also elevated blood sugar (glucose) levels as elevated blood sugars can result in diabetes and other diseases which increase cardiovascular problems.

And likewise, vitamin D has been shown to have a positive impact on diabetes, so it’s all linked together.

Balance your omega-6 to omega-3 fat ratio – Most Americans eating a standard American diet have a ratio of 25:1, which is highly unbalanced. The ideal ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats is 1:1. Therefore, you’ll want to lower the amount of vegetable oils in your diet, and make sure you have a high quality, animal-based source of omega-3s.

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Hypertension or High Blood Pressure should not be left ignored, the consequences are damaging not only to your heart, your blood vessels but other organs of your body which in turn leads to serious illnesses such as heart failure, kidney failure and even stroke.

The good news, is that there are several methods that can lower blood pressure naturally and if implemented  today you can start seeing immediate improvements if you are a High Blood Pressure Sufferer.

Let’s jump in and look at them in detail:

Alcohol & Cigarettes: If you want to lower your blood pressure then these should be avoided, however if completely eliminating them is too much too soon, try and keep them at a minimum. For example, if you are used to having 2 or 3 glasses of wine to unwind you in the evening or with your dinner – cut this down to 1 glass only. In time, cut this out completely during the week and just have the odd glass at the weekend.

Healthy & Regular Exercise: start an exercise routine of 3 to 5 days a week – either daily walks of between 25 to 30 mins or swimming or even yoga – anything that will relax and de-stress you from everyday problems and worries. Learning to deal with stress is not only helpful to controlling high blood pressure the natural way but the benefits of this to your health are endless. Meditating is one way of combating stress, set aside 5- 10 mins to begin with, find a quiet spot, close your eyes and think of nothing. I mean that, block out all your thoughts and instead start focusing on your breathing. Do this daily and increase time duration to 25 mins per day.

Salt Intake: can’t stress how beneficial this is to lowering your blood pressure naturally. The recommended daily intake is just one teaspoon of salt a day or just under 5.8 grams of salt! The problem today is that our processed food contains copious amounts of salt so read the back of each label before purchasing your next pizza or packet of soup!

Potassium: here’s a must in controlling your high blood pressure – potassium enriched fruit and veg are crucial. Here is where you will find abundant potassium – sweet or regular potatoes, spinach, soybeans and kidney beans, bananas, peaches and even in fish such as yellowfin tuna and cod.