How to Lower High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is one of the leading causes of death in America. The problem with high blood pressure is that many people go years without knowing they have it until it’s too late. This is why it’s important to get regular check-ups with your doctor to monitor you and take the appropriate steps to lower high blood pressure. Here are some ways you can help lower high blood pressure at home.

Exercise

Exercise naturally increases your heart rate and breathing rate, therefore strengthening your heart. When you have a weak heart, more pressure is put on your arteries to help pump out the blood. By exercising and increasing the strength of your heart, it has a much easier time pumping out blood and therefore lowers your blood pressure.

Exercise doesn’t have to be too strenuous either. You can incorporate physical activity into your everyday life quite simply. Doing chores around the house, gardening, opting to you use the stairs instead of an elevator, going for walks, riding a bike —most of these are all very simple physical activities you can do right at home. The best way to add some exercise into your weekly routine is to find a hobby you enjoy. This may be going for a long walk in the morning or after dinner, playing a sport, gardening, or running.

A 2017 study found that tai chi, on average, dropped high blood pressure by 15.6 mm Hg in systolic bp and 10.7 mm Hg in diastolic bp.

Watch What You Eat

A leading causing of high blood pressure is due to the types of food we consume. Obesity is one of the main reasons why people get high blood pressure. For this reason, it’s important to remember a few key things about your diet when trying to combat obesity and lower high blood pressure:

• Decrease Sugar and Carbs—Sugar and refined carbohydrates are a big cause of weight gain. To help you lose weight and lower high blood pressure, try to cut sugar out from your diet as much as possible.Switch to a low-carb diet. It may be hard at first, but once you get over the initial hardship of cutting it down, your body stops craving it as much as it used to. In addition, cutting out carbs and sugars means you’re likely consuming more protein and fat, which helps you stay fuller much longer.
• Decrease Sodium—Too much sodium is most commonly known for causing high blood pressure.
• Increase Potassium—While you decrease salt from your diet, it’s a good idea to also increase your potassium. Potassium helps lessen the harsh affects too much sodium can have on your body as well. Fruits like bananas, oranges, and avocados are all great to add to your diet, as well as fish, yogurt, and vegetables like spinach and tomatoes.
• Cut Out Processed Food—A great way to decrease sugar, carbs, and sodium is to cut out processed food altogether. Processed food contains high levels of salt in order to help preserve the food. Foods that advertise themselves as “low-fat”also usually contain high amounts of salt and sugar in order to make up for containing less fat. Unfortunately, “fat”has been deemed as a bad word in our nutritional world, but fat is good for your body when eaten in moderation. Fat helps your body stay full and your body has a much easier time breaking down natural fat, that you could get from avocados for example, to use as energy than it does with processed foods.

Lower Your Stress

Lowering stress is another key way to lower high blood pressure. Stress causes your heart to beat faster and thus work harder, causing high blood pressure. Some ways you can help lower stress is by separating work-life from your home life, read a book, breathing practices, going for a walk-in nature, doing yoga, meditating, journaling, swimming. These are just a few options for lowering stress, but there are many more out there: check out some ideas here.

Quit Smoking

Smoking is another big cause of high blood pressure, among other diseases. The chemicals found in tobacco also damage blood vessels and narrow your arteries. At the end of the day, smoking only causes harm to your body, so it’s best just to cut it out altogether.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is no joke. If you’re at risk, give Dr. Gura a call today to schedule a consultation at 310-6240. We’ll have you healthy and on your way with the right tools to combat hypertension in no time.