Our long term health is impacted by consistently high blood pressure, which can increase our chance of suffering a stroke, coronary health diseases and kidney diseases. While high blood pressure can go unnoticed for years, with no noticeable symptoms to aid diagnosis, the impacts on our bodies are still felt. Consequently, we all need to be working hard to reduce our blood pressure as part of the ongoing maintenance of our health.
Here we explore eight natural ways that will help you to lower blood pressure and maintain your all-around health.
Method 1: Regular exercise
Sitting too much is bad for your health. While we think this is because it leads us to be more overweight, the truth is it can be harmful to everybody who is too sedentary. Our minds and bodies need stimulation and movement to keep them on top form. Long periods without exercise can impact our mood, directly affecting our physiological health.
Therefore, we should aim to undertake some form of activity every day in bouts of 10 minutes or more, if we can manage it. Over a week, we should try for 150 minutes of moderate exercise, which is likely to make us feel a little out of breath.
Method 2: Maintain a healthy weight
Some of us are blessed with constitutions that allow us to eat anything and do very little. We naturally burn calories at a high rate, and our metabolism is our best friend. Maintaining our weight takes a little more attention for the rest of us. In some respects, it is easy to make sure you are the right weight as it is a balance of how many calories you eat against how much activity you undertake. If the numbers work, you normally stay close to your ideal weight.
However, the reality is far from simple, and many of us struggle to maintain our weight. Yet, a healthy and balanced diet with regular exercise is still the most sensible lifestyle choice over some specialist diet that is hard to maintain.
Method 3: Eat healthily
It makes sense that a healthy and balanced diet will help with your weight, and the same diet will also help maintain your blood pressure from within. The food we put into our bodies will have a consequence on inflammation, hydration and blood sugar levels, and all these can combine to cause a negative reaction in your blood pressure. Looking into the Eatwell Plate and what this might mean for changing what you eat is a good first step.
Method 4: Reduce your salt intake
Salt encourages our body to retain water, and this additional water in our systems can put extra pressure on the blood vessel walls. This pressure can increase the speed of the blood flow through your body, which is what is measured when taking your blood pressure. Over time salt can stiffen and narrow the blood vessels, increasing your blood pressure.
Salt has a way of sneaking into your diet without you realising it. Butter and cheese are high in salt, as are most sauces. Most bread on the supermarket shelf has a lot of salt, and bread bought from a bakery is much better for your heart health.
Method 5: Avoid drinking too much alcohol
While there are good news stories all over the news that suggests red wine is good for your heart, the truth is far from rosy. Excessive alcohol intake is going to increase your blood pressure. Consequently, it is good to still to the recommended limit of alcohol units each week. For a man, you can drink no more than 4 units a day, and for women, it is 3.
Method 6: Quit smoking
We are all aware that smoking is bad for our health, and it is not just our lung health that suffers as the chemicals we inhale constrict our blood vessels.
Method 7: And coffee too
And while this all sounds like life’s pleasures are being taken away from you, the message is once again moderation.
While some people may not experience an increase in blood pressure after drinking coffee, others experience a dramatic spike. Knowing the effects of caffeine on your body is essential here. If you feel flushed and racing sensations after coffee, it is best to drink it rarely.
Method 8: Manage your stress
Our mind and body are intrinsically linked, and there is little more toxic to our physical health than long-term stress. Finding ways to relax and avoid significant stress triggers can significantly impact your heart health. While stress is an everyday part of modern life, having a hobby and finding reasons to be grateful can help manage its adverse effects.
Another way to manage stress is to manage expectations. Many of life’s anxieties are caused by our belief that we don’t have enough or aren’t succeeding quickly. Finding a way to keep our expectations in check, so they positively influence our motivation, is better than most other remedies for our all-around health.
