Hypertension can have serious health consequences, so, it must be treated as soon as it is diagnosed. But sometimes a good lifestyle can be very effective to lower your tension.
« If too many hypertensive patients are not treated enough for lack of diagnosis, others could do without medication, at least in the first year, » says Professor Claire Mounier-Vehier, a cardiologist at the CHRU de Lille, France.
In fact, a few months ago, the American Heart Association published a report showing the effectiveness of lifestyle measures to delay treatment and reduce medication doses when they become essential.
Before telling you the best natural ways to reduce the high blood pressure…
You need to know this…
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What is your ideal tension?
The ideal tension can only be defined if you take your blood pressure correctly: train yourself (explained below)!
Before proposing ideal measures that should be adjusted according to your age and the existence or not of other cardiovascular risk factors, you should first know:
- That systolic (or maximum) blood pressure is measured when the heart contracts. Blood is ejected from the heart and the pressure on the artery walls is higher. This is the number that is given first: for example (13) 13/9 or (12) 12/7…
- Diastolic (or minimum) blood pressure is measured when the heart relaxes. That is the second figure given.
- You should also know that the older you get (over 60 years old), the arteries tend to become more rigid. It is therefore understandable that the « acceptable » tensions are a little higher. But if you have adopted (as early in your life as possible) preventive measures, this phenomenon will be less important.
Professor Xavier Girerd, cardiologist at the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospita, Paris, France advises: « It is better to have a blood pressure figure as close as possible to 12/7. It is a blood pressure that will lead to a life expectancy without cardiovascular disease.”
The current tendency is to favour compliance with the minimum (diastolic pressure), so not to exceed 7 too often. Then, for older people, make sure the systolic pressure (the maximum), not to exceed 14 or 15 at rest.
How to Measure properly your blood pressure
Home blood pressure measurements are now strongly recommended. It is very easily carried out using a tension device and helps the doctor to adapt your treatment. In addition, if properly performed by patients, home measurement is considered more reliable. Indeed, doctors have noticed that some patients have higher blood pressure figures during consultations due to a « white coat » effect.
Above 14/8, it is too high. But it should be noted that this can vary over the course of a day depending on your physical activities, your emotional state and the time of day.
So, to correctly measure your blood pressure it is recommended to follow the « rule of three »: 3 measurements in the morning around breakfast, 3 measurements in the evening around dinner and 3 consecutive days per month.
Let’s move on!
Here are the best natural ways to reduce the high blood pressure.
Walk regularly during the day
A recent American study of 6,000 adults confirms that regular physical activity reduces the risk of high blood pressure. No need to exercise intensively: 60 minutes of walking every day is enough to get results. Swimming and aquagym are also recommended, especially for people whose blood pressure is drug-resistant.
Avoid foods that are too fatty and sweet.
Advertising repeats this over and over again on television channels. Limit your consumption of soft drinks, industrial cakes, ready-made meals, red meat… Of course, these products are addictive, but in too large a quantity, they are ultimately nutritionally poor, and especially harmful to your health.
Instead of red meat, prefer white meats, poultry or fish.
If you really need your daily dose of sugar, eat fruit instead of candy or cakes.
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Increase your potassium intake!
To better understand its interest, we refer you to this good article by Thierry Souccar: “sodium and potassium, their role in hypertension”. Not only will you help control your blood pressure, you will also add an important factor in preventing cardiovascular risk. White beans (and more generally legumes), lentils, baked potatoes with their skins, tomato purée, dates, avocados, mushrooms, spinach (like most green leafy vegetables), fruit (by limiting the consumption of fruits that are too sweet) and bananas are considered the most potassium-rich foods.
Allow yourself a little dark chocolate.
Chocolate is generally rich in flavonoids. These nutrients help blood vessels expand as they expand, lowering blood pressure.
Although chocolate is useful in all its forms, dark chocolate and pure cocoa contain a higher concentration than milk chocolate and are better options.
Studies suggest that consuming chocolate can reduce blood pressure in individuals with high blood pressure, but the results are less conclusive in people with more or less normal blood pressure.
Reduce salt
90% of American people exceed the maximum recommended dose (6 g per day). The latest major study on the subject brought together the findings of 34 studies and confirmed that limiting salt intake is very beneficial.
For hypertensive patients, reducing their intake by 4.4 g per day would reduce systolic blood pressure by an average of 0.5 points and diastolic by 0.3 points (the first and second blood pressure digits respectively) after four weeks.
To achieve this, you have to be satisfied with half a baguette and 30 g of cheese every day. Prefer raw vegetables and do not eat ready-to-eat-meals and fast food more than once a week.
Eat more magnesium-rich foods
Magnesium dilates blood vessels. Research shows that people with enough magnesium in their blood have a 40% lower risk of cardiovascular disease. Taking magnesium also improves insulin sensitivity.
In short, eat a little more foods such as those in the following list:
- Lawyer
- Nuts
- Tempeh
- Seeds
- Fatty fish
- Banana
- Green leafy vegetables
Raw almonds
How about eating a handful of almonds when you’re hungry instead of throwing yourself at a candy store?
Thanks to their richness in potassium, magnesium and unsaturated fatty acids, almonds are excellent for your health and help you maintain a good level of blood pressure and reduce your cholesterol levels.
Quit smoking
To lower blood pressure, quit smoking because nicotine raises blood pressure. In addition to increasing the risk of lung, bladder, pancreatic, oral, esophageal and other cancers, including leukemia, smoking has many other harmful health effects.
Drink beet juice
Beet is a vegetable rich in nitrate, a natural chemical substance known for its hypotensive effects. A large glass of 50 cl of beet juice can go so far as to lower the tension by 5 points, thanks to its action on the blood vessels.
Beware of alcohol
We have often heard that a woman can consume 1 glass of wine a day and a man 2. But we know today that no alcohol consumption is innocent in terms of the risk of cancer, cardiovascular or metabolic diseases. Without going overboard, if you suffer from hypertension, we recommend that you do not drink alcohol at all for several consecutive days during the week and that you limit your intake in a festive situation.
Practice Yoga
Problems of stress, anxiety, sleep, eating, associated with physical inactivity: an explosive cocktail that can be treated in ways other than by medication. Yoga, through its postures, breathing and meditation, regulates the system that controls our ability to react to stress and recover from blood pressure disorders.
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