High blood pressure or hypertension deserves to be called the silent killer because it often has no symptoms, but is a major risk for heart disease and stroke.
A healthy adult has a normal blood pressure of around 120/80 mmHg.
The number 120 shows the level of pressure when the heart pumps blood throughout the body or commonly called the systolic pressure.
Meanwhile, the number 80 means the pressure level when the heart rests for a while before pumping again or is often called diastolic pressure.
If blood pressure is more than this number, a person can be diagnosed with hypertension.
The good news about hypertension is that lifestyle changes can significantly reduce blood pressure and lower a person's risk of developing complications.
The following are various ways to lower high blood pressure naturally that you can try:
1. Increase activities or sports
According to Health Line , in a 2013 study, adults who participated in aerobic exercise training lowered their blood pressure by an average of 3.9 percent systolic and 4.5 percent diastolic. These results are as good as taking some blood pressure medications.
When you regularly increase your heart rate and breathing, over time your heart becomes stronger and pumps with less effort. This reduces the pressure on the arteries and lowers your blood pressure.
How many activities should you do?
A 2013 report by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) suggested moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity for 40-minute sessions, three to four times per week.
If it's hard to do 40 minutes of exercise at a time, you can divide it into three to four segments a day.
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) makes a similar recommendation. But, you don't have to run a marathon.
Increasing the frequency of activity or exercise can also be done simply, for example by:
- Prefer to use the stairs instead of the elevator
- Walking instead of driving
- Doing housework
- gardening
- Go for cycling
- Play team sports
A 2014 review of exercise and blood pressure lowering found that there are many combinations of exercise that can lower blood pressure.
Aerobic exercise, resistance training, high-intensity interval training, short workouts throughout the day, or walking 10,000 steps a day can all lower blood pressure.
2. Lose weight if you are overweight
If you are overweight, losing up to 5 kg can lower your blood pressure. Plus, you can simultaneously lower your risk of other medical problems.
A 2016 review of several studies reported that a weight loss diet lowered blood pressure by an average of 3.2 mmHg diastolic and 4.5 mmHg systolic.
3. Reduce sugar and refined carbohydrates
Many scientific studies show that limiting sugar and refined carbohydrates can help you lose weight and lower blood pressure.
A 2010 study compared a low-carb diet to a low-fat diet.
Both diets result in weight loss, but a low-carb diet is much more effective at lowering blood pressure.
A low-carbohydrate diet reduced blood pressure by 4.5 mmHg diastolic and 5.9 mmHg systolic.
Meanwhile, a low-fat diet that has been added with diet drugs can only reduce blood pressure by 0.4 mmHg diastolic and 1.5 mmHg systolic.
Another side effect of a low-carb, low-sugar diet is that you tend to feel full longer, because you eat more protein and fat.
4. Eat more potassium and less sodium
Increasing potassium intake and reducing salt can also lower blood pressure.
Potassium has two roles at once in controlling blood pressure, namely reducing the effect of salt in the body's metabolic system and reducing tension in blood vessels.
However, a diet rich in potassium may be harmful to individuals with kidney disease, so talk to your doctor before increasing your potassium intake.
Meanwhile, to prevent or treat high blood pressure, people with hypertension need to reduce their salt intake, in this case sodium.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends reducing salt intake using the DASH ( Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension ) diet .
The DASH diet emphasizes:
- Low sodium foods
- Fruits and vegetables
- Low fat dairy products
- Grains
- Fish
- Poultry
- Peas
- Less candy and red meat
Most of the extra salt in your diet comes from processed and restaurant foods.
Popular high-salt foods include deli meats, canned soups, pizza, sandwiches , and other processed snacks.
Foods labeled "low fat" are usually high in salt and sugar to compensate for fat loss.
It is this fat that gives food its taste and makes you feel full.
Reducing or even better cutting out processed foods will help you eat less salt, less sugar, and fewer refined carbohydrates.
All of these can lower blood pressure.
6. Quit smoking
Quitting smoking is good for your overall health, including being a way to deal with high blood pressure .
Smoking is known to cause short- and long-term increases in blood pressure.
In the long term, the chemicals in tobacco can increase blood pressure by damaging the walls of blood vessels, causing inflammation, and narrowing the arteries.
Hardened arteries cause high blood pressure.
The chemicals in tobacco can affect your blood vessels even if you become a secondhand smoker.
A study showed that children around secondhand smoke homes had higher blood pressure than children from nonsmoking homes.
7. Reduce excess stress
The demands of the workplace, family needs, national and international politics all contribute to stress.
Finding ways to reduce your own stress is important for health and blood pressure.
There are many different ways to successfully relieve stress, so find one that works for you.
Practice deep breathing, go for a walk, read a book, or watch a comedy film can all be done to deal with stress that can trigger high blood pressure.
Listening to music every day has also been shown to reduce systolic blood pressure.
8. Eat dark chocolate
Dark chocolate has been shown to lower blood pressure.
But dark chocolate should consist of 60 to 70 percent cocoa.
A review of studies on dark chocolate has found that eating one to two squares of dark chocolate per day can help lower the risk of heart disease by lowering blood pressure and inflammation.
The benefits are thought to come from the flavonoids present in chocolate with more cocoa solids.
Flavonoids help dilate, or widen, your blood vessels.
A 2010 study of 14,310 people found that individuals without hypertension who ate more dark chocolate had lower blood pressure overall than those who ate less dark chocolate.
9. Try herbs
Herbal medicines have long been used in many cultures to treat various ailments.
Some herbs have even been shown to lower blood pressure. Although, more research is needed to identify the most beneficial dosages and components in herbs.
Always check with your doctor or pharmacist before taking herbal supplements.
Herbal remedies in supplement form may interfere with prescription medications being taken.
Here is a partial list of herbs that can be used to lower blood pressure:
- Celery
- Cat whiskers
- gotu kola
- Curcuma
- Meniran
- Basil leaves
- Cardamom
- Linseed
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Roselle
Blood pressure usually drops while you sleep.
If you don't sleep well, it can affect your blood pressure.
People who experience sleep deprivation, especially those in middle age, have an increased risk of high blood pressure.
Therefore, getting enough sleep is highly recommended.
But indeed, for some people, getting a good night's sleep is not easy.
There are many ways to help you get a good night's sleep.
Try setting a regular sleep schedule, spending time relaxing at night, exercising during the day, avoiding naps, and making your bedroom comfortable.
The Sleep Heart Health Study (SHHS) found that regular sleep of less than 7 hours a night and more than 9 hours a night was associated with an increased prevalence of hypertension.
Meanwhile, regular sleep of less than 5 hours a night was associated with a significant risk of hypertension in the long term.
11. Eat foods that contain high protein
A long-term study in 2014 found that people who ate more protein had a lower risk of developing high blood pressure.
For those who ate an average of 100 grams of protein per day, there was a 40 percent lower risk of developing high blood pressure than those on a low-protein diet.
Those who also added regular fiber to their diet had a 60 percent reduced risk.
However, a high-protein diet may not be suitable for everyone.
Those with kidney disease may need to be careful, so talk to your doctor before using these tips.
It's easy enough to consume 100 grams of protein daily for most diets.
High protein foods include:
- Fish, such as salmon or canned tuna in water
- Egg
- Poultry, like chicken breast
- Beef
- Legumes and legumes, such as kidney beans and lentils
- Cheese, such as cheddar
- A 3.5-ounce serving of salmon may contain as much as 22 grams (g) of protein, while a 3.5-ounce serving of chicken breast may contain 30 g of protein.
In terms of vegetarian options, a half cup serving of nuts can contain 7 to 10 g of protein and two tablespoons of peanut butter will provide 8 g.
12. Cut down on alcoholic drinks
Alcohol can increase your blood pressure, even if you are healthy.
So, it's important to drink in moderation or preferably not at all.
Alcohol can increase your blood pressure by 1 mmHg for every 10 grams of alcohol consumed.
13. Consider cutting back on caffeine
Caffeine raises your blood pressure, but its effects are only temporary. It lasts 45 to 60 minutes and the reaction varies between individuals.
Some people may be more sensitive to caffeine than others.
If you are sensitive to caffeine, you may want to reduce your coffee consumption, or try decaffeinated coffee.
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Research on caffeine, including its health benefits, is widely published.
The choice of whether to reduce or not depends on many individual factors.
An old study showed that the effect of caffeine in increasing blood pressure is greater if your blood pressure is already high.