High blood pressure is one of the lifestyle diseases which makes you dependent on medicines for life. However, there are ways to control blood pressure without medicines.
If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, you might be dependent on medicines to keep it under control. It’s natural to get worried regarding this issue because it’s directly connected with your overall health. High blood pressure levels affect the heart health and increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases. The risk of untimely deaths is always high with patients having high blood pressure and heart ailments. There are number of things you can do to keep it under control without medicines. Majority of these activities are closely related with lifestyle changes. Experts believe that positive lifestyle and diet changes can reduce your dependency on drugs.
Exercise Regularly To Bring Down The Blood Pressure Level
Most of the people with blood pressure issues do not understand its association with exercise. It’s important to understand that regular exercise makes your heart stronger and helps it to pump blood reducing the pressure on arteries. Couple of hours of moderate-intensity workout and an hour of high-intensity workout is good for controlling blood pressure and improving heart health. Make sure you walk for at least 30 minutes to start with to bring down the blood pressure.
Eat More Potassium And Less Of Sodium For Lowering Blood Pressure
Our dependency on packaged and processed food has increased the sodium intake adding on to the usual amount. This results in high blood pressure and heart stroke in some cases. It also has a lot to do with how your body process sodium. Check with your doctors about sodium levels in your body and then decide how your plan to bring it down. Avoid adding salt to your food separately, if need be, replace it with seasonal herbs.
On contrary, potassium mineral helps in flushing out excess sodium from the body. This decreases the pressure on arteries bring down the blood pressure levels. Eat more of fresh fruits than processed food. Include fresh vegetables, bananas, yogurt, nuts and seeds in your diet.
Manage Your Stress Levels For Lowering Blood Pressure
Researches have established stress’ strong association with soaring blood pressure levels. If you are dealing with stress, you are putting extra burden your body. At times you are calm and next moment you are fighting with thoughts. This results in increased rate of heart beats and constricted blood vessels. If you are stressed, no medication can help the high blood pressure. Learn to deal with stress levels by calming your mind with meditation, soothing music, taking a break from mundane routine and relaxing.
Cut Your Caffeine Intake For Lowering Blood Pressure
A cup of coffee can give an instant boost to your blood pressure. Therefore, it’s suggested for people dealing with low blood pressure. There have been studies that prove that regular coffee consumption can cause a lasting increase to the blood pressure levels in body. However, coffee also helps in maintaining heart health but may give a short-term spike. It’s always better to check how the body reacts when you cut back on caffeine.
Check The Pressure At Home Regularly
A blood pressure checking machine is a good investment for those diagnosed with high blood pressure. After getting it checked from the doctor once, it’s better to keep a tab of it at home. Check your blood pressure every day, twice a day if possible. This will help you to know that the medicine you are on is working for you or not. It will also help in pointing out the factors that are helping you in controlling the level or adding to your problem. Keep a chart ready for your next doctor visit. It will be of great help to chalk out a pattern that regulates your blood pressure levels.
