How to manage high blood pressure is a question of great concerns for people who want to improve their heart health without using drugs. Many people don’t prefer drugs as they consider that this will be for lifetime. So they prefer to manage high blood pressure naturally.
It is essential for hypertension patients to manage high blood pressure properly as it can lead to many serious health issues like heart disease, stroke and kidney damage.
Medication is necessary to maintain high blood pressure but in mild cases of hypertension changing lifestyles are also helpful in controlling it naturally.
What is High Blood Pressure?
Basically blood pressure is the measure of force that is exerted by the blood on the walls of arteries. When blood pressure is around 120/80mm of Hg, it is normal but if it is higher than this reading ten it is considered as high blood pressure or hypertension.
It is essential to treat the cause of high blood pressure rather than just controlling it. To manage high blood pressure naturally you must understand its root cause and then treat this cause, only then you can treat hypertension naturally.
There are certain people who cannot take medications as it may have side effects. So they prefer to manage high blood pressure naturally without drugs to improve heart health and reduce the reliance on medication over time.
Here are 10 ways to manage high blood pressure naturally.
Eat Heart-Healthy Diet
Diet is the key ingredient in management of high blood pressure without drugs. If you want to control your hypertension naturally then eat DASH diet. You prefer to eat fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein. This diet has been proven to lower the blood pressure naturally.
Focus on eating foods that are rich in potassium like banana and spinach that is helpful in maintaining balance in sodium level to lower the hypertension.
Reduce Salt Intake
One of the factors which are responsible for high blood pressure is sodium. If you want to manage your blood pressure successfully then you must limit your sodium intake. Salt is sodium chloride which is the source of sodium and increases blood pressure.
You must limit the use of sodium chloride salt instead of it you can go for potassium salt. You can also use herbs, spices or lemon juice for flavor to avoid the use of sodium chloride salt.
Weight Management
Weight is very crucial to manage high blood pressure naturally. If your body weight is more than normal then you must lose weight to control your blood pressure. It is seen that losing weight significantly helpful in lowing the blood pressure reading.
Exercise
If you are having active lifestyle then this is best to manage high blood pressure. Exercises are best to help you to manage high blood pressure effectively. You can go for moderate intensity exercises for at least 30 minutes.
It is recommended to high blood pressure patients to go for walk especially in the night after dinner. It is best to maintain your blood pressure. You can also do swimming to control you blood pressure.
Stress Management
Stress is the root cause of many health issues in which high blood pressure is also present. To manage high blood pressure one must manage stress, only then you can successfully manage hypertension.
It is been observed that people with high blood pressure are more reactant and gets stressful more often. So it is essential for them to manage their stress so they can cope with hypertension.
There are many simple techniques which are helpful in managing stress like meditation, deep breathing and yoga. These techniques can be incorporated into daily life easily to manage high blood pressure.
To read more about stress management click here.
Alcohol and Smoking
Alcohol consumption also has impact on blood pressure management. You must stick to moderate drinking if you want to control hypertension. Excessive use of alcohol directly impact blood pressure.
Smoking is another factor that damages the arteries to make it harder to manage high blood pressure. If you want to control it then you must quit the smoking.
Quality Sleep
Sleep is essential for maintenance of heart health. It provides recovery to cells. If you want to maintain high blood pressure then you must take quality sleep so your body can recover to promote heart health.
Monitor Your Blood Pressure Regularly
If you want to manage your blood pressure more effectively then you must monitor it regularly. When you track your blood pressure regularly it will provide you with the complete picture about what is working to control blood pressure. So you can make changes in your lifestyle accordingly.
Stay Hydrated
If you have observed carefully then you must have noticed that every drug that is used to control high blood pressure increases thirst. In simple words when a person takes any medicine that controls high blood pressure it increases the thirst of person. He starts to drink plenty of water. This helps to lower the blood pressure.
It means that if you want to manage your blood pressure naturally without drugs then you must drink water more frequently.
Magnesium and Calcium Intake
Magnesium and calcium are helpful to provide blood vessels some relaxation. If you want to manage blood pressure then you can increase the intake of these two nutrients to maintain a normal blood pressure.
If you want to attain long term control over high blood pressure then you have to stay consistent in maintaining these habits. Only then you can achieve the goal of maintaining blood pressure over time.