Hypertension is now one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. It is now seen in teenagers and is thereby affecting a large proportion of the population globally. While medication is one way to treat hypertension, it is better to control high blood pressure or prevent it during the early stages through enormous scientifically proven natural remedies, which have been mentioned below.
Indulging in healthy lifestyle modifications prevents hypertension, delays the onset of hypertension, and even reduces medications’ dosage. Controlling your blood pressure through the techniques listed below would ultimately help you lower the risk of various heart diseases. Therefore, include these natural remedies to control high blood pressure in the body.
Remedies To Control High Blood Pressure
1. Lose Excess Weight
Obesity and hypertension can cause different health issues. Therefore, lose excess weight and watch your waistline. If you are overweight or obese, losing even 5-10 kg weight would reduce systolic blood pressure. Ensure your body mass index (BMI) lies in the range of 18.0 kg/m2 to 22.9 kg/m2.
2. Exercise Regularly
A positive association is seen between regular exercise and hypertension. Just a little exercise every day can make a difference in properly managing blood pressure. Regular exercise will keep the weight in control and will make the heart muscle stronger. It is recommended to do 150 minutes of moderate exercise like walking, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise, such as running, per week to lower blood pressure and improve heart health.
3. Avoid Excess Salt In Your Diet
Excessive salt/sodium intake is one of the underlying causes of hypertension. Therefore, to control high blood pressure, one must reduce the intake of salt. Through various research studies, it has been seen that reducing dietary sodium intake in your meals to no more than 1 tsp per day reduces systolic blood pressure by 2 to 8 mmHg.
4. Eat Potassium-rich Food
Potassium plays a vital role in managing hypertension. A potassium diet will help to remove excess sodium in the body and control high blood pressure. Foods rich in potassium include avocados, bananas, dates, apricots, sweet potatoes, spinach, broccoli, and mushrooms. So, add these above food items to enhance the potassium content of your daily diet.
5. Lead A Stress-free Life
When a person is in constant stress and tension, it constricts the blood vessels because of various stress hormones. It can lead to a temporary increase in blood pressure. Moreover, stress can even trigger unhealthy eating and lifestyle habits, such as overeating, poor sleep, and misusing drugs and alcohol, which would ultimately put your heart health at risk. Stress reduction should be a priority to lower the blood pressure level. For this, one can have a daily deep breathing session along with few minutes of meditation for a relaxing day.
6. Take Natural Supplements
Natural supplements have shown positive results in controlling high blood pressure. Many studies have found that having supplements of garlic extracts, fish oil, calcium, and CoQ10 may help prevent and control high blood pressure. You can include probiotic foods or drinks to lower high blood pressure in the body.
7. Eat Magnesium-rich Food
Various studies have found a positive correlation between high dietary magnesium and lower blood pressure. Magnesium is important in the diet as it is a potent inhibitor of vascular muscle contractions and plays a vital role in blood pressure regulation as a vasodilator. Green leafy vegetables, nuts, whole grains, and cereals are important sources of magnesium.
8. Read Food Labels
We eat far too much dietary sodium every day, especially when we eat any processed or packaged food in our daily diet. It doesn’t take much sodium to reach that 1,500 mg daily cap — just 3/4 of a teaspoon of salt. Therefore, it is important to weed out high-sodium foods by reading labels carefully. Common foods with high sodium include slices of bread and rolls, cold cuts and cured meats, pizza, poultry, packaged soups, chips, and namkeen.
9. Include Flaxseeds In Your Diet
Researchers have found that including flaxseeds in your daily meal can lower systolic blood pressure. Flaxseeds are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which probably help control high blood pressure. You can sprinkle some roasted flaxseed on your oatmeal porridge, yogurt, dal, curries, etc. You can also sprinkle some flaxseeds on your toasted bread.
10. Drink Beetroot Juice
It was seen in various studies that the participants who drank beetroot juice daily had a decrease in high blood pressure. Beetroots have nitrate in it, which turns into nitric oxide, a gas that widens blood vessels and aids blood flow. A glass a day could help keep blood pressure at a lower, healthier level.
Hypertension is also known as a “silent killer” as it comes with no prominent warning signs or symptoms. High blood pressure, if left untreated, can lead to various health complications and damage to vital organs. Therefore, it is advised to monitor blood pressure regularly and follow the above natural remedies to control high blood pressure, leading to a hypertension-free life.
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