Natural Ways of Lowering Your Blood Pressure
by Aidan Povey | January 19, 2024 | 5 min read
There are a number of natural measures and lifestyle changes to lower blood pressure that everyone can implement. Making these changes is vital as lifestyle decisions play a huge role in bringing your blood pressure levels back into healthy ranges.
If you successfully lower blood pressure with a healthy lifestyle, medication can be avoided or at least reduced. The following tips are easy measures that every person can take to lower blood pressure naturally and keep it stable in the normal range.
Beetroot Helps against High Blood Pressure
The reason for the positive effect on blood pressure: Red-beet juice contains nitrates, which are reduced to nitrite by our saliva, explains Professor Dieter Klaus from the Scientific Advisory Board of the German Heart Foundation. Nitrites then expand the vessels and help decrease blood pressure in the patient's body.
Hibiscus tee And Green Tea Lower Blood Pressure
Hibiscus tee also has a positive effect on blood pressure. According to an American study by Doctor Diane McKay and her team, high-pressure patients would have to drink three cups of freshly brewed hibiscus tea every day to feel an effect. In the test participants, the upper value decreased on average by 7.2 mmHg, an excellent improvement.
Blood pressure dropped the most among participants who had an upper value of 129 mmHg before the experiment - lowering BP by an average of 13.2 mmHg. The study director attributes the plant colors contained in the tea, so-called flavonoids, to the positive effects. She recommends drinking the tea with milk and without sugar.
Green tea is also said to have a hypotensive effect. The contained plant substances have a favorable effect on the blood vessels. Individual studies showed the positive effect of green tea, says Prof. Johannes Georg Wechsler. The specialist in internal medicine from Munich is president of the Federal Association of German Nutritional Physicians.
Blue Potatoes
Blue potatoes are another excellent food for high blood pressure (Hypertension) according to a new American clinical study. Joe Vinson and his team had overweight study participants eat blue potatoes for a month: six to eight small potatoes once a day. The result: the upper blood pressure value decreased on average by 3.5 percent, the lower (diastolic) value by 4.3 percent. None of the participants increased in weight.
Whole Grain Is Good For Blood Pressure
Whole grain products also have a positive effect on high blood pressure. They not only lower blood pressure, but lower the risk of deadly strokes and heart attacks by up to 25 percent. The study participants received three portions of oatmeal or other whole grain products every day. Otherwise, the participants maintained their normal eating habits. The results showed participants lowered their blood pressure by up to 6 mmHg.
Dark Chocolate Prefer
Cocoa and dark chocolate also lower blood pressure. However, one should be careful here with the additional calories, which can contribute to blood sugar and weight issues.
Fruits And Vegetables Work Miracles
If you change your diet, you can reduce your blood pressure on average by up to 11 mmHg systemically and 5.5 mmHg diastolic, another study showed. The consumption of more green vegetables without further changes in food alone reduced the values of study participants. This effect was particularly evident when fat content and meat consumption were reduced at the same time.
Little Salt Use
There are numerous studies that identify a connection between high salt consumption and high blood pressure. However, the absorption of too much salt is only one of many risk factors for high blood pressure, according to the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment. Genetic risks, obesity, too little exercise, chronic stress and alcohol also play an a big role in developing blood pressure complications.