High blood pressure control is very essential to human health. In the busyness of our daily lives, it’s easy to unintentionally overlook the silent, but still powerful force that pumps life through our veins; our blood pressure.
This can lead to serious complications for our cardiovascular health, which we didn’t bargain for. Do not be afraid, for effective blood pressure control is not a non-achievable goal.
You can use the high blood pressure control measures discussed in this article to not only maintain but improve your cardiovascular health.
High Blood Pressure Control Strategies
Natural high blood pressure control strategies you should adopt to keep your health in check include;
1. Healthy Eating Habits by Using the DASH Strategy
High blood pressure control can be achieved by using the DASH diet strategy. DASH means the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. It is a dietary plan, particularly crafted to help lower high blood pressure.
This working method was designed by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). It emphasizes a balanced and nutrient-rich approach to eating, with a focus on certain key elements that have been shown to have a positive impact on blood pressure and heart health at large.
Here’s how the DASH diet can contribute to lowering high blood pressure:
More Fruits, whole grains, and Vegetables: The DASH diet encourages the consumption of fruits, whole grains, and vegetables.
These diets are high in potassium, magnesium, and fiber and have been associated with the lowering of blood pressure because they are all rich in potassium, which contributes to balancing the effects of sodium on blood pressure.
Also, they are low in saturated fat which plays a role in the overall heart health. In addition, fruits, whole grains, and vegetables contain dietary fiber that aids in regulating blood sugar levels and reducing cholesterol.
It is also interesting to know that these diets are all rich in antioxidants which function include reducing inflammation and improving cardiovascular health.
So, these are the few reasons why it is necessary to include fruits, whole grains, and vegetables in your meal plan.
Low Sodium intake: This approach recommends limiting our sodium intake, as high sodium levels in the diet have been linked to increased blood pressure.
To achieve a reduction in your elevated blood pressure, you have to cut the quantity of sodium you consume.
Are you aware that most of the sodium in our diet comes from processed and packaged food? To be on the safer side, stop purchasing or consuming foods that contain high quantities of sodium.
Limiting the consumption of sodium helps to lower blood pressure by reducing the amount of fluid in the body and preventing the blood vessels from becoming constricted.
A moderate amount of Lean Proteins: Eating moderate amounts of lean proteins like fish, poultry, seeds nuts, etc, help in lowering blood pressure. It is quite interesting to know that lean proteins tend to be lower in saturated fat, which aids in reducing high cholesterol and heart disease risk.
In addition, lean proteins like poultry and fish are high in omega-3 fatty acids which help to lower blood pressure by reducing the stiffness of the arteries. When this happens, blood would flow more easily and less strain would be put on the heart.
Low-Fat or Fat-Free Diary Products: This diet can help lower blood pressure through its effect on sodium and potassium levels in your body.
Recall we mentioned earlier that sodium is likely to increase blood pressure by encouraging the retention of fluid in our body, while potassium helps to regulate sodium levels and maintain normal blood pressure.
So therefore, low-fat or fat-free dairy products can help us achieve healthy blood pressure by providing more potassium and at the same time help in reducing the amount of sodium consumed.
Limited Sweets and Added Sugars: The DASH diet suggests reducing the consumption of sweets and added sugars.
It’s advisable to minimize the intake of sweets and sugar-sweetened beverages if you are hypertensive. This act can help bring down your blood pressure to normal by cutting down the amount of empty calories in your diet.
Meanwhile, empty calories are those calories that are found in foods that contain a high quantity of sugar or fat but are low in the main thing needed, which is nutrients.
Sadly, these kinds of foods happen to elevate blood sugar levels and cause inflammation, both of which can increase your blood pressure.
In addition, excessive consumption of added sugars and sweets can make you overweight, which is also a predisposing factor for high blood pressure.
2. Regular Physical Activity
Are you aware that engaging in regular physical activities contributes a lot in promoting your heart health? You might also wonder why your healthcare practitioner always advises you to engage in exercise.
People tend not to exercise judiciously because they ignorantly do not find the need but I put it to you that the amount of physical activity you subject yourself to will, to an extent, determine how long you will live.
I have a 39-year-old male co-worker. His name is Jason. Some of our colleagues do make fun of him because of his weight.
The dude was overweight. This always makes him uncomfortable. Unfortunately, he does not have any idea on how to curb this menace. Yes, you heard me right, being overweight is a menace.
To worsen it all, Mr. Jason was hypertensive. Like, he is always on drugs. Advising him to exercise is like giving him a hard task.
Often uses his health problem (hypertension) as an excuse for the reason why he shouldn’t engage in any form of exercise.
He would always reply “How would you suggest routine exercise as a way of losing weight while you’re aware that I have high blood pressure, do you want me to slump and die?”
It’s funny right? Don’t blame him, he is just ignorant.
On this faithful day, I looked through my window and saw how he was struggling to pick up a book from the floor. I said to myself, enough of all this taming, I have to make time for this colleague of mine and health educate him on the risk his weight poses on his health.
After clearing the file on my table, I summoned him and had a word with him. Fortunately, he agreed to engage in at least swimming and 30 minutes walking every day.
Click on High Blood Pressure Explained to read how overweight and obesity can cause high blood pressure.
After a few weeks, Mr. Jason observed a significant change in his weight. His body became more flexible and his tight clothes became loose on him.
From his facial expression the morning he came to break the news to me, I found out that his joy knows no bounds.
To convince him that regular physical activity doesn’t only make one lose weight, but equally has numerous health benefits including lowering our blood pressure, I advised him to go check his blood pressure again.
Guess what? The next morning, he came to work with a gift for me. His blood pressure has normalized. Good news right? Did you find yourself in Mr. Jason’s shoes, make it a habit to engage in regular physical activity.
Regular physical activity helps to strengthen your heart and improves its ability to pump blood throughout your body.
It also helps to improve your blood vessel function and minimize inflammation. All these bring your blood pressure to normal.
Do not be lazy like Mr. Jason before he took charge of his health. Take charge of your health today.
3. Consuming Alcohol in a Moderate Quantity
I want you to have a picture of a man with a whole lot of family responsibilities and other life challenges. He is always on drugs because of his health condition.
As a hypertensive patient, he was advised to avoid thinking too much. To minimize the way he thinks about his unresolved life challenges, he resorted to branching to a bar at the close of work every evening. To worsen it all, he drinks to a stupor that he hardly remembers the way to his house.
You can agree with me that, this man is adhering to the health practitioner’s advice in a wrong way. Health-wise, he is ignorantly creating irreversible damage.
Meanwhile, heavy alcohol drinking can damage the heart and liver, leading to high blood pressure.
Also, too much alcohol consumption can cause dehydration. This raises the body’s natural stress hormone, cortisol, which causes the blood vessels to narrow, thereby increasing blood pressure.
Though, alcohol has a relaxing effect on the body. Like helping to reduce stress and anxiety and also improves HDL (good) cholesterol levels, but the consumption should be moderate. Not more than 2 drinks per day for men and 1 drink daily, for women.
High blood pressure control comes with determination and sacrifice. So, therefore, you have to let go off some things to achieve what you want.
4. Adequate Sleep
This is called the “Silent Repairer” The process occurs without you being aware of it. How does it work? The body undergoes several changes that affect our blood pressure during sleep.
One of these changes includes decreasing cortisol, the stress hormone, thereby lowering blood pressure.
Also, while at sleep, the body releases more melatonin hormone which helps to promote sleep and has been connected to lower blood pressure. Therefore, do your best to have enough sleep every day. It’s good for your health. Do not forget that “Health is Wealth”.
5. Stress Management
Practicing stress management techniques helps in high blood pressure control in the following ways:
- Aid in lessening the amount of stress hormones released
- Help to reduce the impact of stress hormones by increasing the body’s resilience to their effect
- Assist in improving the overall health, which can also lower the blood pressure.
6. Connect and Socialize With Like-Minded Individuals
Connecting with others and having meaningful relationships has been associated with lower levels of stress hormones and better general well-being.
When we feel connected to others, we tend to feel more supported and less isolated. This helps to buffer the effects of stress.
In addition, socializing and connecting with others can also provide a sense of purpose and fulfillment, which can further improve health and well-being.
Also, it can help to foster healthy habits, such as eating a healthy diet and avoiding smoking.
From the points made above, did you see the need to have a strong social support network?
7. Relaxation Technique
Relaxation techniques help to control blood pressure by lowering the body’s stress response. When we are stressed, our bodies produce hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, which are associated with the fight-or-flight response.
These hormones cause the blood vessels to narrow and the heart to beat faster, thereby increasing blood pressure.
By practicing relaxation techniques, we can lower our stress levels and reduce the production of these hormones. Fortunately, this has a direct effect on our blood pressure, lowering it to a healthier level.
Are you hypertensive or you know someone who is? Can you recommend these 7 natural high blood pressure control strategies to him or her and give us feedback after few months.
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