High blood pressure affects 73 million people over the age of 20, according to the American Heart Association. For many people, the thought of starting a life-long medication routine is not particularly attractive. Medications are expensive and almost always have side effects. Fortunately, there are a number of things you can do to safely lower your blood pressure without medical intervention. All it takes is a little organization and determination to stick to a plan.
Weight Loss, Diet and Exercise
Three things that you can do to lower your blood pressure, start at home. By reducing your weight through diet and exercise, you may be able to lower your blood pressure by as much as ten points. If you're overweight, design a plan to lose weight. A good way to start is by cutting back on calories---around 500 a day. Multiply that by seven days a week and you've lost a pound in a week. Another great way to lose weight is to exercise. Something as simple as walking every day for 30 to 60 minutes can expend up to 400 to 500 calories. Put that together with the changes in your diet and you could lose up to 2 lbs. a week and see a significant drop in your blood pressure without drugs.
Reducing Sodium in the Diet
Salt is prevalent in many of the foods we eat. Once used to preserve foods before refrigeration was popular, salt is now used to enhance taste and even entice consumers into drinking more commercial beverages. Salt raises blood pressure by causing fluid retention that can lead to high pressure against the inside of the arterial walls. By lowering your salt intake to less than 2400 mg, you should see fairly rapid improvements in your blood pressure. Start by reading the packaging labels on the foods you buy. Calculate the amount of sodium in each serving and total your salt consumption for the day. Stay away from processed foods like chips, lunch meats and soups that are typically high in salt. Try replacing salt with spices to make your meals more interesting.
Alcohol, Cigarette Smoking and Caffeine
Three good ways to lower your blood pressure are reducing or eliminating alcohol, smoking and caffeine consumption---things you can easily limit or do without. In limited amounts, alcohol can reduce your risk for heart disease. But, drinking more than 1 to 2 oz. a day can aggravate high blood pressure. Cigarette smoke contains carbon monoxide and hundreds of toxic chemicals that can increase your blood pressure by causing fluid retention. It can also interfere with the medications that you're taking. Drinking caffeinated beverages can cause your blood pressure to temporarily spike. Try to reduce your caffeine intake to no more than 200 mg a day, or the amount in two cups of coffee. Switch from caffeinated colas to healthier fruit juices or water and save your caffeine for breakfast.
