The amount of processed food and junk food consumed today has led to an unprecedented rise in the number of diabetic cases and cases of high blood pressure in the country. While enjoying a little sugar and spice in your lives is not forbidden, you must prioritize your health first. Maintaining a healthy diet can go a long way in ensuring that you do not have to depend on medications and tablets all your life. Excessive intake of processed food and salty food items leads to high blood pressure, also known as hypertension. The regular blood pressure range for adults is more than 90 over 60 mmHg and less than 120 over 80mmHg. If your blood pressure is anywhere above that, you probably have high blood pressure. You must take steps to reduce your blood pressure before it is too late. Avoid eating salty food items, and you should be good to go. There are several other blood pressure remedies you can adopt to improve your overall health. Here are some tips that will help you lower your blood pressure naturally.
Remedies for high blood pressure
Here are some of the best blood pressure remedies.
- Lose weight: Being overweight is often associated with a rise in blood pressure. Thus, one can lower their blood pressure by losing weight. To put it into perspective, for every kilogram of body weight one cuts, their blood pressure lowers by 1mmHg. Moreover, carrying too much weight around the waist area puts individuals at a higher risk of blood pressure. Men with a waist measuring more than 40 inches, and women with waist measurements of 35 inches and above face a higher risk of blood pressure problems.
- Exercise: Regular exercise can help one overcome high blood pressure naturally. Exercising for 30 minutes a day, or for at least 150 minutes a week can lower one’s blood pressure by up to 8mmHg. However, you must keep up the habit of regular exercise. If you stop exercising, your blood pressure may rise again. If your blood pressure is above the normal levels, exercise can help to bring it back to the regular levels. Thus, exercising is one of the best remedies for high blood pressure.
- Healthy diet: Maintaining a healthy diet can go a long way in reducing your blood pressure. The DASH diet is the best diet plan to follow if you have high blood pressure. DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. It involves eating vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products. Avoid eating food items loaded with cholesterol and saturated fat, and you should be good to go. Try maintaining a diary that records the food items that you eat. You can also consider consuming potassium-rich food items. Potassium helps to lessen the effects that sodium has on the blood.
- Cut down on salt: It is essential that you limit the amount of salt that you add to your food. Try to avoid eating processed food and junk food as these items have high quantities of salt in them. Having 1500 mg of salt per day is more than enough. So, ensure that you stick to this limit. It is in your best interest to cut down on salt.
- Quit smoking: While it is quite easy to say this, it is tough to follow through with this remedy for high blood pressure. One should avoid smoking as much as possible as it contributes to high blood pressure. Look for substitutes to cigarettes such as nicotine patches. You can also pop a candy when you feel like smoking or try to divert your mind to something else.
- Avoid alcohol: While drinking a couple of servings of alcohol on a daily basis is healthy, drinking too much of it can have a negative impact on your health. It leads to a host of diseases, including high blood pressure. If you are suffering from high blood pressure, you must avoid drinking alcohol altogether. Try to drink healthier drinks like fresh juice or milk.
Practice a healthy diet and the remedies mentioned above to avoid high blood pressure problems. Having high blood pressure can lead to several severe complications, and you must limit your salt intake today. You may suffer from weakness and fatigue if you work too much, and you will not be able to visit high altitude places as it may lead to a further rise in your blood pressure. To avoid a life of preventive measures, cut down on your intake of processed food and salty food items beforehand. Thus, you can prevent the onset of high blood pressure by following the remedies mentioned above, and live a long and stress-free life.
