Lowering Blood Pressure Without Medication

If you have high blood pressure or in danger of doing so, there are a number of things you can do to lower blood pressure without medication.

While taking BP medicine is a fast and simple way to go about it they aren't always the best way to go about it since they do some with side effects. In fact, most doctors will only put you on BP medication when natural ways aren't effective. Here are some ways. You can also read more here.

1. Exercise

One of the most effective ways of lowering your blood pressure is exercising. This means physical activity and movement. The goal is to try to get 30 minutes of exercise daily or three and a half hours a week.

Cardiovascular exercise is one of the best ways for lowering blood pressure. This includes walking and jogging or using workout equipment like treadmills, ellipticals, spinning bikes or step machines.

If you have knee or back problems be sure to choose non-impact machines like elliptical machines, rowers, or even recumbent exercise bikes.

2. Reduce Sodium in Your Diet

In general, the modern diet is filled with too much sodium. Sodium, more commonly known to us as salt is added during the marinading process, the cooking process and even as a condiment at the table.

Current health guidelines tell us to limit sodium intake to 2300 mg per day. To put things into consideration, a Quarter Pounder Bacon & Cheese has 1440 mg of sodium which pretty much takes up that entire limit. A Big Mac is slightly better at close to 1000 mg, but still a lot. If you add fries to that you'll even get more sodium.

If you have high blood pressure (above 120/80), you'll want to control sodium to 1500 mg per day.

A good way to do this is to remove the salt shaker from the dining table so you don't add any more salt. Also, read the labels of food you buy.

Other Lifestyle Changes to Lower Blood Pressure

In general, adding daily 30 minutes of exercise or physical activity with lowering your salt intake is more than enough to lower your blood pressure considerably.

Though some other lifestyle changes really help you avoid having to take any blood pressure medication to manage your BP.

1. Limit your alcohol intake

Alcohol has been proven to help control blood pressure. But they always forget to mention that it only does so when done very moderately. This means less than 2 drinks a day. After that, they become more harmful than helpful.

2. Stop smoking

Smoking along with inhaling second hand smoke does a lot more harm not only to your lungs but also for your blood pressure.

3. Lose Weight

If you are overweight, losing the extra pounds makes a big difference in improving your blood pressure levels. It has been shown that heart health and blood pressure are directly correlated to the size of your waistline.

4. Lower Stress Levels

This is harder said than done. But whatever is causing the stress, whether from work or relationships, lowing the amount of stress from these events will help lower your BP.

5. Get a Blood Pressure Monitor

Thanks to modern technology, you don't need to go to the doctor's clinic to have your blood pressure done. Just buy a blood pressure monitor so you can check your BP regularly. These units are electronic and compact, so you can just strap on the cuff, press a button and wait for the systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels to appear in the monitor's screen.

Related Posts :