Before you go out with your car, you check the water level, oil level, brake oil level and so on but if I ask you if you have checked your Blood Pressure (BP) level today, you might look at me like it isn't a necessity for you but we both know it is one. If you haven't checked your BP in a while, you can go to the nearest health facility to do so and if you can afford your own kit to do so, please do so you can be certain about your health. In all this, how can high blood pressure be reduced without using drugs.
While some people's case require medications and proper monitoring to ensure their blood pressure drop, some people do not need to take medications for their blood pressure to drop, they just need certain changes in both lifestyle and other things.
First thing to look into when trying to reduce blood pressure is weight loss. It might sound so simple but it is one of the lifestyle changes that can be used to control blood pressure. Losing a few pounds of weight for someone who is obese can go a long way to help reduce blood pressure. I hope you got that message. I am not body shaming anyone, I am only saying that keeping an average weight can help when it comes to blood pressure. For men, a waist line of 37 inches is good while a waist line of 32 inches is fine for women.
Exercise is another way to get blood pressure reduced. Regular physical activity is very vital for blood pressure to get reduced and to do so, aiming for a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate physical activity can help reduce blood pressure. Asides from exercise, eating healthy food especially vegetables is a good way to reduce blood pressure but while you are thinking of how to buy the entire vegetable in the vegetable market bear at the back of your mind that you should reduce salt intake. Salt contains sodium and in other to keep blood pressure stable, keeping a sodium level of less than 1500mg daily is encouraged.
In your race to reduce high blood pressure, take away alcohol. Be it white, red, blue, green, whisky, brandy, vodka, spirit, rum, or any type of alcohol, non is good for your heart rather they are damaging the heart since it is a toxin. It can raise the blood pressure and reduce the effectiveness of drugs in the system. Just like I just mentioned that alcohol isn't good for your health, so is smoking terrible for your health. Smoking can reduce the size of some blood vessels which will cause the heart to overwork itself as it has to get blood through the vessels.
All work and no rest increases your blood pressure. You should try and get proper sleep at least every night. Do not mind those motivational speakers that tell you sleep is for the weak, they are only setting you up for increased blood pressure and other health conditions. Now that I say you should sleep, I suspect that you are planning to over-stress yourself during the day. My advise for you is not to over-stress yourself because too much stress in the body can be dangerous. The body releases cortisol which is the body's fight or flight hormone, and when this is now a regular, it can affects blood pressure.
As you are trying to do things to reduce your blood pressure, another thing you should do is monitor the pressure. Working to reduce without monitoring is like praying without work. Although your smart watch is doing a good job to check your blood pressure, it hasn't reached the accuracy of a blood pressure monitor and thankfully, home monitors are affordable now helping people to check their blood pressure but if you cannot afford a monitor, please visit a health care provider who will help check your blood pressure for you.
Read More
- https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure
- https://www.uptodate.com/contents/high-blood-pressure-diet-and-weight-beyond-the-basics
- https://www.cdc.gov/healthy-weight-growth/physical-activity/index.html
- https://www.cdc.gov/high-blood-pressure/prevention/index.html
- https://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/how-to-lower-blood-pressure
- https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/what-should-you-eat/vegetables-and-fruits
- https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine
- https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure
- https://health.ucdavis.edu/blog/good-food/your-guide-to-low-sodium
- https://www2.hse.ie/living-well/alcohol/health/improve-your-health
- https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/health-and-nutrition/lets-not-pretend-alcohol
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11097650/ - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6523057
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