Reducing Blood Pressure with All Natural Remedies
High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, can lead to serious medical complications such as heart disease and stroke if not taken care of properly. Close to one in three United States adults suffer from high blood pressure but close to one third of those people do not realize they are suffering from the condition. People can suffer from high blood pressure for quite some time before symptoms begin to appear. The systolic pressure is the first number listed in a blood pressure reading while the diastolic pressure is the second number listed in a blood pressure reading.
Normal blood pressure is roughly 120/80, prehypertension is systolic pressure that ranges from 120 to 139 or diastolic pressure ranges from 80 to 89, stage one hypertension is systolic pressure between 140 to 159 or diastolic pressure between 90 and 99 and stage 2 hypertension is systolic pressure higher than 160 or diastolic pressure is 100 or higher. Symptoms associated with high blood pressure include dizziness, headaches, and nosebleeds. High blood pressure can be caused by one or more of the following:
- Weight.
- Activity level.
- Tobacco use.
- Sodium intake.
- Potassium intake.
- Stress.
- Alcohol consumption.
- Age.
- Family history.
There are natural remedies available to patients who suffer from high blood pressure but the first and most effective treatment is to alter lifestyle choices. This includes altering a diet, exercising, reducing the intake of alcohol and quitting smoking immediately. All natural remedies for reducing blood pressure include garlic, coenzymes, hawthorn, fish oil, folic acid, dieting, magnesium, calcium, potassium, mind-body interventions and aerobic exercise. All of these natural remedies don’t cost too much, at least not as much as medication, but should be combined with medication if the doctor feels that using natural remedies will not work to reduce the pressure enough.
One of the most common all natural remedies for reducing blood pressure is to go on a diet. Dieting can be incredibly effective because of the weight loss associated with dieting. Anyone with high blood pressure should include beans, nuts, low fat dairy foods, fruits and vegetables in their diet. Sodium should be limited to 2,400 mg per day. A diet for anyone with high blood pressure should look like the following:
- 7 to 8 servings of grains
- 4 to 5 servings of vegetables
- 4 to 5 servings of fruit
- 2 to 3 servings of low-fat or non-fat dairy
- 2 or less servings of meat, fish, or poultry
- 2 to 3 servings of fats and oils
- 4 to 5 servings per week of nuts, seeds, and dry beans
- Less than 5 servings a week of sweets
Along with dieting, exercise is also a common form of all natural remedies used to reduce blood pressure. Aerobic exercise causes people to breathe deeper and get the heart working harder, causing the body to lose more weight. Aerobic exercises include swimming, walking, jogging, running, bicycling and aerobic dancing.
