While most of us have had our blood pressure checked with the cuffs and the pump, we probably don’t realise the significance of these readings. Blood pressure is a strong indicator of heart health. With persistent high blood pressure, the heart has to work harder to pump blood.
The pressure with which blood flows against the walls of the blood vessels (usually the large arteries) is called blood pressure. You will be diagnosed with hypertension if your systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings are consistently higher than or equal to 140 mmHg and 90 mmHg.
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Hypertension is a common chronic condition which may be an indicator of other underlying conditions such as sleep disorders, diabetes, kidney disease and cardiovascular diseases. Some medications may also raise your blood pressure. Though chronic hypertension often requires medical attention, blood pressure could be controlled and managed with early detection and lifestyle alterations.
While hypertension is indeed a grave condition, it is possible to manage it by making some changes in lifestyle and dietary habits. Here are eight tips to reduce blood pressure naturally as you incorporate into your daily life to bring your blood pressure back to normal.
Also read: Strike a balance to care for the heart
1. Add fresh fruits and vegetables to your diet
Adding fresh fruits and vegetables to your diet is beneficial as these are good sources of fibre, potassium, magnesium and more. The eating plan — Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH) is a natural ways to lower blood pressure.
Limiting saturated and trans fats and boosting the intake of food high in micronutrients like potassium, magnesium and calcium, apart from protein and fibre are integral to the guidelines of the Dash diet. These nutrients are found in fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, whole grains, fish, lean meat, poultry, beans, seeds and nuts.
Also read: How a ‘DASH’ diet can help you lead a healthy life
2. Avoid junk food and sugar rich beverages
Avoid eating processed food rich in refined carbohydrates and added sugars. Processed food leads to excess calorie intake and puts you at a higher risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Hypertension is a common co-morbidity associated with all these three conditions. Regular consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) and food made with refined flour (Maida) will increase your bad cholesterol and triglyceride levels. High cholesterol leads to plaque formation and blockages in your arteries and your heart will have to pump blood with greater force leading to high blood pressure. Excess sugar in daily beverages like coffee and could also cause short-term spikes in blood pressure.
3. Relax, don’t stress
Stress is the biggest factor that elevates your blood pressure. Your heart has to beast faster when you become anxious and stressed out leading to elevated blood pressure levels. While sudden bouts of stress are manageable, chronic stress is considered to have adverse impact on your heart health in the long run and might require medical attention. The best way to deal with stress is to understand how to manage it. Do not hesitate to seek expert advice if you are unable to manage your stress and blood pressure. Research also indicate that psychological stress is linked to an increase in triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) which could lead to cardiac complications and hypertension
4. Practise yoga every day
Adopting an active lifestyle with physical activity will help you to manage hypertension. Daily walks or even a simple workout routine of 20 to 30 minutes will be of immense help to reduce your blood pressure and also manage your body weight. Yoga helps keep blood pressure in control, especially by relieving stress. Some yoga poses like shishuasana (child pose), paschimottanasana (forward bend pose) and ardha matsyendrasana (sitting half spinal twist) could be highly beneficial in managing hypertension.
Yoga helps keep blood pressure in control, especially by relieving stress. Some yoga poses like shishuasana (child pose), paschimottanasana (forward bend pose) and ardha matsyendrasana (sitting half spinal twist) could be benficial in managing blood pressure.According to a study, pranayama and yoga asanas can help people with lipid metabolism disorders like coronary artery disease, diabetes and dyslipidemia.
5. Cut down on salt
Foods with high salt content like papads, pickles, chutneys, soups and processed foods such as instant noodles and white bread can increase blood pressure. High sodium levels in your body due to excess salt intake could also increase water retention and also trigger microvascular changes which ends up affecting your blood flow and pressure.
Adults who consume less than five grams of salt per day have lower blood pressure and a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and coronary heart attack. The primary advantage of reducing salt intake is the reduction in high blood pressure.
6. Ensure adequate and uninterrupted sleep
Lack of proper sleep could adversely affect your heart and also cause elevated blood pressure levels. Doctors and researchers now list inadequate sleep as a major risk factor for hypertension and heart attack. Conditions like sleep apnea and insomnia could also lead to further disruptions in sleep and blood pressure fluctuations. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention, at least seven hours on a daily basis is crucial to remain healthy and keep conditions like hypertension at bay.
7. Avoid smoking and drinking
Smoking and excess alcohol consumption are major lifestyle factors that could lead to elevated blood pressure and cardiac complications. Harmful chemicals in cigarette smoke cause blood vessel damage, high cholesterol and hypertension which increases the risk of heart attack. Prolonged excess alcohol consumption leads to weakening of heart muscles which affect blood circulation and triggering an elevation in blood pressure levels.
Also read: How HDL plays the good cop
8. Use monounsaturated oil
Using monounsaturated oils like canola or olive oil for cooking, and the inclusion of legumes, seeds and nuts in our daily diet can help keep BP under control.
“Plant-based monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (found in olive oil, safflower, sesame and groundnut oil) contain omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids, which help reduce heart disease risks, while foods containing trans-fats and saturated fats are the ones not good for health,” says Soumita Biswas, chief nutritionist, Aster RV Hospital, Bengaluru.
Also Read: Oil is well? Yes, but conditions apply
