Can anyone tell me how to reduce blood pressure naturally?

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I have some questions related to blood pressure. Can anyone tell me how to reduce blood pressure naturally?

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Type: Question • Score: 8 • Views: 3,088 • Replies: 35

[+6] - Setanta - 11/27/2012Sure--avoid stress as much as possible. Unless it's something like a job, where you can't avoid it, stay out of stressful situations. However, the best route is diet and exercise (which is also...

Sure--avoid stress as much as possible. Unless it's something like a job, where you can't avoid it, stay out of stressful situations.

However, the best route is diet and exercise (which is also the only reasonable way to lose weight). Avoid salty foods, and don't add salt to your food. Avoid fatty foods, avoid alcohol, avoid tobacco.

Those few things right there will go a long way to reducing your blood pressure.

1 Reply

@aidanbertie,

For the longest time hypertension was bad Bert but so was hypotension. Thus it was a continual balancing act

But just recently they've Apparently discovered that high blood pressure can be good for your kidneys

Makes you wonder if they make it all up just to keep themselves busy

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@aidanbertie,

Try CoQ10. It's an over-the-counter supplement that has been shown to have a positive effect on reducing bp. I started taking it to counter the side-effects of a statin and was able to come off my bp meds.

Also, try meditation and/or breathing exercises.

Don't take yourself off of prescribed meds. Work with a healthcare provider towards a more natural solution.

1 Reply

@aidanbertie,

Take a morning walk for an hour. If you fancy jogging, do it for 15-30 minutes with rest as well. It will not only help lower the blood pressure, it can also help lower your bad cholesterol.

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@aidanbertie,

I suggest that you shouldn't take statins or any synthetic meds because in the long run, it will hurt your liver. Just avoid foods that are rich in fat and oil which contains saturated fat and trans fat. Two strong risk factors causes raise in BP - genetics and lifestyle (smoking, drinking, bad eating habits).

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@aidanbertie,

Beside the other suggestions you've gotten, you should be sure you eat enough fruits and vegetables, beans, and other foods rich in potassium, on a daily basis, since a deficiency in potassium can contribute to hypertension.

Quote:

Alleviation of High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) - Studies show that a diet high in potassium, especially potassium from fruits and vegetables, lowers blood pressure. This is especially true if the increase in potassium foods is not accompanied by an increase in high sodium foods.

•Barri YM, Wingo CS. The effects of potassium depletion and supplementation on blood pressure: a clinical review. Am J Med Sci. 1997;314(1):37-40.
•Hajjar IM, Grim CE, George V, Kotchen TA. Impact of diet on blood pressure and age-related changes in blood pressure in the US population: analysis of NHANES III. Arch Intern Med. 2001;161(4):589-593.
•Appel LJ, Moore TJ, Obarzanek E, et al. A clinical trial of the effects of dietary patterns on blood pressure. DASH Collaborative Research Group. N Engl J Med. 1997;336(16):1117-1124.

http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/food-sources-of-potassium.php#WUpE4X6IJ5GtCSKg.99

Learning and practicing relaxation exercises, or meditation techniques, can also help to lower blood pressure.

1 Reply

@firefly,

Unless, Fire, you have a kidney problem in which case you have to avoid potassium

No, yes, not kidding

1 Reply

@dalehileman,

aidanbertie did not mention any other medical problems, and an adequate amount of potassium is necessary to maintain proper electrolyte balance, and healthy nerve and muscle functioning, in addition to normal blood pressure.

But people who have advanced kidney disease may have compromised ability to remove excess potassium from their bodies, and they may have to adjust dietary intake of potassium intake for that reason. Generally, their doctors will have advised them of that.
http://www.davita.com/kidney-disease/diet-and-nutrition/diet-basics/potassium-and-chronic-kidney-disease/e/5308

1 Reply

@firefly,

Thank you Fire

BUT it does leave one in a state of confusion
For decades it was hypertension this, hypertension that; hypertension bad; hold it down whatever else. Then all at once high blood pressure is good

But why so suddenly
Wouldn't we expect with regular visits to your GP that he's recognize a developing condition and treat it by gradual steps

Obviously there's something vastly wrong about The System

However we're somewhat OT, perhaps should start a new thread on the subject

3 Replies

@dalehileman,

Avoid potassium? Please, you do want to live, don't you?

Avoid too much potassium, sure.

You can look at potassium levels in foodstuffs on google, and that is advisable, whether or not you are taking meds that say watch it.

On your personal problem - you are railing here since (I figure) your doctors are fed up with you railing about the System.

0 Replies

@dalehileman,

without my chart, my GP doesn't even know my name, let alone catch things unless I point them out to him.

and he is my 3rd one in 3 years.

the clinic has a rather high burnout rate...

2 Replies

I used to have very high blood pressure.

once had to meditate for 10 minutes just to bring it down enough to pass a DOT physical.

because of illness, I have lost 60 pounds, and no longer eat red meat or drink beer. and I try to be physically active when I can.

and I have de-stressed a ton. (still have plenty, thanks)

my blood pressure is now almost borderline low.

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@Rockhead,

We differ, but then again, I've been luckier. I have been helped in clinics, at least by having an exotic diagnosis when I called. I had one horrible experience at UNM, and a major long time good experience.
That horrible experience, the dolt misreading the chart, seems to match yours.

Interestingly, I once looked up the background of my surgeon - and he is from Kansas.

Anyway, I won't argue that you have run into dolts.

1 Reply

@ossobuco,

were you to visit Kansas, it would all make more sense.

we are about a quarter century behind the rest of you on average...

1 Reply

@Rockhead,

But as with my surgeon. Kansas person, guy I admire and I am slow to admire, but I see him with patients), I have hope, re kindness that is not a ploy.

Of course, all the rest of us are messed up too.

What I want, and I think he does too, given no baddie problems, is to talk in our short clinic visits. We cover the tests - he maintains my eyes, after all - but get some talk in.

One day, maybe a year ago, a million year old woman saw him first.
When I went in, I mentioned how interesting she was to me from the waiting room.

He said she was one of his favorite patients.

So, there are doctors and doctors.

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@Rockhead,

Quote:

without my chart, my GP doesn't even know my name, let alone catch things unless I point them out to him.

I wonder Rock if that isn't the rule

Quote:

I have lost 60 pounds, and no longer eat red meat or drink beer

I lost 38 lb and suppose that helped but given the latter restriction I'd rather be dead

1 Reply

@dalehileman,

Stop eating bad stuff,
stop drinking bad stuff.
Move around.

1 Reply

@dalehileman,

Quote:

For decades it was hypertension this, hypertension that; hypertension bad; hold it down whatever else. Then all at once high blood pressure is good

Who says hypertension is good?

Quote:

Wouldn't we expect with regular visits to your GP that he's recognize a developing condition and treat it by gradual steps

Obviously there's something vastly wrong about The System

My hypertension really didn't develop all that gradually. I had perfectly normal BP until menopause and then it seemed like hypertension developed quite suddenly.
I went from having a very constant systolic BP of 120 to having a systolic BP of 170-180 within such a short time-frame that my internist became alarmed and did all sorts of tests, and 24 hr urine collections, to rule out underlying kidney problems, but everything in that department was just fine. And my lifestyle, diet, weight, etc. hadn't changed to account for the suddenly elevated BP, and just having me take a diuretic (which is a gradual first step in treatment) didn't help to bring it down. Even on medication, my BP still tends to be labile and slightly higher than normal.

Why blame "the System"? What is "the System"? It wasn't the fault of my doctor that the problem developed the way it did--he really hadn't failed to note any problems. I have a family history of hypertension, and I went through the hormonal changes of menopause, and my BP increased rather suddenly and remained significantly elevated until I was put on medication.

Quote:

In menopause transition many women have vasomotor symptoms which may affect their normal daily activities. With the decline in oestrogen levels, risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) become more apparent, especially hypertension...

Hypertension is by far the most important risk factor that affects women in the early postmenopausal years. About 30 to 50% of women develop hypertension (RR >140/90 mmHg) before the age of 60 and the onset of hypertension can cause a variety of symptoms that are often attributed to menopause...

The rise in systolic blood pressure with aging is mainly caused by an increase in vascular stiffness of the great arteries in combination with atherosclerotic changes in the vessel wall. Systolic blood pressure rises more steeply in aging women compared with men, and this may be related to the hormonal changes per se during menopause. Several other hormone-related factors have an additive effect on the increase in blood pressure during menopausal transition ..
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2644382/

2 Replies

@firefly,

That is when mine moved up too.

Mine is presently very controllable, but I don't think that is virtue on my part, just usage decisions.

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Can anyone tell me how to reduce blood pressure naturally?

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