Managing High BP Naturally: Diet, Exercise, And Lifestyle Tips

High blood pressure (hypertension) has usually no symptoms but could be a major risk for heart disease and stroke. For most people, the normal blood pressure is below 120/90 mm Hg. However, for people with hypertension, 130/80 mm Hg or more could be shown on the scale.

A reading of 120-129 over less than 80 is a sign of elevated blood pressure. This means you might be at risk of developing high blood pressure.

Here are what you can do to lower your blood pressure levels:

There is much research that suggests that aerobic and resistance exercise can help delay or manage blood pressure. After exercising, your blood pressure may remain lower for up to 24 hours.

Regular exercise also increases your heart rate and breathing rate, which means your heart gets stronger and pumps with less effort over time. This puts less pressure on your arteries.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends 2.5 hours of weekly exercise with 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.

There are many lifestyle changes that one can adopt to balance their blood pressure. The first one on top is managing weight. Having additional body weight puts a strain on the heart and the cardiovascular system, which can then lead to higher blood pressure.

Quit and avoid smoking. Smoking can affect your all-around health, and it could include your blood pressure. It can also damage your blood vessel walls, cause inflammation, and narrow your arteries.

Learn how to manage stress, as stress could impact your blood pressure. You can manage stress by practicing deep breathing, taking a walk, reading a book, listening to music, mindfulness, and meditation.

Get quality sleep, as sleep deprivation may increase the risk of high blood pressure. Your blood pressure typically dips when you are sleeping.

There are a few things that you can adopt in your diet, including restricting sugar and refined carbohydrates.

Add more potassium to your diet and less salt. A high intake of salt can increase the risk of blood pressure. Potassium also helps the body eliminate excessive salt.

Follow a DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), which emphasises eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, consuming low or zero-fat dairy products, eating fish, poultry, beans and nuts, and limiting food that are high in saturated fats.

Limiting processing food can also help you maintain a healthy level of your blood pressure.