-Lowering Blood Pressure

Lowering Blood Pressure Naturally

High blood pressure, often referred to as the silent killer, can creep up on a person over many years and they may not even know that they have the condition. That is why it is important to have your blood pressure checked by your medical practitioner on a regular basis. Having high blood pressure can be a very dangerous and even a life threatening condition. It is imperative to your health that you do everything you can to bring your blood pressure into the normal range. There are many things that you can do to lower your blood pressure naturally.

Generally, medical doctors want people to adopt a healthy lifestyle, with proper nutrition and exercise, in an attempt to return their elevated blood pressure levels back to normal. Decreasing your intake of salt, or sodium, is an important step to lowering your high blood pressure naturally. Scientists know that there is a direct link between high blood pressure and high salt intake. You can significantly lower your blood pressure by eliminating processed and canned foods from your diet. Canned soups, frozen dinners, pickles, processed cheeses, and cold cuts are just a few of the foods that are full of extra sodium.

You should try to keep your sodium intake to less then 2,000 milligrams a day. This is the amount that is found in one teaspoon of salt. Often people are totally unaware of the amount of sodium that they are consuming. They may eat double, triple or even many more times the amount of salt then they should consume. For example a king size meal at a fast food restaurant can contain as much as 4,000 milligrams of sodium, one bouillon cube has 960 milligrams of salt, and a large pickle contains more then 1,400 milligrams of sodium.

Learn to read food labels and become aware of the amount of sodium in the foods that you eat. This will make it easier to make healthy food choices. Never add salt to your food, especially when dining out at restaurants. Add more fruits, vegetables, lean meats and poultry to your diet. These dietary changes will help you to lower your blood pressure the natural way.

Being overweight has a direct link to high blood pressure. Try to cut a small amount of calories from your diet every day. Even cutting 300 calories each day will have a beneficial effect on your weight and your blood pressure.

Set up a regular exercise routine, but make sure to get approval from your medical practitioner before starting to exercise. Try to work up to 30 minutes of exercise on most days. Taking a brisk walk in a good way to exercise if you are unable to set up an aerobic exercise schedule.

Smoking elevates your blood pressure. It can take up to an hour for your blood pressure to return to the level that it was before you smoked just one cigarette. If you smoke - stop smoking. It will benefit not only your high blood pressure but also your overall health.

Limit your consumption of alcohol to only one five-ounce glass of wine, one 12-ounce glass of beer, or one and a half ounces of hard liquor. Drinking any more then these amounts will cause your blood pressure to rise.