| SIMPLE WAYS TO REDUCE HYPERTENSION |
| SIMPLE WAYS TO REDUCE HYPERTENSION By: Cherish Hamutoff Published: 29 March 2010 Because there are frequently no symptoms in the early stages, cases of high blood pressure often go unrecognized. A startling statistic from the American Heart Association suggests that almost one in every three American adults has elevated blood pressure, which raises the risk for stroke, and heart and kidney disease. High blood pressure is also known as “hypertension,” and is divided into two main types: primary hypertension (caused by a variety of factors, including: stress, alcohol or tobacco use, excess sodium, low potassium, excess weight, a sedentary lifestyle, family history and aging), and secondary hypertension (which is much less common and brought on by an underlying cause, e.g. medication side effect, tumors, kidney disease or hormonal imbalances). The good news is that it’s simple to check blood pressure regularly, and besides (or in addition to) doctor prescribed medications, there are plenty of lifestyle changes, supplements and therapies available to help control or lower high blood pressure. Treatments to prevent or reduce high blood pressure include: Exercise: Regular aerobic exercise is one of the most effective ways to reduce high blood pressure. Diet: Maintain a desirable weight. Limit your intake of sodium, sugar, meat, fats, oils and alcohol. Increase the amounts of fruits and vegetables, grains, beans, nuts and low-fat dairy in your diet. Stress Reduction: Yoga: Yoga is a focused meditation conjoined with a series of body postures. Biofeedback: Biofeedback teaches people to become aware of and control normally involuntary body functions such as blood pressure. Autogenic Training: This series of practices reduces stress by teaching control of heart rate, breath, body temperature and blood pressure. Don’t Smoke: Smoking raises blood pressure, and even secondhand smoke raises the risk of heart disease. Dietary Supplements: Fish Oil: Omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil may moderately lower high blood pressure. Garlic: Several trials showed reductions in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Garlic may act as a blood thinner, and so should only be used under doctor supervision. Calcium: Low-fat dairy foods like yogurt, milk and cheese are excellent sources of calcium, which may moderately reduce systolic blood pressure. Potassium: Bananas and coconut water are particularly high in potassium, which may reduce both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Magnesium: Whole grains, nuts, beans and green leafy vegetables contain magnesium, which reduces diastolic blood pressure. |