Tips to Reduce Hypertension
Hypertension is known as the silent killer because most people do not even know they have a problem until it has been around for a long time. Then it will manifest as heart attacks, strokes, headaches, and vision problems. Below are a few tips to reduce hypertension, and more general information on the condition can also be found here: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.120.15026#:~:text=In%20accordance%20with%20most%20major,see%20below%2C%20Section%203).
1. Know your blood pressure numbers
This is a number you should be familiar with on a regular basis – not just once a year when you visit your health professional.
Some pharmacies have machines that you can use in the store, or you can purchase one for home use. Also take advantage of health fairs to get your blood pressure measured if you don’t have a home machine. When you visit your provider discuss the numbers you have been collecting and the numbers from that visit. Understand what your numbers mean. In general, a normal blood pressure is 110/70, prehypertension is 120/70, elevated is 120/80, hypertension stage 1 is 140/90, and hypertension stage 2 is 160/100.
2. Reduce stress
Hypertension is reactive to stress, so managing stress well is extremely important especially if you have a diagnosis of hypertension. When in stressful situations, your first action can be focusing on the breath to reduce the panic and stress response. Deep controlled breaths can activate a relaxation of the vascular system.
3. Exercise daily
Daily cardiovascular exercise is key to controlling blood pressure and in studies has been shown to reduce blood pressure by 10%. This can include 30-minute walking sessions, mild cardiovascular exercise daily, or HIIT no more than 2 times per week.
4. Lose weight
For people who are overweight, losing 10-20 percent of your weight has been shown to reduce blood pressure. Avoid diets that totally remove any macronutrients, and work with a health coach if you need to learn how to optimize your food choices. Ensure that the lifestyle changes you are making are things you can maintain, as returning to old bad habits will reverse any gains you make on a short-term diet change.
A technique of combining a healthy plant-based diet and exercising regularly is the best way. To avoid undue stress on the body, do not do extreme low calorie diets or extreme cardiovascular exercises. If you are new to exercise and already have hypertension, avoid weightlifting until your blood pressure has improved or is under control, as there is an upsurge of blood pressure associated with the act of lifting heavy weights.
5 Prioritize sleep
As I discussed in my first blog post, sleep is a core foundation for health and with hypertension it is no different. Poor sleep dysregulates the body and can lead to poor lifestyle choices that then lead to hypertension in some people. Optimal sleep for each person is individual. A good range for most people is 6-8 hours. Crafting a consistent sleep regimen is paramount to thriving as a human.
6. Eat healthier foods
I advocate a whole foods, low fat, plant-based diet. For over 50 years it has been proven to aid in achieving an optimal thriving life (alongside mind and spirit work). Removing animal products from your diet can result in a significant improvement in energy and vitality, and a reduction of three major causes of death for humans, cardiovascular disease (hypertension falls in this category, too), cancer, and diabetes. If eating completely plant based is not what you want to do at this time, I encourage you to increaser whole plant foods in your diet to get this benefit started.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7692016/
7. Remove caffeine
Caffeine has a deleterious effect on blood pressure, so I advocate removing it from your diet. Once you are eating a whole foods, low fat, plant centric diet, energy is increased naturally. When quitting caffeine, consider the amount and time you have been on the product as there are withdrawal symptoms that can be debilitating. Reducing coffee by half a cup per week as a taper or doing a juice cleanse to clear toxins with coffee enemas are great ways to stop ingesting coffee.
See the article listed below regarding the amount of caffeine absorbed via Coffee Enema vs Oral Coffee consumption
Read here to see the effects of ingested coffee on the body and hypertension
8. Remove alcohol
Alcohol has no nutritional benefit and is associated with several disease including hypertension. With hypertension, the effect is biphasic depending on amount of alcohol ingested – a short term decrease within the first 12 hours and associated long term increase within 24 hours. The removal of alcohol is associated with improved hypertension in all cases. See the article below for the study that shows this.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8130994/
9. Quit smoking
This habit is tied to several cardiovascular diseases including hypertension. There are no health benefits to smoking. Adverse health effects include hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases, stroke, and cancer to name a few. See the article for more in-depth information regarding its effect on hypertension.