How To Lower Blood Pressure? The 5 Keys To Achieve It
Suffering from high blood pressure is a very common ailment It is estimated that 1 in 4 people suffer from it. You probably know someone who suffers from hypertension or perhaps you yourself know what it’s like to have high blood pressure.
It is known that a healthy life prevents suffering from this type of cardiovascular disease, but sometimes it is not that simple and even peaks of stress can give us problems by raising our blood pressure. In this article We will talk about the five keys to lowering your blood pressure
Increased blood pressure or hypertension occurs when blood, while passing through each of the blood vessels in our body, exerts too high pressure on them. Explaining it graphically, it is as if in a hose where the water passes through is reduced. The water has less space to pass through and goes faster.
This happens when blood pressure is equal to or above what is considered normal. Blood pressure readings are usually given as two numbers. The top number is called systolic blood pressure. The bottom number is called diastolic blood pressure.
Thus, Normally, a figure of around 120 mm Hg is given for systolic blood pressure and 80 mm Hg for diastolic blood pressure
A certain change in pressure when carrying out some activities is healthy for our body. The problem comes when the body cannot control the pressure spikes and it remains high for a longer time than necessary. In these cases, injuries can occur in our organs. The heart, kidneys and brain are some of those that can suffer the most.
It is well known that people take medications to control blood pressure, but we cannot leave our health solely in the hands of medications. These have an effect that helps us, but they cannot do all the work to lower blood pressure.
Next we are going to talk about the 5 most important issues to take into account in order to keep blood pressure under control. Most of them have a marked natural background, since they are based on promoting good habits. And if you still do not suffer from hypertension, do not hesitate to apply them anyway: there is no doubt that prevention is better than cure.
1. Food
The best known natural method to lower blood pressure and perhaps the most recommended and followed by those who suffer from the disease is control through diet.
Diet has a very high impact on blood pressure, so maintaining a healthy diet is the first objective of anyone who wants to treat their hypertension. In general, it is necessary to avoid salt and all types of chemical additives such as sodium glutamate, as well as food products that contain added sugars.
Looking for quality protein sources such as lean meat is important, since maintaining a diet far away from saturated fats is essential. Avoiding fried foods is also important. But it is trans fats that must be truly restricted, as they are characteristics of products processed by the food industry.
It is also advisable to increase your intake of soluble fiber. Foods such as legumes, vegetables, and whole grains are healthy food sources. Instead, it is important to avoid fast food establishments, where it is common to add sauces and saturated fats.
There are medications that are used for other ailments, that have nothing to do with blood pressure, which have an increase in blood pressure as a side effect. They are called side effects. These include some antipsychotics, birth control pills, migraine medications, corticosteroids, and some medications to treat cancer.
Therefore, it is highly recommended to stop taking these medications whenever it is a real possibility. For example, using birth control pills can be replaced by other contraceptive measures. In other cases, it is more important to continue taking the medication to treat a more serious condition than a possible increase in blood pressure.
Likewise, it is important to highlight that of the more than 200 medications sold to combat hypertension, Many of them also bring notable undesirable side effects If possible, it is better to look for alternatives to taking medications to lower blood pressure. Medications are thus a remedy and an evil at the same time.
3. Avoid coffee
It is unknown exactly how caffeine acts in relation to blood pressure spikes, but In many people it can cause a significant increase in blood pressure There are people who drink coffee regularly who have more tolerance to the effect that caffeine causes on other people.
It is believed that caffeine is able to block certain substances that help keep blood vessels open. There is also the hypothesis that caffeine relates to increased release of adrenaline by the adrenal glands, which increases blood pressure.
Be that as it may, it is better to be aware of the effects it can cause on each person’s body. Taking your blood pressure before and after drinking coffee is a good measure to understand the effect it can have on your body. It is best to ration quantities and avoid drinking coffee before exercising or doing heavy work.
Anyone who wants to know how to lower blood pressure and is a smoker should know that the negative effect of tobacco on blood pressure is incontestable; Tobacco causes increased blood pressure. When we smoke, nicotine increases the levels of substances called catecholamines, which cause vasoconstriction.
This contraction of the blood vessels means that blood has to travel through the same blood vessels but which have suffered a reduction in diameter, increasing blood pressure. In addition, cigarette smoke increases sodium retention, while other substances present in cigarettes such as cadmium also promote blood pressure.
Related to the previous section, it is relevant to comment that it has been shown that combining smoking with drinking coffee intensifies the increase in blood pressure.
5. Practice meditation
There will be people who are somewhat skeptical about the power of meditation to improve health and reverse illness, but science is demonstrating the value of this ancient practice. New scientific findings are showing that meditation can also lower blood pressure.
The mind plays an important role in physical health and reducing disease. That the mind exercises control over the intense flow of daily thoughts can be a new medical tool, which can be integrated into medicinal and surgical treatments.
