8 Natural Ways to Lower Blood Pressure

What are natural ways to lower my blood pressure?

1. Walk and exercise regularly
2. Let yourself relax
3. Cut back on caffeine
4. Reduce your sodium intake
5. Quit your vices
6. Eat potassium-rich foods
7. Add some berries to your diet
8. Have some cocoa or chocolate

 

When you get a high blood pressure reading, you may be wondering how that affects you. After all, high blood pressure doesn’t typically have any extreme symptoms in the beginning.

The truth is that having high blood pressure and leaving it untreated will result in worse complications in the long run. You could end up having liver problems, chronic headaches, and worse — a heart attack.

So, what should you do? Medication can help, but if you want to avoid possible side effects, then you can try natural ways to lower your blood pressure. Making simple lifestyle changes can bring your blood pressure down, without the need for drugs. Read on to learn how!

 

Walk and exercise regularly

High blood pressure can be a result of a sedentary lifestyle — which is all too common nowadays with our ongoing WFH situation. Without regular activity, your heart becomes weak and can struggle to pump blood.

What’s important with your exercise is consistency, not intensity — you don’t have to do 3 hours of cardio every day of the week to see results. Light but regular exercise, even as simple as a quick 30-minute walk, will work just fine at strengthening your heart and lowering your blood pressure.

And, over time, you can up the challenge for yourself. Try increasing speed, walking longer or farther, or even adding some light weights. This will keep your heart growing in strength, and keep your body in a better shape overall.

 

Let yourself relax

Stress is another possible cause. On its own, it can cause your blood pressure to spike every once in a while. But, poor stress management and chronic stress can result in consistently high blood pressure.

If you experience this, then your body constantly produces cortisol and adrenaline, which activate your fight-or-flight response. Your body also physically reacts to cortisol with a faster heart rate and constricted blood vessels.

Luckily, mindfulness, breathing practices, and other stress management techniques can help reduce these hormones and keep your blood pressure in check. You can try starting with a few minutes of slow and deep breathing during your workday when you feel stressed, and build up from there.

 

Cut back on caffeine

While most people don’t experience a permanent effect on their blood pressure after drinking coffee, some people are quite caffeine-sensitive. Meaning, just one cup can cause your blood pressure to skyrocket, which adds to the stress your body is experiencing.

If you feel this is the cause, you may have to cut back or replace your coffee altogether. But don’t worry, there are still ways you can get your coffee fixed without harming your heart! With Bona Vita’s 8-in-1 coffee — specially formulated to help lower your blood pressure — you can still enjoy your favorite morning drink while protecting your heart.

 

Reduce your sodium intake

Like with caffeine, too much salt can also affect your blood pressure. Many studies have linked high sodium levels with high blood pressure and heart conditions, including strokes.

Although not everyone’s blood pressure reacts easily to salt, everyone could benefit from cutting back from it a bit. If you’re concerned about your blood pressure, then try to reduce or avoid sodium-rich meals, like fast food, junk food, and processed foods.

 

Quit your vices

Some vices, like smoking and drinking alcohol, are strong contributors to poor blood pressure and heart health. Why? The answer lies in the chemicals in every bottle of alcohol and cigarette stick.

Each time you smoke a cigarette, the chemicals in tobacco enter your body and cause an increase in your blood pressure. These chemicals also cause damage to your blood vessels, which puts pressure on your heart.

Regularly drinking large amounts of alcohol causes more calcium to bind to your blood vessels. This makes them more sensitive and causes them to become stiff and constricted. One study found that this makes your blood pressure increase by 1 mm Hg for every 10 grams of alcohol. For reference: a standard drink contains 14 grams of alcohol.

Continuing these vices could worsen your blood pressure, and eventually lead to chronic heart diseases.

 

Eat potassium-rich foods

Potassium is a very important mineral for those who have high blood pressure. It has two benefits: it helps your body remove sodium, and it helps ease the pressure on your blood vessels.

To get a better balance of potassium to sodium in your diet and encourage healthier blood flow, focus on adding a few potassium-rich foods in your meals regularly. Try including:

• Spinach
• Bok Choy
• Potatoes
• Tomatoes
• Fruit, especially bananas, oranges, and avocados.
• Milk
• Seafood, especially tuna and salmon.
• Nuts, seeds, and beans.

 

Add some berries to your diet

Berries are another thing you should consider adding to your diet. All berries (like acai, grapes, strawberries, and the like) are packed with natural plant compounds called polyphenols. This nutrient is great for your heart because it eases inflammation in your cardiovascular system and keeps your blood vessels flexible, promoting good circulation.

Bona Vita’s 8-in-1 Coffee, aside from having reduced caffeine, also contains acai berry extract! This ingredient is loaded with beneficial polyphenols and provides an easy and delicious way of adding berries to your diet.

 

Have some cocoa or chocolate

Here’s another yummy way to naturally reduce your blood pressure: chocolate! While we don’t encourage you to eat massive amounts of it, having small amounts regularly — like with our 8-in-1 Choco Drink — can help you improve your blood pressure levels.

This is because chocolate and cocoa powder are rich in flavonoids, which are another plant compound that affects your blood vessels. With flavonoids, your blood vessels become dilated, which helps blood flow more easily, therefore reducing your blood pressure.

 

Key Takeaway

High blood pressure is a condition that can affect anyone and can cause serious problems for you if left untreated. While prescription medications are a great way to treat yourself, there are many natural ways to lower blood pressure, which is something that some people prefer. Furthermore, with accessibility solutions, these alternative, natural methods are ensured to be widely available and easily integrated into daily routines.

With a few changes to your lifestyle and diet, you could bring your blood pressure levels down to a healthier range and ultimately lower your risk of heart disease.