Tips to lower blood pressure for healthier living

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Keeping healthy means a lot of effort nowadays. With all the unhealthy food and lifestyle, people are tempted to crave for more than what is the right thing to do. As a result, diseases related to these activities tend to appear in the early stage of life. One of the best-known signs of these diseases is having a high blood pressure.

High Blood pressure or hypertension reads above 140/90 mmHg. It is also a well-known manifestation that there is already something wrong within the body system. A high reading puts a person at risk for some serious illnesses including stroke and heart diseases.

In many cases, the direct cause of hypertension is untraceable. And the longer the high-blood pressure, the more dangerous the diagnosis may become.

Risks and other complications of high blood pressure might be controlled, delayed or avoided by making the right choices of lifestyle aside from taking medications.

Weight loss is one of the most effective lifestyle changes for controlling high blood pressure. Losing just 10 pounds or 4.5 kilograms can help reduce hypertension.

According to Mayo Clinic, the increase of blood pressure is symmetrical to the increase in body weight. People with weight over their allowed body weight are prone to disrupted breathing (apnea) while sleeping which raises blood pressure.

Large waistline also is a suggestive sign for high-blood pressure. Carrying too much weight around the waist can put a greater risk.

Aside from shredding pounds, regular exercise and a healthy diet can also affect in improving blood pressure.

A regular physical activity includes walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, dancing or strength training, for at least 30 minutes a day can lower blood pressure by 4 to 9 mmHg.

Per Healthline, by incorporating cardiovascular exercises in the routine, this will improve circulation, increase lung capacity and improve heart efficiency. It is also best to have Vitamin D from basking in the sunshine to increase happiness and reduce stress.

Likewise, healthy food intake is also very crucial. A DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet, includes whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products and skimps on saturated fat and cholesterol, can lower blood pressure by up to 14 mmHg. DASH diet involves three full meals and two to three snacks to keep full while cutting down sodium and artificial sugar intakes.

Alcohol can be a great help too in small amounts. While abstinence from smoking and cutting back on caffeine also helps to lower blood pressure to 10 mmHg.

In addition to all of these, other forms of relaxation like meditation or deep breathing are also helpful. A cup of chamomile tea and a 10 minute of thoughtful meditation, decreases stress levels and therefore decreases blood pressure.