Hypertension a.k.a High Blood Pressure can actually be treated with something other than medication. This treatment is not necessarily a treatment but a series of lifestyle changes which will ensure you blood pressure drops considerably.
With the 17th of May as the World Hypertension Day, some ways to treat hypertension also known as high blood pressure without medication, according to mayoclinic.org are what I’ll be sharing with you today.
1. Deduction in Sodium Intake: To decrease the amount of sodium you ingest, you should cut back on salt added to your food. You can ease into it gradually by reducing the amount of salt put in your food little by little till you make it a habit to add little or no salt to your food. Eat more natural foods and less processed foods as sodium is usually added during processing.
2. Decrease Alcohol Intake and Stop Smoking: A small amount of alcohol actually helps reduce blood pressure but taking too much of alcohol only serves to increase your blood pressure by several points and even decrease the effectiveness of medications for blood pressure. Smoking increases you blood pressure for some minutes after you finish. So quitting smoking helps your blood pressure return to normal.
3. Stress also ultimately contributes to increase in blood pressure. So try to reduce your stress by taking time to relax and do stuff you enjoy, avoid your stress triggers (the things that cause you to be stressed out), focus and work at the things you can control and not the things you can’t control.
4. Weight Loss, Healthy Dieting and Regular Exercise: Your blood pressure decreases as your weight decreases so losing some kilograms will help combat the hypertension when you eat healthy diets and exercise regularly. Exercise/regular physical activity can bring your blood pressure down to safer levels. Also, eating a diet that is rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products can lower your blood pressure by up to 11 mm Hg if you have high blood pressure.
So if this is for you, practice these tips and watch your blood pressure reduce drastically without all the excess medication.
