Nobody wants to be tied to a bottle of pills or worry on a regular basis about a heart attack or a stroke. That’s where monitoring your blood pressure and making healthy ways to reduce blood pressure can be a huge benefit. While these will help lower it, always make sure you talk with your doctor and don’t quit medication until your health care provider indicates it’s safe. You can start making those changes immediately. They’re simple, but not necessarily easy to do, since they involve making lifestyle changes.
Lower your blood pressure with exercise.
One of the best moments at Iron Fit is when someone comes up and tells me how much their health has improved, thanks to the healthy diet and exercise. Exercise does several things to help lower blood pressure. It boosts the production of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide widens the blood vessels and lowers blood pressure immediately. It makes your heart stronger so it pumps more efficiently. It also helps you lose weight. It also helps reduce stress.
The food you eat makes a difference in how high your blood pressure is.
While cutting out salt has always been conventional wisdom, scientists are now finding that sugar increases your blood pressure just as much, if not more than salt. Eliminate processed foods, those with added sugar and start on a whole food diet. Some foods actually help lower blood pressure, such as food with omega-3 fatty acid, like fatty fish, foods high in potassium and magnesium, such as Swiss chard and foods high in nitrates, which relax the blood vessels, such as beets.
Other lifestyle changes can lower your blood pressure.
Your posture affects your blood pressure. If you have poor posture, it increases the pressure on your lungs and heart and can affect all your organs. Scientists discovered a direct connection to poor posture and slumping and high blood pressure. It has to do with the neurological link with the muscles in your neck. Getting adequate sleep is also important in lowering blood pressure, just as quitting smoking and being more active.
- Studies show that losing as little as 2.2 pounds can lower the mercury on your blood pressure by one millimeter. Imagine how low your blood pressure will drop when you lose even more weight.
- Studies show that blood pressure changes don’t happen overnight. For most people, it takes one to three months to make a difference. Unfortunately, you’ll lose everything you’ve achieved when you quit exercising.
- Make a snack of celery sticks and Greek yogurt dip. Celery has phthalides which relax blood vessels relax and Greek yogurt contains both calcium and potassium. It’s said eating three servings a day can lower blood pressure by 13%.
- Learn ways to lower your blood pressure with breathing techniques or meditation. Sometimes, just taking a moment to breathe deeply can help calm you down and reduce your blood pressure.
For more information, contact us today at Iron Fit San Antonio