1. Exercise
By exercising 30 minutes a day, you can significantly lower blood pressure, said Gerald Fletcher, MD, a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida, as well as a spokesman for the American Heart Association.
"Try aerobic exercise to reduce your systolic blood pressure," said Fletcher. He added that people who are physically active can usually reduce consumption hypertension drug intake. To support it, choose the type of activities that you enjoy such as, walking, running, swimming or cycling.
2. Reduce your intake of salt
People with normal blood pressure, high enough, and hypertension can substantially reduce their blood pressure by cutting salt intake. Dietary guidelines recommend that people with hypertension should limit salt intake of less than 1,500 milligrams (600 milligrams of sodium) a day.
3. Eating bananas
You probably know that eating too much salt can increase blood pressure, but most people do not realize the benefits of potassium - a substance that can counteract the adverse effects of sodium.
According to research from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, those who have hypertension should be sufficient for the amount of potassium in their diet. Adults should get at least 4,700 milligrams per day. As some foods that are rich sources of potassium include bananas (422 milligrams), a baked potato with skin (738 milligrams), orange juice (496 milligrams per cup), and non-fat yogurt or low-fat (531-579 milligrams per 8 ounces).
4. Stop smoking
Smokers are the groups most at high risk for hypertension. And nicotine content of tobacco in cigarettes can cause temporary spikes in blood pressure, although the cigarette itself is not the sole cause of chronic hypertension. Quitting smoking can help you lower your blood pressure a bit. And, of course, other health benefits are countless, Fletcher said.
5. Reduce alcohol
Moderate alcohol consumption - no more than one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men - have heart health benefits. But in some people, drinking too much can increase blood pressure. Research shows that drinking more than two glasses of alcohol a day may increase the risk of hypertension for men and women.
6. Lose weight
Several studies have consistently shown that, a little weight loss, can have a huge impact on your blood pressure. Excess weight makes the heart work harder. This extra pressure can eventually lead to hypertension. Meanwhile, the weight cut heart's workload will be much lighter.
7. Manage stress
Effectively manage stress can help reduce blood pressure, but unfortunately, there is no research that offers step by step to reduce the level of stress on everyone, said Burg.
"There are a number of ways that have been developed as a practice to induce a state of relaxation. But how good and true, it still must be answered in clinical trials," he said. However, Burg recommends that people with hypertension should be able to conduct stress management and practice consistently.
8. Avoid caffeine
Coffee has some health benefits, but not to lower blood pressure. In the short term caffeine can trigger a spike in blood pressure, even in people without hypertension.
If you have high blood pressure, the best way to do this is to limit the intake of caffeine (about two cups of coffee per day). You can check if you are sensitive to caffeine or not by checking blood pressure before and half an hour after consuming caffeinated beverages. If it increases by 5 or 10 points, you mean sensitive to caffeine.
9. Yoga
Yoga is the best way to deal with stress. A recent study in India found that yoga breathing exercises reduce blood pressure in people with hypertension - where the work affects the autonomic nervous system effects - by regulating heart rate, digestion, and other functions.
10. Meditation
Meditation - whether it involves singing, breathing, visualization - can be an effective stress management tool for many people, said Burg. Once again, the important thing is that it makes you feel good, and you can commit to doing it consistently.
