Does the concept of having to lower your blood pressure make you shudder: Are you envisioning a lifetime of bland rabbit food and a daily diuretic which will make you scout out the restrooms of every public place you visit?
While it’s true that lowering blood pressure will require you to make some lifestyle changes, there are some changes you can make without completely overhauling your existence, and they may be enough to eliminate your need for a prescription blood pressure medication.
Five Steps You Can Take
1. If you use tobacco, stop; nicotine both causes you arteries to constrict, and stimulates your heart rate. Constricted arteries and a rapid heart rate equate to elevated blood pressure, and eliminating their cause equates to lowering blood pressure.
2. If you need to shed some pounds, do it; lowering blood pressure through diet and exercise often removes the need for medication. Exercise alone, in those who are not severely overweight, will aid them in lowering blood pressure, as long as it’s aerobic exercise--walking or jogging, cycling, swimming, or anything that gets them moving for thirty to forty-five minutes a day, four or five days a week.
3. If you’re a salty snack junky, cut back; salt is not a cause of high blood pressure in everyone, but enough people have trouble with it that you don’t need to take the chance. Limiting your salt intake to 2.400 milligrams a day is one way of lowering your blood pressure.
Don’t use table salt on your food. Find a salt substitute, and learn to cook with herbs and spices, just like Wolfgang Puck Pay attention to the sodium content of the processed foods you buy.
4. If there’s a high-stress situation in your life, wither try to eliminate it, or learn stress management; biofeedback, meditation, and other relaxation techniques are effective ways of lowering your blood pressure and should be employed daily as long as you are under stress.
5. If alcohol has been your stress controller, limit its use; like salt, alcohol does not raise everyone’s blood pressure, but it might raise yours. Consider a 12-ounce can of beer, a jigger of hard liquor, or a glass of wine the equivalent of a single drink. Lowering your blood pressure means limiting your daily alcohol intake to one or two drinks.
Keep you doctor informed about the step you have taken towards lowering your blood pressure. If, after a reasonable period of time, you have seen no improvement, your doctor will probably suggest a hypertensive medicating. But, by continuing your own efforts, you can minimize the dosage of the medication he prescribes.
