How to lower blood pressure? The 5 keys to achieve it

A practical guide to avoid hypertension and its associated diseases.

Suffering from high blood pressure is a very common ailment.. It is estimated that 1 in 4 people suffer from it. Surely you know someone who suffers from hypertension or perhaps you yourself may know what it is like to have high blood pressure.

It is known that a healthy lifestyle prevents suffering from this type of cardiovascular ailment, but sometimes it is not so simple and even peaks of stress can give us problems by raising our blood pressure. In this article we will speak about the five keys to manage to lower your arterial tension..

What is blood pressure?

The increase in blood pressure or hypertension occurs when the blood, while passing through each of the blood vessels of our body, exerts too high a pressure on them. Explaining it in a graphic way, it is as if in a hose it is reduced where the water passes through. The water has less space to pass through and goes faster.

This happens when blood pressure is at or above what is considered normal. Blood pressure readings are usually given as two numbers. The top number is called the systolic blood pressure. The lower number is called the diastolic blood pressure.

Thus, a number around 120 mm Hg for systolic blood pressure and 80 mm Hg for diastolic blood pressure is normal..

A certain change in pressure is healthy for our organism when performing certain activities. The problem comes when the body fails to control the pressure peaks and the pressure remains high for a longer time than necessary. In these cases, injuries to our organs can occur. The heart, kidneys and brain are some of the organs that can suffer the most.

The 5 key issues to lower blood pressure

It is well known that to control blood pressure people take medications, but we cannot leave our health only in the hands of medications. They have a helpful effect, but they cannot do the whole job of lowering blood pressure.

Below we are going to talk about the 5 most important issues to keep in mind in order to get your blood pressure under control. Most of them have a strong natural background, as they are based on promoting good habits. And if you do not yet suffer from hypertension, do not hesitate to apply them anyway: there is no doubt that prevention is better than cure.

1. Food

The best known natural method to lower blood pressure and perhaps the most recommended and followed by those who suffer from the disease is the control through food.

Diet has a very high impact on blood pressure, so maintaining a healthy diet is the first objective of those who want to treat their hypertension. In general, salt and all types of chemical additives such as sodium glutamate, as well as food products containing added sugars, should be avoided.

Looking for quality protein sources such as lean meat is important, as keeping a diet rather away from saturated fats is essential. Avoiding fried foods is also important. But it is trans fats that should really be restricted, as they are characteristic of products processed by the food industry.

It is also advisable to increase the intake of soluble fiber. Foods such as legumes, vegetables and whole grains are healthy food sources. On the other hand, it is important to avoid fast food establishments, where it is common to add sauces and saturated fats.

2. Be attentive to medication

There are medications used for other ailments, which have nothing to do with blood pressure, that have the side effect of increasing it. These are called side effects. Among them are some antipsychotics, contraceptive pills, migraine medications, corticosteroids and some medications to treat cancer.

Therefore, it is highly recommended to stop taking these medications whenever it is a real possibility. For example, using Birth Control pills may be substituted for other contraceptive measures. In other cases, it is more important to continue taking the medication to treat a more serious condition than a possible rise in blood pressure.

It is also important to note that of the more than 200 medications sold to combat hypertension, many of them also carry significant side effects, many of them also have significant undesirable side effects.. If possible, it is better to look for alternatives to taking blood pressure lowering drugs. Medications are thus both a remedy and an evil.

3. Avoid coffee

It is not known exactly how caffeine acts in relation to blood pressure peaks, but in many people it can cause a significant increase in blood pressure. in many people it can cause a significant increase in blood pressure.. There are people who drink coffee habitually who have more tolerance to the effect that caffeine causes in other people.

It is believed that caffeine is capable of blocking certain substances that help keep blood vessels open. There is also a hypothesis that relates caffeine to the increased release of adrenaline by the adrenal glands, which increases blood pressure.

Be that as it may, it is best to be aware of the effects it can have on one's body. Taking your blood pressure before and after drinking coffee is a good way to understand the effect it can have on your body. It is better to ration the quantities and avoid drinking coffee before exercising or doing heavy work.

4. Quitting smoking

Anyone who wants to know how to lower blood pressure and is a smoker should know that the negative effect of smoking on blood pressure is indisputable; smoking causes an increase in blood pressure. When we smoke, nicotine increases the levels of substances called catecholamines, which cause vasoconstriction.

This contraction of the blood vessels means that blood has to travel through the same blood vessels that have undergone a reduction in diameter, increasing blood pressure. In addition, cigarette smoke increases sodium retention, while other substances present in cigarettes such as cadmium also increase blood pressure.

Related to the previous section, it is relevant to comment that it has been shown that combining the habit of smoking with that of drinking coffee intensifies the increase in blood pressure.

5. Practicing meditation

Some people may be skeptical about the power of meditation to improve health and reverse disease, but science is demonstrating the value of this ancient practice. New scientific findings are showing that meditation can also lower blood pressure.

The mind plays an important role in physical health and disease reduction. That the mind exercises control over the intense daily flow of thoughts may be a new medical tool, which can be integrated into drug and surgical treatments.

Bibliographical references:

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• Doll, R., Peto, R., Wheatley, K., Gray, R. and Sutherland, I. (1994). Mortality in relation to smoking: 40 years' observations on male British doctors. BMJ, 309, 901-911.
• Evans, R. (1990). Risk factors for coronary ischemic heart disease. Rev Per Epidem; ,: 25-34.
• Guemez, J., Alba, A., Argote, A., Méndez. R. and Moreno, L. (1992). Relationships between weight, age and blood pressure in a Mexican population. Arch Inst Cardiol Mex, 62, 171-177.
• Sánchez-Palacios P. (1998). Arterial hypertension. VI Report of the Joint National Committee of the National Institutes of Health of the United States of America. Innovartis, 25-50.