Eight Ways to Lower High Blood Pressure

Here are eight tips to help you lower your blood pressure and reduce or prevent a dependence on blood pressure drugs and medications. These tips are non-invasive and in most cases, just require changes in diet and lifestyle.

Eight Ways to Lower High Blood Pressure - Tip #1

The first tip to lower high blood pressure is to eat fewer calories. Lowering your body weight is one of the best ways to lower high blood pressure if you are overweight. Even if you aren't overweight, reducing empty calories and eating a diet rich in vitamins and minerals can go a long way when you are trying to lower high blood pressure.

Eight Ways to Lower High Blood Pressure - Tip #2

Secondly, avoid refined carbohydrates in foods like white flour and sugar, white potatoes, and sugar sweetened soft drinks. All of these foods supply the body with nothing more than "empty" calories. These empty calories provide the body with no nutrients and lead to excessive weight gain. This is something you definitely don't want when you are trying to lower high blood pressure. Instead, eat healthful foods containing vitamins, minerals and whole grains.

Eight Ways to Lower High Blood Pressure - Tip #3

You'll also want to avoid consuming too much alcohol when you're trying to lower high blood pressure. No more than one eight-ounce glass of beer, four ounces of wine or one ounce of hard liquor per day should be consumed. Drinking more alcohol than this is detrimental to the health and will not help you lower high blood pressure.

Eight Ways to Lower High Blood Pressure - Tip #4

Eat high fiber foods such as flaxseed meal, whole grains and veggies. Not only will these types of foods increase dietary fiber but they will also help lower high blood pressure. Another benefit to eating high fiber foods, in addition to their ability to help lower high blood pressure, is the fact that they make you feel full which can help with weight loss.

Eight Ways to Lower High Blood Pressure - Tip #5

Eat deep sea fish such as salmon, cod, mackerel and tuna. These fish contain essential fatty acids that help lower high blood pressure by relaxing artery walls. They also thin the blood and make it less prone to clotting.

Eight Ways to Lower High Blood Pressure - Tip #6

Eat foods high in magnesium, potassium and calcium to help lower high blood pressure. Foods such as nuts, seeds, legumes, green leafy vegetables, whole grains, tofu, bananas, apples, oranges and avocados are all rich in these vitamins and nutrients and will help to lower high blood pressure.

Eight Ways to Lower High Blood Pressure - Tip #7

One of the most important things you can do to lower high blood pressure if you are a smoker is to stop smoking. Cigarette smoke constricts the arteries, thus raising the blood pressure. It also damages the heart and tissue by decreasing the supply of oxygen they receive. Stop smoking to lower high blood pressure.

Eight Ways to Lower High Blood Pressure - Tip #8

Performing regular aerobic exercise for at least thirty minutes three or four times per week can help tremendously lower high blood pressure. Not only can regular exercise lower high blood pressure but it is also known to prevent other serious problems such as heart attacks.