How to Treat High Blood Pressure Naturally: Diet

Regardless of whether or not you are on medication for your high blood pressure, changes to diet, lifestyle and environment - as well as holistic therapies - can significantly enhance your improvement and increase the effectiveness of your current treatments.

There are several simple dietary changes and supplements that can significantly lower your blood pressure and improve your health. By avoiding certain foods and additives and increasing your intake of fiber and certain vitamins and minerals, you can see an improvement in your health and hypertension in as little as two weeks.

Keep in mind that some herbal supplements interact poorly with medications or other supplements, so - particularly if you are on medication for your blood pressure - be sure to confer with your healthcare provider before adding herbal supplements to your diet.

Treating High Blood Pressure Naturally: Herbs and Spices

Herbs and spices have long been used for their medicinal purposes. In the case of high blood pressure, there are several that have shown at least some promise in lowering blood pressure and improving circulation.

Dandelion, yarrow, ginger, motherwort, cat's claw, chamomile, fennel, saffron, parsley, linden, valerian, kudzu and hawthorn are just some of the herbs that have been used for generations in the natural treatment of high blood pressure.

As for spices, marjoram, nutmeg, sage, tarragon, thyme, cloves, curry, dill, fennel horseradish, basil, black pepper, parsley, cinnamon, chili powder, saffron, cayenne and oregano all have qualities that act either as antioxidants, to improve circulation or to directly decrease blood pressure.

You will notice that I mentioned a couple of them twice - since herbs are often used as spices, but are also more widely available in supplement form, I wanted to mention them in both categories to help you think of them both in terms herbal supplements/teas and spices to cook with. Garlic is another one that could have been listed under herbs and spices and is more fully discussed below.

Fresh herbs and spices are always the best way to get all of the healthful benefits they offer, but dried herbs and spices, as well as supplements are sometimes an easier way to incorporate them into your diet. Using herbs and spices in your cooking is also an excellent way to add flavor to your meals while limiting salt intake, which can worsen hypertension.

Treating High Blood Pressure Naturally: Vitamins and Minerals

There is some controversy over which vitamins and minerals are the most beneficial in combating hypertension; however, numerous studies have shown that potassium and magnesium should definitely be considered by folks with high blood pressure.

This is particularly true for patients who are on prescription medications for high blood pressure. Often these medications are diuretics, which cause potassium and magnesium to be flushed out of the body. Our bodies require potassium for muscle contraction, electrolyte balance and fluid transfer, and magnesium is necessary for proper muscle function and potassium storage; therefore, both should be considered for supplementation.

Other vitamins and minerals that show some promise and should be discussed your healthcare provider are folic acid, lutein, calcium, Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) and vitamin C. Each of these has healthful benefits and should be in your diet anyways; however, if you have high blood pressure you may want to take special care to ensure that you maintain proper intake levels.

Treating High Blood Pressure Naturally: Foods

Naturally, foods that contain the above vitamins and minerals are beneficial to healthy blood pressure levels and should be incorporated into your diet. Food sources for magnesium primarily include whole grains and leafy greens. Potassium is found in a number of foods including avocados, bananas, potatoes, oranges and apricots, as well as carrots, cantaloupe and some squashes.

Garlic is also a well-known and popular dietary addition when treating high blood pressure. It also has cholesterol lowering properties and is beneficial to immune system function, digestion and overall health. It should be noted that garlic thins the blood and can interact poorly with some medications and supplements, so you should not increase your garlic intake until you have discussed it with your healthcare provider.

Foods that have a diuretic effect, such as celery juice and parsley can be beneficial to decreasing blood pressure as well. Adding a daily fresh juice blend of celery, carrots (carrot juice cleans arteries) and parsley to your diet is a great way to naturally lower blood pressure.

Another food that shows some promise in decreasing hypertension are isoflavon-rich soy products (such as tofu), which some studies suggest add elasticity to arterial walls, thus lowering blood pressure.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), other foods that improve blood pressure are mung beans, water chestnuts, honey and turnips.

Treating High Blood Pressure Naturally: Overall Diet

A healthy diet for those who are combating high blood pressure is very similar to the diet recommended for just about anyone - lots of whole grains and fiber, limit fat and dairy - it's mostly the same basic recommendations.

A diet high in fiber, whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and low in fat and sodium is optimal for improving hypertension. Some important tips for folks with hypertension include really watching the intake of fat (particularly saturated fats), table salt, dairy products and meat.

The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet is one popular eating plan for lowering blood pressure and focuses on fiber, fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts and low-fat dairy products. Visit www.dashdiet.org for a ton of great information on this healthy eating plan.

Another means of taking a big step towards lowering blood pressure is to adopt a vegan, vegetarian or flexitarian diet. Limiting dairy and meat intake, or cutting it out completely has been shown to significantly improve blood pressure and lower related risks, such as heart disease.

Treating High Blood Pressure Naturally: What to Avoid

It seems that with any health issue, recommendations on what to avoid are almost identical. This remains true for folks who are working to lower their blood pressure.

Alcohol, caffeine, sugar and salt should all be limited or removed from your diet. And, as mentioned in the above overall diet section, intake of fat, dairy, meat and sodium should be severely restricted. Do keep in mind that fat is essential to nutrient absorption and to our health, so while we should work to maintain a low fat diet, we must at the same time ensure that we are consuming healthy fats.

Also, forego anything that makes your heart race - energy drinks, coffee, energy supplements containing ephedra, guarana or ginseng - and essential oils like rosemary that can increase blood pressure.

If you really must have your coffee or tea in the morning, work on cutting back on caffeine by switching to half-caf and then to decaf.

For more ideas on ways to improve high blood pressure, see my Associated Content articles titled, "Treating High Blood Pressure Naturally: Lifestyle," "Treating High Blood Pressure Naturally: Holistic Therapies and Treatments" and "Improve your Health with Simple Changes to your Home."