When you’re looking for home remedies for high blood pressure that really work, it’s good to have some proof to back it up.
Track your sodium intake
Reduce sodium intake by tracking your consumption.
As recommended by the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association, the World Health Organization, the National Kidney Foundation, and many others
When 156 individuals with chronic kidney disease were asked to report the barriers to adopting a low-sodium diet, a short list emerged. Among the top 3 most significant issues, was
Insufficient insight into my daily sodium intake.
It’s difficult to know how to meet recommended dietary sodium levels if you don’t know how much you are eating and if the changes you make are actually real changes.
If this is a true barrier, then one would think that adding in the ability to identify this feedback would lead to a positive change.
And, in fact, that’s exactly what happens!
There have been several academic, peer-reviewed studies that have demonstrated that measuring an objective marker of sodium intake (urine sodium measurements) leads to lower sodium intake.
Track your potassium intake
What’s better than tracking sodium?
Tracking sodium and potassium.
Dietary potassium can help lower your blood pressure.
The reason potassium is important to track is because potassium has the opposite effect on blood pressure from sodium. High potassium intake lowers blood pressure.
Therefore, the sodium-to-potassium ratio is argued as a better predictor of cardiovascular health than sodium or potassium alone.
Lowering sodium while increasing potassium is also a better technique for lowering blood pressure than targeting sodium, alone.
Track your weight
Overweight and obesity increases your risk for hypertension. This is a strong correlation that holds up after controlling for a variety of potentially confounding factors.
So the big question is how to lose weight. This post isn’t about losing weight, per se. There are many, many resources on how to lose weight that work for different people.
Unfortunately, there is no single, best solution that works for everyone.
But one technique that is simple, is stepping on a scale. Now, many of you reading this will have just read that sentence and your skepticism may have perked up.
Using a scale regularly can help you manage your weight.
And rightfully so!
As with sodium tracking, for example, these techniques don’t work for everyone. These are simply techniques that may be worth trying. And the reason for trying, believe it or not, is that they do appear to work for a large percentage of people.
For example.
Several large meta-analysis and systematic reviews have shown it works! Why believe these studies? It can be difficult to get a sense of the scientific consensus when different studies report conflicting findings.
It’s even more difficult when the popular press gets ahold of some contradictory finding they love to report on that gets blown out of proportion.
Systematic reviews attempt to review the relevant research on a topic and determining the results of a particular research topic across the entire field, not just from one or two papers.
They are not definitive (few things are!). But they are a decent attempt at aggregating scientific findings.
Systematic reviews have shown that self-weighing is an effective weight loss strategy. This is also backed up by the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
In conclusion, this strategy for weight loss may be an easy at-home solution to try that could lead to lower blood pressure over time.
Take 10 minutes to breathe
Stress is a significant and pervasive issue in health and society. It seems to exacerbate every health complication.
Blood pressure is no different.
Taking time to breathe can help you lower your stress.
Stress is a major contributor to blood pressure and can be difficult (and at times, impossible) source of trouble. For example, someone who is suffering with loved ones under significant health or emotional distress, it can be impossible to reconcile in the near term. But hopefully, over time, these conditions may change for the better.
In better times, stress management can still be a significant hurdle. But one strategy that can work for a large number of people are breathing exercises.
These can help some individuals relax for reducing blood pressure. In doing so, those who continue this practice can maintain lower blood pressure and perhaps develop better stress coping practices in the long run.
Cut back on alcohol consumption
For a host of health reasons, alcohol consumption should be limited for blood pressure reduction. A drink or two may fall within a healthy lifestyle pattern for many people, but excessive consumption can lead to increased risks of some forms of cancer and other diseases.
And…high blood pressure.
Cutting back on excessive alcohol consumption can lower blood pressure.
As with many lifestyle changes, cutting back on alcohol consumption may be difficult and may take time. A supportive environment can be a helpful strategy for many.
But as with all of these tips, the pace is much less important than the trend.
If, over time, your diet, weight, stress, or alcohol consumption is moving in the right direction, you are doing a fantastic job!
That means, some days may be easier, while others may be harder.
That’s okay.
But over time, if the trend continues to improve, then you will likely find that these home remedies for high blood pressure really work!