How to Lower High Blood Pressure

According to the CDC, approximately 36 million individuals in the United States are suffering from uncontrolled blood pressure. Of these 36 million, 14 million of them have no idea they even suffer from high blood pressure.

This is why the CDC refers to high blood pressure, also known as hypertension (HTN), as public enemy number 2, according to CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden. (Number 1 is tobacco.)

Even more alarming is the fact that 16 million Americans who are taking blood pressure medication still do not have their blood pressure controlled.

When you also consider that HTN is a significant health concern that can result in heart disease and increase your risk of having a stroke, it becomes obvious that many of us need to make basic lifestyle changes to resolve this problem.

There is good news. Blood pressure is relatively easy to control, if you are willing to make some changes in your life. You can learn how to lower blood pressure by making changes in your diet, exercising, and learning effective stress reduction techniques.

What Do the Numbers Mean?

Anyone who has ever had their blood pressure read knows that you are given two numbers. The top number refers to your systolic blood pressure reading, while the second number is your diastolic pressure reading. Here is a Blood Pressure Chart.

Throughout the day your blood pressure reading can, and will, change. At times, the change can be significant. However, there is one thing that remains the same. If you find that your blood pressure consistently stays elevated, you are at an increased risk of developing health problems.

Making Changes: Evaluating Your Diet

In a 1998 survey published in the journal Diabetes, it was reported that almost two-thirds of the test subjects who were insulin resistant also had HTN. Insulin resistance is directly related to a consuming a diet that is high in sugar and grains, while also getting too little exercise.

What does this mean? It means that the chances are good that if you have HTN, you most likely eat a diet high in sugar and grains and also have blood sugar levels that are poorly controlled.

Why Does Insulin Resistance Promote HTN?

Insulin stores magnesium, which acts to relax the muscles. However, if your insulin receptors are dull and your cells become resistance to insulin, you are unable to store magnesium. Instead, it is immediately excreted through urination.

When your magnesium level is too low, your blood vessels constrict, resulting in decreased energy and increased blood pressure.

In addition, insulin causes your body to retain sodium, which causes fluid retention. This, in turn, causes a rise in blood pressure. Finally, your consumption of fructose (a sugar found in honey and fruit) is responsible for increasing your blood pressure.

Take Control of Your High Blood Pressure

If your HTN is result of uncontrolled blood sugar, normalizing your blood sugar levels can also bring your blood pressure into a healthy range. To do this, you will need to eliminate grains and sugars, especially fructose, from your diet until your weight and blood pressure has stabilized.

Excercise

A regular exercise program is one of the most important ways of taking control of your overall health. An effective regimen for reducing your both your blood sugar and blood pressure levels includes core building, strength training, aerobics, and Peak Fitness exercises.

Recent studies indicate that 20-minute session of high intensity exercises is far superior to aerobics or lengthy cardio sessions. As an added bonus, you’ll get even more benefits in just a fraction of the time.

High Blood Pressure Supplements

While there are supplements available, it’s important to know that you should not use them as an alternative to the primary suggestions above, which are designed to treat the root cause of the problem.

Just as obesity is an epidemic, so is high blood pressure. Just like obesity, your best treatment option involves making lifestyle changes, especially to your diet and exercise routine.

Your best choice when any illness strikes is taking a natural approach to healing yourself. When it comes to HTN, lifestyle changes, especially taking control of your insulin levels, can be the key to living an all natural, drug free healthy life.