Collaborative Post
High blood pressure is the leading cause of death in the world, according to data collected by the WHO. For that reason, it is something that affects a large chunk of us at some point in our life.
Hypertension, however, is an insidious condition. There are no symptoms. People can live for years with it and not even realise. Then, all of a sudden, they have a heart attack or a stroke.
Doctors know the risks that the condition brings and so will often prescribe drugs to bring the pressure down, usually beta-blockers. The problem with these medications is that they can leave you feeling tired and nauseous.
The good news is that there are other ways to treat high blood pressure that don’t involve popping a pill. Here are some of the things that you can do to bring blood pressure down to the normal range.
Drink More Hibiscus Tea
You may not have heard of hibiscus before, but, strangely, you’ve probably consumed a lot of the stuff throughout your life. Hisbiscus is a flower with a strong, pungent smell that manufacturers use to flavour fruit teas. Practically all teas containing berries or other herbs contain hibiscus as the primary ingredient.
Hibiscus has all sorts of health benefits, but its ability to lower blood pressure is probably the most important. Researchers have found that it has the same blood pressure-lowering power as the leading medication but without any of the side effects. It may be worth speaking with your doctor, therefore, about how it could help you.
Go To A Meditation Retreat
People have been using meditation as a way to reduce stress for thousands of years. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that the mental habit also naturally lowers blood pressure. Merely changing your thoughts and how you perceive the world can lead to a blood pressure reduction and better outcomes.
Eat More Greens
Greens contain a chemical called nitric oxide to help them grow. This compound, however, is also helpful to humans.
It turns out that nitric oxide and its derivatives are potent vasodilators. In other words, they stimulate artery walls to expand further than they usually would as blood pumps around the body. The wider the blood vessels, the lower the pressure they’re under and the healthier you become.
Just be careful, though, when eating greens to lower blood pressure while on medication. You can actually reduce it too much, causing you to keep weak and tired.
Spend Time With Friends
Spending time with friends might be something of a challenge right now, but researchers believe that it may lower blood pressure.
The reason for this comes down to the fact that we tend to feel more relaxed when we’re in a group. There’s no need for our parasympathetic nervous system to put us into fight or flight mode since there are plenty of people around to protect us. It helps to slash the production of danger hormones and keeps us feeling safer than we would otherwise.