High blood pressure increases the risk of a heart attack, heart attack or stroke. That is why it is important to keep a close eye on your blood pressure and, if necessary, lower it. Today I am sharing tips to lower your blood pressure naturally
Before you read on, let's briefly explain what blood pressure actually is. “The heart pumps blood forcefully into the arteries. This puts pressure on the blood vessels:blood pressure.' This is how blood pressure is described by hartstichting.nl. Blood pressure is expressed in upper and lower pressure. The lower these numbers are, the better. Not too low, of course, because too low blood pressure can also cause health problems.
You can measure blood pressure with a blood pressure monitor. This is available in different versions. Below you can see a small explanation of the values in the table. The first digit is normally the upper pressure and the second digit the negative pressure. It is important that both numbers are below or around 120/80.
Although most people with blood pressure are in the 50-59 age group, the number of young people with high blood pressure is increasing at a rapid pace. Not surprising when you consider that children and young people are increasingly faced with overweight. In addition, children are drinking coffee at an increasingly younger age. Young people also drink a lot of energy drinks. All things that cause your health to be undermined and blood pressure to rise.
The higher your blood pressure, the greater your risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Unfortunately, high blood pressure is a silent killer because you don't always realize you have high blood pressure. Some people find out by accident that they have high blood pressure.
High blood pressure is also called hypertension. According to the WHO, 1 in 3 people worldwide is affected by high blood pressure. It is therefore not surprising that cardiovascular disease is still in the top 5 causes of death worldwide.
Although high blood pressure cannot always be prevented, because it is also partly hereditary, there are a number of things you can do preventively. With the tips below you can lower your blood pressure naturally. In addition, these tips are also very suitable for keeping a good blood pressure stable.
To achieve and maintain good blood pressure, it is important to follow the tips below. Not sure what your blood pressure is? Keep this for a while to have an overview. It is good to measure and record your blood pressure at different times. That way you can gain insight into whether your blood pressure is good.
If your blood pressure is permanently high, you should schedule an appointment with the doctor. There is a good chance that you will then have to use beta blockers. But before that happens, you can lower your blood pressure yourself by changing your lifestyle. Or ensure that the risk of high blood pressure minimizes.
This is how you lower your blood pressure:
Our diet has a major influence on our body. A balanced diet consists mainly of whole grain products, possibly dairy products, lots of vegetables and fruit. Nuts and legumes, as well as fatty fish, are part of a healthy diet. Snacks and sweets are primarily a burden on your body and health.
It is very important for your blood pressure (and kidneys) to use as little salt as possible. The nutrition center advises to eat no more than 6 grams of salt per day. Unfortunately, almost 80% of all Dutch people eat (much) more than the indicated amount.
The problem with salt is mainly the hidden salts in products such as cheese, sausage and ready-to-eat products. Add to that the fact that many people add a large amount of salt to the food that is served and you can imagine that you quickly get too much salt.
If you reduce the use of salt by 1 teaspoon per day, it can lower your blood pressure. The systolic pressure (upper pressure) can be lowered by 5mm Hg and the diastolic pressure (negative pressure) by 3mm Hg.
Many people cannot live without their wine or beer. However, this one glass or bottle can cause major problems in the long run. Alcohol has a stimulating effect on your nervous system. This stimulates the heart more and raises your blood pressure. Ideally, you should drink as little alcohol as possible.
Fortunately, this does not mean that you can no longer enjoy. More and more companies are putting delicious alcohol-free alternatives on the market. How about the delicious mocktails from Lidl? Are you more of the gin and tonic? Then enjoy the alcohol-free Nona June gin and tonic. And for Christmas you can make non-alcoholic mulled wine in no time at all.
Exercise also contributes to good heart health. Besides the fact that exercise is good for your health anyway. 30 minutes of daily exercise is ideal. Incidentally, you do not necessarily have to go to the gym or show yourself at home with all kinds of equipment or exercises. Taking a daily walk or a bike ride already ensures better health and lower blood pressure.
Are you hindered in moving for any reason? Then go to an osteopath and ask for advice.
It is becoming increasingly clear:your weight and the size of your abdomen play an important role when it comes to your blood pressure. You simply achieve a healthy weight through a healthy diet combined with sufficient exercise.
Because weight does not always say everything (after all, you can also be heavy due to muscle mass), it is good to pay attention to your waist size in addition to your weight. A maximum size of 88 cm applies for women and 102 cm for men.
Many people still look at their BMI value as a target number. This calculation is now outdated. Do you want to know your ideal value? Then you better calculate your waist-to-height number. You do this as follows:divide your waist size by your height in cm. This number is your waist-to-height ratio. The target number is 0.5. You can also calculate this number very easily here.
Smoking affects many facets of your health. The most well-known health risks of smoking are:stroke, cancer, infertility. Less well-known is that smoking also affects your blood pressure. Even quitting smoking for a week has a major influence on your blood pressure and can cause the values to drop considerably.
This will come as no surprise to most people. Stress has a major impact on your blood pressure. The longer you are exposed to stress, the worse it is for your blood pressure and your health in general. Incidentally, stress in this case does not have to be just physical. Even if you experience mental stress, this affects your blood pressure.
Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to avoid stress in today's society. Especially at the moment, in which all kinds of extra measures apply because of Corona, many people experience (extra) stress. However, it is important to reduce stress. Both at home and at work. You can do this by providing enough me-time. In addition, distraction also helps. An afternoon of fresh air on the beach, a walk in the woods or an evening binge-watching on the couch also helps to relax.
Many people are used to using caffeine. This can be found in both coffee and tea. Unfortunately, caffeine is also a blood pressure-raising substance. It is therefore advisable to use it to a limited extent.
Incidentally, this is also one of the reasons why elevated blood pressure occurs at an increasingly younger age. Young people are drinking energy drinks en masse. Combine this with Cola that also contains caffeine and possibly some coffee and you have the perfect mix for high blood pressure.
As indicated at the beginning, high blood pressure does not always have to do with how you live. Sometimes you are just unlucky and you have inherited high blood pressure. To find out if this applies to you, ask around with your family about blood pressure. Is there high blood pressure? Then it is extra important that you keep a close eye on your own blood pressure with a blood pressure monitor. The following applies to your blood pressure:prevention is better than cure.
Incidentally, even if there is a question of heredity, it is good to apply the above tips. In any case, make sure that your doctor is informed, so that your blood pressure can be adjusted with medication if necessary.
