There is an upswing in the interest in natural remedies for high blood pressure. The reason for this is a growing awareness that the traditional treatment of high blood pressure medication, comes with some very serious side effects. Even at a time when thousands are proving that lifestyle changes reverse HBP, doctors are discussing getting more aggressive with pharmaceutical solutions.
It really comes down to two things. If you are on the drugs and you are not suffering any side effects, and you can afford the medicine, and you are satisfied with “controlling” your high blood pressure rather than “curing” it, then a natural approach probably is of no interest to you.
If on the other hand, you are one of the millions who suffer from light headedness, fatigue, frequent urination, nausea, blurry vision or the more serious side effects like mini strokes or heart attack; you probably would do anything to get off the meds. It’s a health issue but it is also a quality of life issue as well. If your medication has changed the way you live, if you’re not doing what you used to do; if you have to plan your life around them; then your lifestyle has been seriously affected.
The bad news is this is a very serious killer disease. The good news is there’s a way to reverse it without drugs and without the drug side effects.
You may have seen articles or ads that tout the value of herbal remedies, or heart healthy diet, or an exercise regimen that lowers blood pressure. The truth is all of those can help lower pressure but none of them alone can cure HBP.
The “cure” is a combination of actions that essentially reverse the behavior that encouraged the disease in the first place.
Our diets are atrocious. Americans consume six times the salt that they need and are typically deficient in potassium which is the mineral that combined with salt, controls the fluids in our body. American diets are heavy in saturated fats and “convenience” food that has very little nutritional value.
The American Heart Association endorses the Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension or DASH diet. This is a diet rich in fresh foods full of the minerals and vitamins that we need along with powerful antioxidants required to stop and reverse the damage done by HBP. It wasn’t designed to be a weight loss diet but you will lose weight with it.
Technology has made our lives a lot less physical. Obesity is endemic in the U.S. Exercise, at least 30 minutes a day, is the fastest means of lowering blood pressure.
Stress is another cause of blood pressure rising. One of nature’s ways of handling stress is through sleep. Americans typically get less than 6 hours per night. Managing stress through exercise, sleep and stress reducing therapies is an important part of the cure.
So there is a home remedy that works. It stands on three legs, exercise, diet and stress management. Done correctly it can reduce your blood pressure reading by 20 points after only 2 to 3 weeks. But, you have to practice all three. Just changing your diet or sleeping in will not have lasting effects. You need to make a plan you can commit to and then work the plan.
By: Rachel Willson
