High blood pressure is a scary condition. Lots of people want to treat it, but they don’t necessarily want to rely on over the counter medication to do it.
Luckily, there are many ways to treat the lifestyle factors that cause high blood pressure without medication.
If you’re committed and consistent, it’s possible to avoid the need for medication entirely by controlling what you can in your lifestyle.
Of course, talk to your doctor about your treatment options for high blood pressure. Follow your doctor’s recommendations – some people with high blood pressure absolutely need medication.
If you’re interested in managing your high blood pressure through lifestyle changes, here are 10 ways to control your high blood pressure.
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How To Control High Blood Pressure Without Medication
1. Cut Down On The Sodium In Your Diet
Sodium is a major contributor to high blood pressure in many people. By reducing the amount of sodium in your diet, you can reduce your blood pressure by up to 8mm Hg.
Every person is affected differently by sodium, so a good rule of thumb to follow is to limit the amount of sodium in your diet to less than 2300mg per day.
If you’re more sensitive to sodium’s effects, try to limit your sodium intake to 1400mg per day or less. People who are more sensitive to sodium include those who have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease, or diabetes, and those who are 51 or older and some African-Americans.
There are a few ways you can reduce the sodium in your diet and lower your blood pressure.
Make sure to try to avoid processed foods during your day – they are the worst culprits when it comes to added sodium. Stick to whole foods to lower your sodium intake, and make sure not to add salt during your meals.
Look at the nutritional facts on the foods you’re eating, and try the low-sodium versions if available.
If you like a lot of salt in your food, don’t try going cold turkey all at once. Instead, reduce the amount of sodium in your diet gradually to help create a habit that lasts.
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2. Consume Less Caffeine Each Day
The science about the relationship between caffeine and high blood pressure is still unclear.
For those that don’t regularly drink caffeine, it can raise blood pressure by up to 10mm Hg. But in people who regularly consume coffee and other caffeinated drinks, there’s no noticeable rise in caffeine.
To figure out whether your blood pressure is sensitive to caffeine or not, try taking your blood pressure before drinking a cup of coffee and then 30 minutes after.
If your blood pressure goes up by 5mm Hg or more, cutting caffeine out of your diet could help keep your blood pressure lower.
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3. Make Regular Exercise A Part Of Your Routine
Exercise has so many health benefits that they’re impossible to count or list entirely, and lowering your blood pressure is one of them.
Just 30 minutes of activity 3 or more days a week can lower your blood pressure by up to 9mm Hg – and keep you healthy in a myriad of other ways.
All forms of exercise help with blood pressure – covering both strength training and cardio. Talk to your doctor about what kind of exercise plan is right for you.
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4. Cut Back On Alcohol
Small doses of alcohol have been shown in studies to improve health, but alcohol, like anything else, is bad for you when it’s not consumed in moderation.
If you’re having more than 1 drink a day and you’re a woman or a man 65 and older, or more than 2 drinks per day if you’re a man who’s younger than 65, it can raise your blood pressure and sabotage the effectiveness of blood pressure medications.
Try to stay under that limit to help keep your blood pressure in check.
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5. De-Stress To Lower Your Blood Pressure
There’s no doubt in the medical community about the link between chronic stress and high blood pressure. And if you deal with stress by smoking, eating unhealthy food, or drinking to excess, even intermittent stress can raise your blood pressure.
A great way to start dealing with stress is to first figure out what’s causing it. If you don’t know the cause, you can’t address the stress and move forward.
Obviously, not every source of stress can be removed from your life. But there are ways to deal with stressors that can’t be avoided.
Try making a plan to deal with a problem that’s stressing you out. Even having a plan can help you feel less stressed about it.
Take the time each day to do the things that you love to do. Try to relax for at least 15 minutes per day and do breathing exercises – it makes a real difference in stress reduction.
Finally, be aware and mindful of the things that trigger your stress and attempt to avoid them as much as you can.
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6. Cut Down On Your Belly Fat Around Your Waist
When you gain weight, for every pound you’re overweight you also increase your blood pressure. If you want to control your blood pressure without medication, losing weight might be the most effective method possible.
When your fat is concentrated around your waistline and in your belly, it increases your risk of high blood pressure. Even losing 10 pounds is enough to noticeably lower your blood pressure.
If your waist is greater than 40 inches as a man or 35 inches as a woman, you’re at risk for high blood pressure. Talk to your doctor about how to take an accurate waist measurement.
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7. Stop Smoking
Cigarettes are terrible for your blood pressure.
Every time you smoke a cigarette, you’re increasing your blood pressure. The good news is, as soon as you quit, your blood pressure goes back down to normal and your life expectancy increases.
There are uncountable reasons to quit smoking – and lowering your blood pressure is just one good one.
8. Check Your Blood Pressure At Home To See What’s Working
When making lifestyle changes, it’s hard to get them to stick unless you see noticeable, measurable results.
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That’s why regularly checking your blood pressure at home is such a good idea. When you implement one or more of the methods on this list, seeing the impact that it makes on your blood pressure helps keep you on track.
Make sure to talk to your doctor about how to accurately measure your blood pressure, and continue to see your doctor regularly to check up on how you’re doing and talk about different strategies to lower your blood pressure.
9. Add More Healthy Foods To Your Diet
A healthy diet makes a huge difference in your overall health in a ton of different ways – not least of which being your blood pressure.
You can reduce your blood pressure by up to 14mm Hg by making some changes to your diet and eating more healthily.
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Try to stick to whole foods over processed foods. As discussed before, whole foods have less sodium, which helps reduce blood pressure, and they also have more vital nutrients and are much better for you.
Talk to your doctor about adding potassium to your diet. Added potassium can lower the effect of sodium on blood pressure, so see if your doctor thinks it’s right for you.
10. Turn To The People Who Support You
Any plan to reduce your blood pressure relies entirely on you sticking to it and being consistent.
That’s not easy to do alone – which is why these plans are so much more effective when supported by family and friends.
Use the influence of family and friends to steer you towards healthier food, help you quit smoking, cut back on drinking, or keep up with exercising. By encouraging you, your friends and family can strengthen your habits and make it easier for you to stick to blood pressure solutions.
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If you’re looking for help outside of friends and family, there are support groups for people who deal with the same issues and problems that you do. Sometimes just having someone to listen to you makes an enormous difference – and talking to people who understand what you’re going through can be a huge support.
In summary…
How To Control High Blood Pressure Without Medication
- Cut down on the sodium in your diet
- Consume less caffeine each day
- Make regular exercise a part of your routine
- Cut back on alcohol
- De-stress to lower your blood pressure
- Cut down on your belly fat around your waist
- Stop smoking
- Check your blood pressure at home to see what’s working
- Add more healthy foods to your diet
- Turn to the people who support you
exercise regularly and eat as healthy as possible. this will not only prevent high blood pressure, it will help you and your body in so many ways.
i never liked taking medicines so it is nice to know that there are ways i can do to control high blood pressure without them.
cutting back on caffeine will actually help control my blood pressure? this is nice to know and i hope i could apply it.
take care of your self by eating the right foods and exercise regularly. like what this article say, losing weight might be the most effective method possible so try this.
anything in excess is always not good. keep moderation on caffeine and high-fat foods and alcohol.
i was diagnosed with high blood pressure and i was so worried because i don’t want to take medications just to bring my numbers down. i really need to change my lifestyle to lower my blood pressure and keep it down.
sodium and caffeine are triggers as well as smoking and drinking alcohol. cut down on these and you’ll be able to control high blood pressure.
i will make reading food labels a habit whenever i do my groceries to keep track of the sodium in my diet. eating processed foods can really have negative effects our body so i think i’m gonna have to get rid of them too.
this is awesome! i will share this to family and friends specially those with high blood pressure. thanks for this post!
it is very hard to lower high blood pressure without medication but it is nice to know that i can do something to lower it down before going to the doctor.
i have a friend who deals with high blood pressure and she always talks to me about her experience and how she handles her situation. i always make her feel that i understand where she is coming from and she said she is very thankful for having me as a friend. she said i am a huge support.
hmmm. this post is very interesting. i will make a thorough research about foods that can lower my blood pressure immediately.
great to know that i can control my high blood pressure immediately and safely by simply following these tips. high blood pressure is not a joke and it can damage my heart so knowing what to do to be able to control is necessary.
i quit smoking and my blood pressure went back to normal quickly. quitting is not easy but my life is much important so i will do everything to increase my life expectancy.
if you don’t stick to your plan of lowering your blood pressure and you are not consistent then it will not work. it will never be easy but if you are devoted to keeping yourself healthy, then you will not find any excuses to stop trying.
quit smoking, eat a healthy diet and reduce stress– this will absolutely control your high blood pressure. lifestyle really plays an important role if you want to treat high blood pressure.
these lifestyle changes can really lower my blood pressure and keep it down. i am scared to take medications because some say that taking them seems worse than having high blood pressure itself.
i tried cutting down on sodium and i can see changes in my blood pressure. i like how this change in my diet controls my blood pressure so i decided to stick to whole foods from now on.
i will start to consume less caffeine each day to lower down my blood pressure. Thanks for the tips!
i was able to control my blood pressure with a healthy lifestyle so i can reduce the need for medication. it is hard at the beginning but you’ll get used to it.
i am still lucky, i guess, knowing that there are natural remedies i could try to control my blood pressure without any medication. this post is really worth sharing.
if you want to lower down your blood pressure immediately, incorporate exercise in your daily activities that is the best thing you can do.
i suffer from high blood pressure and i am thankful that i have people that i can turn to for support. they are making it easier for me to deal with this condition.
losing weight is an effective way to reduce blood pressure but you should pay attention to your waistline more.
i already started making exercise a part of my daily routine. i am hoping for good results!
lifestyle changes can significantly reduce your numbers and lower your risk even without medication. if you are really committed to controlling your high blood pressure, you will follow the ways listed above.
these are great ways to reduce high blood pressure without medication. it is really important to pay close attention to your blood pressure and heart health.
thank you so much for this! i am happy that i can finally get my blood pressure down quickly and naturally.
i am recently diagnosed with high blood pressure and as much as possible, i don’t want to take medications to bring my numbers down. i started looking for ways on how i can control it naturally and found this helpful post. thanks for giving me ideas.
i didn’t know most of this information! i’ve been taking medications to lower my blood pressure and i never knew i could simply control it by saying goodbye to smoking.