How to Lower Blood Pressure with Herbs and Food

There are a number of simple things that a person can do that will help lower blood pressure. From lifestyle changes to food and herbs, many options are available for simple hypertension. Stage two hypertension, blood pressure over 160/100, requires immediate medical attention.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• An Open Mind
• Willingness to Change
• Various Foods and Herbs

1. Eat more garlic. One clove a day over 12 weeks has been shown in studies to effectively lower blood pressure dramatically.

2. Add saffron to your foods. The chemical crocetin in saffron has been shown to reduce blood pressure levels.

3. Take Valerian root when you need to calm down. Valerian root is natures Valium and can help when you’re in a nervous or agitated state.

4. Eat more fruits and vegetables for the calcium, magnesium, Vitamin C and potassium. These include broccoli, bananas, pumpkins, potatoes, legumes and leafy greens.

5. Replace red meats with leaner meats such as chicken or pork.

6. Add soy to your diet.

Tips & Warnings

• Onions may have a similar effect as garlic, but no definitive studies have proven this.
• High blood pressure doesn’t have to be a death sentence. It’s more of a warning that you’re not giving your body everything it needs to stay healthy.
• Lifestyle changes are always hard, but are almost always worth doing.
• The American Heart Association recommends these five lifestyle changes to lower high blood pressure: quit smoking, lose weight, exercise regularly, limit alcohol consumption and reduce sodium intake.
• Always talk to your doctor before beginning any new exercise routine or using any herbal remedies.

[AbbyNormal]

on 3/13/2008 Add fiber to your diet. This is an excellent article.

[MidniteWriter]

on 1/20/2008 I'm all for this. Forget the meds, go for the herbs. Thanks for sharing this information with us!