What You Should Know About HPV
HPV, or human papillomavirus, is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States. Get the facts before you get the virus.
5 Ways to Lower Your Blood Pressure Naturally
High blood pressure is a common, yet dangerous health condition. It has no signs, making it tricky to manage unless you have it checked often.
While plenty of medications can effectively help regulate blood pressure, many patients want to avoid them because of the side effects.
At Health Solutions with locations in Munster, Indiana, and Tinley Park, Rockford, and Olympia Fields, Illinois, our providers specialize in treating high blood pressure and often take a holistic, natural approach. Let’s look at five ways you can naturally lower your blood pressure.
High blood pressure complications
Around half of American adults have blood pressure. Many people don’t know they have it because there are no signs or symptoms. High blood pressure puts a constant strain on your circulatory system, which can result in health complications if left unchecked. Some of these complications include:
- Heart attack or stroke
- Vision loss
- Kidney problems
- Heart failure
- Peripheral artery disease
Lowering your blood pressure can promote good overall health while limiting damage to your blood vessels and heart.
1. Keep your sodium intake low
Cutting the amount of sodium in your diet can have a big impact on your blood pressure. An easy way to do this is to pass the table salt, but the best way is to limit high-sodium foods in your diet.
If it’s processed, skip it. Instead, aim for fresh foods, as they only have small amounts of sodium. Most pre-packaged foods have low-sodium options to choose from as well.
It may take some time for you to adjust to a lower-sodium diet, but it gets easier as your palate starts to adjust.
2. Eat potassium-rich foods
Potassium is a powerful mineral that can help our bodies remove sodium. Unfortunately, modern diets have drastically affected our potassium intake.
Including foods rich in potassium can help lower your blood pressure, while also reducing the effects of sodium. During your next grocery run, keep an eye out for these potassium-rich foods:
- Beans
- Certain dairy products, like milk and yogurt
- Melons
- Leafy greens
- Sweet potatoes and potatoes
- Bananas
- Salmon
- Avocados and apricots
Your provider at Health Solutions can provide you with a more comprehensive list of fruits, vegetables, and other foods that can help fight high blood pressure.
3. Maintain a healthy weight
Being overweight can lead to many health problems, like high blood pressure, and can also lead to problems breathing during sleep, or sleep apnea. Most people with sleep apnea also have high blood pressure because the consistent breathing disruptions add more stress on your heart.
Losing weight can have a big effect on your blood pressure, but it’s important to take the right approach to keep the weight off. Medically supervised weight loss programs, like those offered at Health Solutions, can help keep you motivated while ensuring you keep the weight off.
4. Avoid smoking
Smoking cigarettes affects your blood pressure in many ways. If you’re a smoker, each time you finish a cigarette your blood pressure spikes for several minutes. Tobacco also contains chemicals that can damage your blood vessels, which puts your heart health at risk.
If you have elevated blood pressure, which is raised blood pressure that’s not yet considered hypertension, avoiding cigarettes can bring your levels down. But quitting completely can lower your blood pressure and help strengthen your heart.
5. Find healthy ways to manage stress
If you’re constantly stressed out, you have a greater risk of high blood pressure. Stress triggers fight-or-flight mode, which constricts your blood vessels and raises your heart rate. Chronic stress can also lead to unhealthy habits, such as stress eating or drinking alcohol.
Learning to reduce your stress can keep your blood pressure at a healthy level. One way to do this is by practicing stress-reducing activities, like deep breathing exercises, or anything that helps you calm down.
If you feel like you’re stressed often, speak to a provider at Health Solutions. Our specialists can help you identify stress triggers and learn to cope with them.
If you believe you have high blood pressure, get it checked today at Health Solutions. Schedule an appointment over the phone or use our online booking tool.
You Might Also Enjoy...
Living With Arthritis (And What You Can Do About It)
You can live with arthritis without letting it ruin your life. Let us help you learn more about your options for managing the pain and stiffness that come with arthritis, the chronic inflammation in your joints.
5 Tips for Managing Fall Allergies
Many people think of spring as allergy season, but autumn can be just as bad for plenty of allergy sufferers. In this post, we offer a few tips on how to manage common fall allergies.
How Often Do Men Need Prostate Exams?
The prostate is an important part of your reproductive system and plays a major role in inseminating the ovaries if you’re trying to start a family. As you get older, the prostate is at risk of different illnesses, so how often should it be examined?
I Eat Healthy; Why Do I Still Have High Cholesterol?
Making healthy eating choices is one of the best ways to manage your cholesterol levels — but what if it’s not enough? Here’s why dietary changes don’t always help keep cholesterol levels under control.
Am I Too Young for Menopause?
Are you too young for menopause? Maybe not. If you're under 45 and your menstrual cycle has stopped, it could be early menopause, which may need treatment. Keep reading to learn more.