BP, High BP, Hypertension, Tension, Pressure, Stress
Root Cause of Disease
High blood pressure usually develops over time. It can happen because of unhealthy lifestyle choices, such as not getting enough regular physical activity. High blood pressure is a common condition that affects the body’s arteries. It’s also called hypertension.
If you have high blood pressure, the force of the blood pushing against the artery walls is consistently too high, the heart has to work harder to pump blood. Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg).
Normal blood pressure is 120/80 mm Hg. Low blood pressure is when your blood pressure is lower than what’s considered normal.
Symptoms
High blood pressure usually has no warning signs or symptoms, and many people do not know they have it. Measuring your blood pressure is the only way to know whether you have high blood pressure. Unfortunately, high blood pressure can happen without feeling any abnormal symptoms. Some of those include:
- Moderate or severe headaches
- Blurry or double vision
- Anxiety
- Shortness of breath
- Lightheadedness/Fainting
- Nosebleeds
- Palpitations or feeling of pulsations in the neck
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
If you have hypertension, the following signs and symptoms necessitate emergency treatment:
- Sudden onset of blurry vision
- Severe pulsating headache
- Pain or pressure in the chest, arm, or shoulder
- Sudden confusion, loss of consciousness, or inability to talk, move, or smile
Causes
Things that can increase your risk of getting high blood pressure are
- Overweight
- Eat too much salt and do not eat enough fruit and vegetables
- Do not do enough exercise
- Drink too much alcohol or coffee (or other caffeine-based drinks)
- Smoke
- Do not get much sleep or have disturbed sleep
- Are over the age of 65
Home Remedies to Control High Blood Pressure
Remedy – 1: Amla Juice
Materials: Amla
Amla or Indian Gooseberry is an effective ayurvedic medicine for blood pressure. It has Vitamin C which helps reduce blood cholesterol levels and widens blood vessels. If you have amla juice every morning on an empty stomach it can control hypertension and other ailments too.
Ayurveda strongly recommends eating a gooseberry daily for improving immunity, boosting metabolism and longevity. It is in fact known as a ‘divyaushadha’ or a divine medicine as it contains five tastes -sweet, sour, bitter, astringent and pungent that help in the functioning of both mind and body.
Procedure:
Drink amla juice mixed with one tablespoon of honey to bring down the blood pressure naturally. Drinking this juice daily helps control both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
The healing and medicinal properties of amla are innumerable as it is loaded with vitamin C, calcium, iron, phosphorus, carotene, vitamin B, protein and fiber.
Remedy – 2: Yoga
Yoga can help you lower blood pressure quickly. Experts say that diet, lifestyle and exercise tweaks can successfully control your blood pressure levels.
Child pose or Balasana:
Child pose is beneficial for hypertension patients. It can give you relief from different factors which contribute to high blood pressure. This asana reduces stress and improves blood circulation throughout the body. Controlled breathing while performing this asana promotes calmness and reduces stress from neck and shoulders.
Sukhasana or easy pose:
It is a popular yoga asana which regulates breathing. This pose gives you relief from high blood pressure by promoting a peaceful mind and reducing stress. A relaxed mind promotes a healthy body. This asana will also stretch back and neck. It will also improve the posture of the body.
Shavasana:
Shavasana or corpse pose is totally meant for relaxation. This is one of the easiest poses which you can use to control your blood pressure numbers. Shavasana calms your brain, relieves stress, relaxes the body, reduces headache, fatigue and insomnia. These are all the risk factors of high blood pressure. By controlling these factors, Shavasana leads to lower blood pressure.
Cobra pose:
Cobra poses, also known as Bhujangasana are helpful in circulating blood and oxygen. This pose also relieves stress and promotes heart health. You will notice more flexibility with this pose. Cobra pose is also considered beneficial for asthma patients.
Other Remedies
Garlic
One of the most common remedies is garlic, its properties will amaze you. The biggest advantage of taking garlic is that it not only lowers blood pressure, but also helps to reduce the levels of clotting.
However, if your diet includes a lot of fats, eating garlic will not be effective. This is because the high fat content overpowers the properties of the garlic. Drinking alcohol in excess will also have a negative effect on garlic healing properties.
Fruits
- Potassium and magnesium are vital to the control of elevated blood pressure, so another thing to do is adding bananas, kidney beans, molasses and soy to your diet.
- Fruits such as watermelon, grapes and bananas may be considered excellent resources of potassium, magnesium and calcium.
Coconut water
People, who suffer from high blood pressure, must keep their bodies well hydrated. It is very good idea to drink 8 – 10 glasses of water per day. Coconut water is also a very effective home remedy for lowering the blood pressure. There was one study in 2005 which was published in the West Indian Medical Journal and in it was found that the coconut water is rich in Vitamin C, magnesium and potassium and it can help to decrease the systolic blood pressure. Along with the coconut water, you can use coconut oil in your cooking.
Carrot Juice
Carrots are high in fibers, carotenoids, vitamins C and E, and phenolics such as p-coumaric, chlorogenic, and caffeic acids. Drinking 16 fl oz of fresh carrot juice daily significantly increased antioxidant status and suppressed lipid peroxidation without affecting the plasma cholesterol and triglyceride status. Drinking carrot juice may protect the cardiovascular system by increasing total antioxidant status and by decreasing lipid peroxidation.
Onion Juice
Onions can also help to lower your blood pressure because they have antioxidant flavonol called quercetin. You should try to eat one medium – sized raw onion per day. Also you can mix ½ teaspoon of onion juice and honey and you should take it 2 times per day for one to 2 weeks.
Increase potassium intake
When you increase the potassium intake, then you can offset the effects of sodium. Also you can get more of this mineral by incorporating foods such as mushrooms, greens, carrots and apricots in your diet.
Preventions
Lose extra pounds and watch your waistline:
Blood pressure often increases as weight increases. Being overweight also can cause disrupted breathing while you sleep (sleep apnea), which further raises blood pressure. Also, the size of the waistline is important. Carrying too much weight around the waist can increase the risk of high blood pressure.
Exercise regularly:
Exercise can also help keep elevated blood pressure from turning into high blood pressure (hypertension). For those who have hypertension, regular physical activity can bring blood pressure down to safer levels.
Eat a healthy diet:
Eating a diet rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products and low in saturated fat and cholesterol can lower high blood pressure by up to 11 mm Hg. Examples of eating plans that can help control blood pressure are the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet and the Mediterranean diet.
Reduce salt (sodium) in your diet:
Even a small reduction of sodium in the diet can improve heart health and reduce high blood pressure by about 5 to 6 mm Hg.
To reduce sodium in the diet:
- Read food labels. Look for low-sodium versions of foods and beverages.
- Eat less processed foods. Only a small amount of sodium occurs naturally in foods. Most sodium is added during processing.
- Don’t add salt. Use herbs or spices to add flavor to food.
- Cook. Cooking lets you control the amount of sodium in the food.
Limit alcohol:
Limiting alcohol to less than one drink a day for women or two drinks a day for men can help lower blood pressure by about 4 mm Hg.
Quit Smoking:
Smoking increases blood pressure. Stopping smoking helps lower blood pressure. It can also reduce the risk of heart disease and improve overall health, possibly leading to a longer life.
Reduce stress:
Long-term (chronic) emotional stress may contribute to high blood pressure. More research is needed on the effects of stress reduction techniques to find out whether they can reduce blood pressure.
