How to Lower Blood Pressure - naturally.
You’ve likely had this checked at your doctor’s visits, but do you know what this reading is telling you about your health?
Every tissue and organ in your body needs oxygen, nutrients, and a way to hand off toxins and unoxygentated blood. How does your body do this? It ensures that we aren’t just a pool of blood laying around. That doesn’t sound productive, does it?
When the heart beats, it creates pressure that forcefully pushes blood through the highway of transport in your body known as arteries, blood vessels, veins, and capillaries.
This pressure system is vital to maintaining adequate transfer of blood throughout your body.
When the blood pumps out of the heart and into arteries this is what is measured as the top number of your blood pressure reading - systolic pressure.
When the heart rests between beats, there is still (thankfully) a force present, and this is measured as the bottom number of your blood pressure reading - diastolic pressure.
This amazing pressure combination gives our body life through the transfer of nutrients and oxygen. Our bodies are in fact a system of pipes, all originating back to the heart.
As with pipes in a water system, when pressure becomes too high, or too low, things don’t function optimally. Picture a hose. If water is calmly flowing through it, that hose might last for awhile, right?
Now picture the end of that hose with a power washer. If that same amount of force you see coming out of a power washer was consistently pushing through your delicately made system, do you think problems would ensue? You bet.
So what is high blood pressure?
High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is defined in two stages per the American Heart Association.
Most people refer to the guide that a blood pressure of 140/90 or greater is high blood pressure.
To clarify, that means when either number is elevated above those parameters. A person can have high blood pressure if it is 135/100 for example, or 175/85.
1 out of 2 adults in the US is estimated to have high blood pressure according to the CDC.
Why should you care?
Many people attribute high blood pressure to genetics. While this is true for some, lifestyle and nutrition play a huge role for managing blood pressure for everyone - even when medical intervention is required.
One study found that a 4 month structured program of nutrition and exercise changes resulted in significant improvements in blood pressure readings for individuals who presented with resistant blood pressure.
That’s powerful. Consistent lifestyle changes can improve blood pressure labeled as resistant - wow!
Don’t think small changes add up?
A 2 mmHg (the unit of measurement for blood pressure readings) decrease in diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) was found to decrease the occurrence of high blood pressure by 17%, decrease the risk of coronary artery disease by 6% and decrease the risk of stroke by 15%.
Let that sink in. If you have a blood pressure of 130/80, just by lowering it to 130/78 can decrease your risk of stroke by 15%. What are we doing with our lives if we aren’t trying to decrease the risk for devastating disease?
Why is high blood pressure known as the silent killer?
What an ominous name…
But, there’s a reason high blood pressure is also known as the silent killer.
Because its effects are equally ominous.
Like a shark going unnoticed in the ocean to a surfer, high blood pressure can be lurking behind a relatively normal life. Then out of nowhere, BAM. The great white shark takes a life. Or, BAM, a stroke leads to death, disability…or a heart attack leads to a loss.
Think that sounds extreme?
Good, it should.
High blood pressure contributes to 500,000 deaths per year in the US.
What is so silent about high blood pressure?
High blood pressure can be present without symptoms. Or symptoms can present, but they are misunderstood.
High blood pressure also can develop slowly over time and be a result of multiple causes.
What can you do today?
Know that there is hope.
Lifestyle changes in the form of your nutrition, movement, sleep and stress management habits have to power to TRANSFORM your life and to treat high blood pressure.
Want to hear how 6 months of the Wellness in Bloom Hypertension Plan works? Click here to apply to my program.
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