How Alternative High Blood Pressure Remedies Can Reduce Your Numbers
Alternative high blood pressure remedies can do wonders to improve your total blood pressure numbers, even if you are on a prescription medication. In addition to eating a healthier diet, and lowering the amount of sodium you eat each day, these helpful items can also prove quite beneficial.
Coenzyme Q10: Also known as CoQ10, this supplement is considered to be one of the most effective high blood pressure remedies because it has been linked to reducing blood pressure. A recent twelve week study found that of a trial involving eighty-three people with systolic hypertension, those who took 60mg of CoQ10 twice per day had a mean reduction in their systolic blood pressure of 17.8 mm Hg. The study concluded that CoQ10 not only reduced systolic blood pressure, but also diastolic blood pressure, with a mean reduction of 2.9 mm Hg.
Diet: Another of the best high blood pressure remedies is dietary change. One of the most commonly used diets for lowering blood pressure is known as the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet, also known as the DASH diet. The DASH diet is rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, beans, and low fat dairy items. Sodium intake is limited to no more than 2,300 mg daily. There have been some studies that assert the DASH diet can show results in as few as two weeks. The guidelines for this particular plan are as follows: 7 to 8 whole grain servings; 4 to 5 vegetable servings; 4 to 5 fruit servings; 4 to 5 nuts, beans, and seeds servings per week; 2 to 3 meat, poultry, and fish servings; 2 to 3 low fat or fat free dairy servings; 2 to 3 oils and fats servings; and no more than 5 servings of sweets per week. Not only is it important to obey the recommended daily and weekly servings, it is also important to be aware of serving sizes. Some guidelines for portions are as follows: 1 slice of bread; 1 cup of raw fruits or vegetables; ½ cup of cooked fruits or vegetables; ½ cup of cooked pasta or rice; 3 ounces of meat, cooked; 1 teaspoon of oil (preferably a healthy oil such as olive oil); and 8 ounces of milk. There is also a variation of this diet known as the DASH-Sodium diet which reduces the allowable amount of sodium to 1,500 mg per day.
Calcium, Magnesium, and Potassium: Calcium supplements have been shown to have modest but noticeable results on systolic blood pressure, resulting in a mean reduction of 2.5 mm Hg. Potassium has been shown to be even better amongst high blood pressure remedies and has been studied in great length. In a study that compared the results of five clinical trials, potassium supplements showed a large reduction in systolic blood pressure, with a mean reduction of 11.2 mm Hg, as well as a reduction in diastolic blood pressure, with a mean reduction of 5.0 mm Hg. Magnesium also proved to be beneficial, as it too helped to reduce systolic blood pressure by a mean difference of 2.2 mm Hg.
Exercise: Exercise, particularly aerobic exercise is a very important component to lowering blood pressure, and is one of the tried and true high blood pressure remedies. A comparison of over one hundred clinical studies, with over six thousand eight hundred patients found that the addition of aerobic exercise lowered systolic blood pressure by a mean difference of 4.6 mm Hg. There was also an equivalent reduction in diastolic blood pressure as well. As with any type of medical condition, patients are advised to speak with their physicians prior to beginning any new form of exercise program.
The above mentioned items are just a few alternative high blood pressure remedies that can be used either on their own or in conjunction with prescribed medications. All of these recommendations should be discussed with a health care professional before implementation to ensure complete safety for each individual case.
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