Content

• Steps

High blood pressure or hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, heart failure, stroke and kidney disease. You need to check your blood pressure regularly and find ways to lower it or keep it low to avoid serious health complications. A blood pressure of 140/90 (150/90 in people over 60 years old) or higher is considered high. You can prevent high blood pressure by eating a healthy diet, promoting physical health, and managing stress.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Adopt a healthy diet

1. 

   Incorporate fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products into your daily diet. The nutrients in these foods have been shown to help prevent high blood pressure: potassium, calcium, magnesium and omega-3 fatty acids. If your diet is balanced, you do not need to take supplements to supplement these nutrients.
   • Potassium: Good food sources of kaili include pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and yogurt.
   • Calcium: White beans, canned salmon, and dried figs are all rich in calcium.
   • Magnesium: Almonds, cashews and tofu are all good sources of magnesium.
   • Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Great sources of omega-3 fatty acids include tuna, walnuts and broccoli.

2. 

   
   
   Limit salt consumption. To reduce your salt consumption, you should read food labels carefully and limit your intake of processed and outside foods. More than 75% of salt consumed is in food and processed foods. On the other hand, you can use spices and herbs to taste instead of salt. The Nutrition Diet Guidelines say children over 2 years of age should consume less than 2300 mg of salt per day. Some subjects will need to reduce their salt intake to 1500 mg per day, including people over 51 years old, African-Americans or people with high blood pressure, diabetes or chronic kidney disease.

3. 

   
   
   Reduce alcohol consumption. Experts recommend that men should drink only 2 servings of alcoholic beverages (men over 65 should drink only 1 serving) and women should drink only 1 serving of alcohol per day. Taking more than 3 servings at a time can cause temporary increases in blood pressure and chronic high blood pressure if taken regularly. Therefore, you need to limit your alcohol consumption or replace it with non-alcoholic drinks.
   • A serving of alcoholic beverages is 355 ml beer, 150 ml of wine or 45 ml of alcohol containing 40% alcohol.

4. 

   
   
   Limit your caffeine intake. Research shows that caffeine can increase blood pressure suddenly. Experts recommend drinking no more than 2 cups (200 ml) of coffee per day. Other foods high in caffeine include chocolate, soda and energy drinks. All of these foods should be consumed in small amounts only. advertisement

Method 2 of 3: Increase physical health

1. 

   Exercise regularly to maintain a healthy blood pressure. Being active reduces the risk of high blood pressure by 20-50%. Doctors recommend exercising 30-60 minutes per day or 150 minutes total per week. The most important thing is to exercise regularly. Systolic blood pressure can drop from 5 to 10 mm mercury with exercise.

2. 

   Maintain a healthy weight. The risk of high blood pressure increases 2-6 times if you are overweight or obese.
   • Maintaining a healthy weight also helps reduce waist measurements. Experts think that a large waist size could be a sign of high blood pressure and heart disease. Research in the US shows that a waist size of more than 102 cm in men and more than 89 cm in women is associated with high blood pressure. Waist circumference also varies by ethnicity. For example, the waist size associated with high blood pressure is above 90 cm for Asian men and over 81 cm in Asian women.
   • The mechanism of this association has not been determined, but there is a theory that peripheral insulin resistance leads to glucose intolerance and increased insulin. Many other mechanisms have also been proposed to account for the rise in insulin leading to high blood pressure, but none of them have been proven.

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   Get enough sleep. Get 7-8 hours of sleep a day to help prevent high blood pressure. Sleep enhances nervous system health and regulates stress hormones. Sleeping too little, less than 6 hours can affect the body's ability to regulate stress hormones in the long run.

4. 

   Quit smoking and avoid indirect exposure to tobacco smoke. Blood pressure goes up temporarily after smoking. Smoking cigarettes or breathing in secondhand smoke can cause atherosclerosis (fat build up in the arteries, cancer, and lung problems.

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   Prevent high blood pressure. An occasional rise in blood pressure can still indicate a health problem. Research shows that sometimes high blood pressure can be a sign of a future chronic health problem or a more obvious sign of stroke. Detecting high blood pressure early will be more helpful in alleviating the problem in the future. advertisement

Method 3 of 3: Managing stress

1. 

   Identify stressors in your life. Stress directly affects high blood pressure. When a stressful situation arises, blood pressure increases due to a sudden increase in hormones. You need to identify the cause of the stress (common causes are losing a job, preparing to marry or having to move) to better manage your stress.

2. 

   Reduce or eliminate stress from your life through physical activity. Yoga, meditation and deep relaxation exercises all help lower stress levels. Yoga and meditation not only help relax and enhance health, but also help lower systolic blood pressure by up to 5 mm Hg or more.
   • Yoga: Yoga consists of a series of movements or postures that increase strength and endurance. Another part of yoga is controlling breathing, helping the mind relax and controlling the body.
   • Meditation: Meditation is a form of focusing your attention and getting rid of distracting thoughts, which in turn improves your physical and mental health.
   • Deep breathing: Deep breathing involves controlling your breathing, while also stretching different muscle groups, helping to calm you down.

3. 

   Learn effective ways to cope with stress. There are many ways to deal with stress. However, some ways, like eating a lot, will have an adverse reaction when you want to lower your blood pressure. The best way to manage stress is to think positively, seek support, solve problems, and change expectations.
   • Positive thinking: Pay attention to the positive, optimistic aspects of the problem.
   • Seek help: Ask a friend, relative, or medical professional for help or emotional support.
   • Solve the problem: Identify the root cause of the problem and find a solution.
   • Change your expectations: Change your mindset about the results you want.
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