Learn How to Ease High Blood Pressure! High blood pressure is one of the most common after-30 ailments. And funnily enough, many people accept it as the way of life. The interesting thing about hypertension is that as people lose weight, their blood pressure tends to normalize, but only during normal activities. No sooner do they get perturbed, ever so slightly, than the blood pressure shoots up again. This of course brings us to the belief that to actually control blood pressure, one must manage it holistically. Blood pressure management necessitates the following: Nutrition: To control high blood pressure, one must cut down on heavy salted foods, pickles, processed and refined food, maida, sooji and alcohol. Foods that are good for managing blood pressure are oats (can be eaten as oat porridge or oat bread) and barley. The unique effect of barley is that it helps the body get rid of all that excess water through the kidneys. This, in effect, decreases the load on the heart. Vegetarians across the world in general tend to have lower blood pressure, so being a vegetarian once a week may be a good idea. Add lots of fruits and vegetables to the diet, they will help lower blood pressure. In a harvard study of over 31,000 middle aged people, it was seen that people who ate little or no fruits were 46 per cent more likely to be hypertensive. Vitamin C found in amla, oranges, lime and many other fruits have a protective effect on the blood vessels. Potassium in the diet lowers blood pressure. In a study conducted in Italy, it was seen that after a year of adding potassium to a diet of hypertensive patients, 81 percent lowered their dose of medication. Foods rich in potassium are potato, peaches, prunes, spinach, oranges. Calcium rich foods also decrease the blood pressure, and adding green leafy vegetables is a good source of calcium. Finally, losing excess weight helps lower blood pressure. Yoga and PranayamBreathing is one of the simplest ways to balance and control the nerves and our ancient practice of pranayam has shown the beneficial effects of naadi-shodhan. However, some detox/cleansing breathing techniques are not recommended for high blood pressure. Therefore, consulting an expert before beginning is a must.
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