Is it possible to reduce blood pressure naturally

[dailychallenge]

I have been prescribed blood pressure tablets. My readings were consistently high which we think is after the use of naproxen.

I have stoped taking naproxen. Would rather rely on over the counter anti inflammatory tablets when I need them. Hopefully that will bring readings down.

Can I reduce my blood pressure naturally? Any tips? I feel awful on the BP tablets. My ankles twitch and I feel so bloated that I am going to pop out of my clothes. I barely drink so minimal alcohol. May be one or two gins at home a couple of times a month.

Fresh beetroot juice

Cut carbs. My pressure is perfect now

Thanks. Not sure I can stomach beetroot juice but will try. I can cut carbs.

NSAIDs affect your body’s prostaglandin levels which in turn affects how your kidneys deal with sodium in your body. Now that you’ve stopped using the naproxen you should consider drinking lots of water, watching your salt levels and taking more exercise. These should help your body adjust to a better balance.

You absolutely can but just through the usual healthy eating and exercising advice. A healthy balanced diet, increasing walks and exercising worked for me. Also stress management

Thanks. Don’t addd salt to food anyway and I drink a lot of water. Exercise is the issue as it’s a big knee injury that I sustained in an accident a year ago that I think is the cause. That’s still being worked on.

By the way, all nsaids do this, so also avoid ibuprofen and stick to paracetamol.

PS not a health professional.

Potassium can help. My husband has high blood pressure and eats a banana everyday and sometimes a potassium supplement.

Mix beetroot juice with fresh orange. Makes it more bearable.

I was in a very stressful relationship, drinking too much alcohol, not doing enough exercise, not watching what I ate. My blood pressure was high and I was taking tablets for a couple of years.

Then I left the relationship, and started to do more exercise, and eat a healthier diet. I also don't drink much alcohol any more. I've lost weight and my blood pressure has reduced, and I now don't need to take the tablets.

So I think lifestyle changes can definitely help.

Is your BMI within normal range? Has your blood pressure come down?

I'm being threatened with medication for high blood pressure. I've lost lots of weight but that hasn't helped. I try to eat beetroot once or twice a week. I think I need to regularly exercise, but I really don't do that so will need to start.

Yes. I am 5’6 and weigh about 10 and a half stone. A bit heavy but not overweight. I haven’t tested my readings again. I was supposed to wait 7 weeks and take readings before my next appointment at week 8. I am 4 days in.

I think I am going to make some natural changes myself in terms of diet and cutting anti inflammatory tablets completely.

I've been on blood pressure tablets for about a year, as my blood pressure was extremely high. This last month or so there's been a lot going on and I've been forgetting to take them. (Obviously don't do that, as it wasn't intentional, I just mean that yesterday my blood pressure probably wasn't affected by the tablets I'm on.)

I've also been trying to diet and have lost almost two stone since February. (Partly due to all the stuff going on and not having my mind on food as it would normally be).

I went to the GP yesterday for something else, and while I was there she checked my blood pressure. She checked it three times to confirm, and it was totally in a normal range. She was really surprised and pleased. (So was I).

Of course this only might help if you are a few stone overweight and can afford to lose some..(Oh, and I've done no exercise, I've purely cut down on the food that I eat so I'm just eating less than I use as a very sedentary person.)

Salt. I have the opposite problem, I have low blood pressure.

i decided to eat better, cut out upf’s like soup and ready meals, crisps etc which are really high in salt.

until i started fainting because my blood pressure dropped.

be vigilant on your salt intake. You often are eating more that you think. OXO and stock cubes can be up to 2g salt, for example.

start with mfp or similar and log your macros, give yourself an idea of whether your salt intake is high.

Sorry, cross posted with your most recent post, you aren't overweight at all so completely ignore my post it won't be helpful.

Weight loss and exercise are key interventions. And in the meantime maybe you need different medication? BP tablets are life savers really.

Yes, but it does depend on your current lifestyle - if you currently eat well exercise don’t drink etc then there isn’t much more you can do. But if there is more opportunity to improve weight diet or exercise then you have a better chance.

there are quite a few different bp meds, if what you are on doesn’t suit you see if your gp can prescribe an alternative

Cardio lowered mine amazingly well. I was prescribed Lisinopril a couple of years ago and didn’t get on with it.

I am not overweight and I eat salt and I have a knee injury that will take surgery to fix permanently - it’s impact related so I do spin classes which don’t exacerbate it.

Cardio classes 4 times a week and it took 3 months to get back to normal. I started on something like 165/100 and and yesterday was 127/84 - so not perfect but very much improved.

also take several readings at once.

I will add I used to drink alcohol and quitting made absolutely no difference to my BP but made a huge difference to my heart rate.

Please be careful if you do consider a potassium supplement as this will interact significantly with some blood pressure medication

Do you drink alcohol? If so, cut that out or down to only very occasionally. That made a big difference for me. Losing weight and reducing stress levels also helps.

Look at the DASH diet https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/nutrition/foods-that-lower-blood-pressure/dash-diet

Consistent exercise-especially exercises which contract your muscles in a sustained way like wall sits and resistance exercise. A low salt substitute instead of using salt in cooking. A whole food diet. Mine used to be around 125/70 but is now around 110/60.

It's not just possible, for many (me!) it's easy and fast. Google is your friend.

There are specific breathing exercise that can help https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S277248752300065X

4-7-8 or box breathing are particular ones to try