5 Easy (And Delicious Ways) You Can Reduce Your Blood Pressure Naturally

Think high blood pressure isn’t a huge issue? There are natural ways to lower it.

One out of every three Americans struggles with high blood pressure – and, sadly, more than half of those people aren’t doing anything about their condition.

And that’s really bad news. High blood pressure leads to conditions like heart attacks, stroke, kidney damage and heart disease.

Sound hopeless? It’s not.

As long as you’re keeping track of your health, your doctor will be able to tell you if you have high blood pressure. And while there’s medication that allows you to control the condition – there are a lot of natural ways to keep your blood pressure down without medication.

So here are a few specific foods that can help keep your blood pressure down naturally:

1. Blueberries

These berries have a huge and noticeable effect on your blood pressure.

With as little as a cup per day you can lower your blood pressure and reduce stiffness in your arteries.

Florida State University ran a study on post-menopausal women that showed that eating blueberries daily can reduce the risk of heart disease. Over 8 weeks, blood pressure was reduced by more than 5% in the group eating blueberries, and stiffness of the arteries was reduced by 6.5%.

The scientists found that blueberries could stop hypertension from developing, as well as reducing cardiovascular disease.

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2. Yogurt

Yogurt is rich in probiotics, which can help your heart become more healthy. You can find these probiotics in sour milk, cheese, and supplements.

The journal Hypertension looked at nine different studies and found that probiotics were strongly linked to a decrease in blood pressure.

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If you’re eating probiotics regularly, it could definitely contribute to a healthy lifestyle and reduced blood pressure – because they have other positive effects on your body. Probiotics can help improve your cholesterol, reduce your insulin resistance, and regulate your hormones to healthier levels.

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3. Cocoa Powder

A study published in Cochrane Library in 2012 looked at more than 20 different experiments that looked at the effect that cocoa flavonoids had on blood pressure.

So what did they find?

They found that it actually lowers blood pressure by a small (but statistically significant) amount in the short term.

However, they didn’t find that it decreases blood pressure over the long term – because they simply didn’t have the data.

So don’t eat chocolate by the handful and think that it’s helping your blood pressure – but a little bit could go a long way.

4. Bananas

Bananas are rich in potassium, and potassium is important for preventing the negative effects that sodium can have on your body.

That’s because sodium causes your blood pressure to go up when it’s in your blood stream. When you consume more potassium, you’ll decrease your blood levels of sodium.

Try eating twice as much potassium in a day as you eat sodium for the maximum amount of blood pressure reduction. You can get potassium from potatoes, greens, white beans, seeds and nuts, avocadoes, and white beans.

5. Beetroot Juice

A study published by the American Heart Association found that beetroot juice has a positive effect with lowering your body’s blood pressure. Patients with high blood pressure were told to drink 8 ounces of beetroot juice, and they experienced a significant drop in blood pressure.

The effect was most pronounced for 3 to 6 hours after drinking, but it was still felt up to 24 hours afterwards.

Scientists speculate that this effect is due to the dietary nitrate in beetroot juice. Dietary nitrate is a substance that improves your body’s blood flow. So if you want to get the most effect out of it, eat other foods high in dietary nitrate like green leafy vegetables or just plain beet root.

The Best Ways To Reduce Your Blood Pressure

1. Eat more blueberries
2. Yum, add more yogurt to your diet
3. Congratulations! Cocoa powder reduces blood pressure
4. Get tropical with some delicious bananas in your diet
5. Add beetroot juice to lower your blood pressure naturally

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