Top 14 Easy Home Remedies for High Blood Pressure

Having blood pressure problems is quite common and health experts a few years back predicted that around a third of the Indian population in 2020 would suffer from hypertension. When left unchecked, high blood pressure damages the kidney and increases risk of stroke and heart disease too. As such, it isn’t something you should take lightly and opting for high blood pressure treatment at home is a good place to start.

Ideally, you should approach your primary care provider for home remedies to control high BP. Depending on your case and family history, you may require medication to keep it in check. However, if that’s not the case, then you should definitely consider natural remedies for high BP. While a quick online search will return several options that you can try, be wary of practices that are pitched as a quick remedy for high BP unless a specialist you’ve consulted can verify its efficacy.

High BP Home Remedies

Dietary changes can significantly impact your cardiovascular health. Your doctor will suggest a diet that can lower your blood pressure in case of high blood pressure.

Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension or DASH is a dietary strategy intended to lower blood pressure naturally over the long term. While minimising sweets, sodas, ultra-processed meals, and red meats, DASH encourages a diet high in vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, chicken, fish, and nuts. Notably, the DASH diet plan suggests limiting sodium intake to 1,500-2,300 mg daily.

Garlic Water

• Since garlic water encourages nitric oxide generation, it is a natural technique to control blood pressure. This gas has a potent vasodilation effect that promotes blood circulation and relieves heart pressure
• Also, because it has amazing antioxidant capabilities that guard blood vessels, garlic is excellent for maintaining cardiovascular health
• Garlic can be consumed in a variety of easier ways, including infusing it in water to be consumed throughout the day

Ingredients

• One peeled and crushed raw garlic clove
• 3.4 oz 100 ml of water

How to Prepare

The garlic clove should be soaked between six to eight hours or overnight in a cup of water. Drink it on an empty stomach. If you choose, you can multiply the ingredients listed above to make multiple servings of this infusion.

Garlic can also be consumed as part of your daily meals, as eating garlic could be more enjoyable than drinking it. You can substitute olive oil for garlic-infused oil by adding a few peeled cloves (this will allow you to gain from the properties of garlic every time you consume olive oil).

Get Enough Sleep

• A good night's sleep is critical for your health, heart, and blood pressure. While we sleep, the blood pressure naturally decreases
• Insomnia and sleep deprivation, however, have the potential to cause elevated blood pressure and other heart disease risk factors if our bodies do not receive enough sleep over time
• Although individual recommendations for sleep time can differ, aiming for sleep duration between 7-9 hours per night may help manage increased levels of blood pressure and prevent high blood pressure

Olive Leaf Tea

Like garlic, olive tree leaves are among the best all-natural treatments for high blood pressure. Even if ingested in excess, they contain polyphenols that control blood pressure without the danger of resulting in hypotension.

Also, they provide a mildly calming and relaxing impact that aids in controlling anxiety symptoms.

Ingredients

• Ground olive leaves [2 tablespoons]
• 16.9 oz or 500 ml boiling water

How to Prepare

The olive leaves should be soaked in a pot of boiling water for five to ten minutes. After that, strain the mixture through a mesh sieve and allow it to cool. You can consume three to four cups of tea every day.

Olive leaf extract, which is available in stores in capsule form, can be used in addition to tea. Capsules of 500 mg can be taken two times a day after meals.

Blueberry Juice

When ingested regularly, blueberries can help lower blood pressure and be a fantastic source of antioxidants that delay ageing and fight diseases like cancer.

Blueberries have a greater impact on people at high heart disease risk, like those who are obese or have metabolic syndrome. As a result, blueberry juice is useful as a natural addition to any doctor-prescribed high blood pressure treatment.

Ingredients

• Fresh blueberries, 1 cup
• Water, 1/2 cup
• Juice extracted from a half-lemon.

How to Prepare

Combine the ingredients in a blender until it is completely smooth. This juice can be consumed once or twice per day.

To make things simpler, here’s a list of 10 natural remedies for high blood pressure that you can try at home.

Destress Regularly

Stress, both chronic and occasional, have been linked to increasing BP and causing hypertension. Moreover, when you’re stressed, you’re likely to engage in unhealthy habits like smoking, binge eating or drinking alcohol, all of which worsen the problem. So, among the most important home remedies for high pressure is destressing regularly. There are many ways to go about it, which are:

• Avoiding stressors 
• Relaxing between activities 
• Meditation 

You can choose your own means of relaxing and rejuvenating body and mind, be it with adult colouring, music, cooking, gardening, spending time with a pet, doing yoga, running, working out, taking naps, reading and more. Destressing is surely one of the home remedies for high blood pressure that really works!

Avoid Alcohol

While there are studies that suggest that consuming alcohol, in moderation and controlled quantities, can actually help lower BP, over consumption quickly negates that effect. In fact, it makes it worse and can increase your BP further. So, do not consume more than 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor, 12 ounces of beer or 5 ounces of wine to control your BP.

When you consume large amounts of alcohol, your blood pressure might rise for up to 13 hours afterwards. Alcoholism and binge drinking can have a long-term negative impact on your blood pressure. To assist in lowering blood pressure, heavy drinkers can gradually cut back on alcohol.

But, if you already have high blood pressure, cutting back or quitting drinking can help you control your blood pressure levels.

Regular Excercise

Exercise is great for maintaining physical fitness and an effective high blood pressure treatment at home. Working out for at least 150 minutes a week or about 30 minutes a day can lower blood pressure by almost 8 mm Hg. Moreover, exercise doesn’t have to involve lifting weights or going to a gym. You can perform aerobic exercises like dancing, swimming, running, walking or even cycling to keep hypertension under control.

According to studies, moderate-intensity exercise is more effective than greater-intensity exercise at preventing or reducing hypertension. [1] Exercise is a fantastic means of strengthening your heart and the rest of your body. A healthy heart may pump blood more effectively, impacting high blood pressure levels.

Eat Dark Chocolate

Over consumption of chocolate will not do you any favours, but in moderation, dark chocolate was found to be effective at reducing BP. This is because dark chocolate has high flavonoid content. Flavonoids are plant compounds that dilate blood vessels, which can lower blood pressure. To try this high blood pressure treatment at home, look for a non-alkalized cocoa powder that has no added sugars.

Lose Extra Belly Weight

Being overweight you exerts a lot of pressure on your heart. When your heart has to work overtime, problems like hypertension are common. Studies have found that losing just around 5% of your body mass can make a significant difference in lowering your BP. Naturally, if you’re obese, losing weight should be a priority and it is doubly effective when paired with exercise as a high blood pressure treatment at home.

Stop Smoking

Tobacco is something you have to steer clear off if you’re looking to lower BP naturally. This is because tobacco damages blood vessels and every puff results in a slight increase in pressure. Moreover, smoking also increases risk of heart disease. Try this as it is one of home remedies for high blood pressure that really works.

Moreover, smoking can lower life expectancy and negatively impact the quality of life. Not smoking is among the few ways to lower your blood pressure immediately. Your blood pressure and heart rate will lower within 20 minutes after the last cigarette. Giving up smoking long-term will have a bigger positive impact on blood pressure and cardiovascular health.

Reduce Salt Intake

High salt intake has been linked with elevated blood pressure and stroke. This is a problem because it is available in large quantities in processed and packaged foods. So, if you’re looking for effective home remedies to control high BP, start by avoiding fast food. Cook meals at home, watch your sodium intake and you’ll notice your BP stabilise naturally!

Even a slight reduction in sodium intake can promote heart health and lower blood pressure by 5 to 6 mm Hg. Several groups of people have different effects of salt intake on blood pressure. Generally, keep your daily sodium intake to 2,300 mg or fewer. However, for most adults, a salt consumption of 1,500 mg or less per day is ideal.

Cut Down on Caffeine Consumption

Caffeine consumption results in a near-instant hike in blood pressure. This effect is stronger on those who aren’t accustomed to it or consume it very rarely, in whatever form. So, if you’re looking to maintain a normal BP or a quick remedy for high BP, cut back on the coffee or energy drinks. If you’re not used to caffeine, avoid it altogether to keep your BP from spiking.

Get Enough Calcium

Studies have found that people with low calcium have higher BP. Moreover, calcium-rich diets have be linked to healthy BP levels, which means it is an effective option as a high blood pressure treatment at home. Ideally, you should get this mineral naturally through food, which can come from leafy green, skim milk, yogurt, beans, sardines and collard greens.

Eat Magnesium Rich Food

Magnesium helps your blood vessels relax and it is quite common for people to not get enough of it. Studies have found that a lack of magnesium can cause high BP and supplementing it through diet is the right way to counteract this. Vegetable, dairy, whole grains, legumes, and meat are all good sources to consider as home remedies to lower high blood pressure.

These natural remedies for high BP can definitely help you, especially those that bring about healthier dietary and body weight changes. In addition to these, you should also consult your primary care provider for emergency treatment for high blood pressure at home. They may prescribe certain supplements or medication that can quickly get things back into control.

Foods to Prefer

The following are some of the finest foods for decreasing high blood pressure:

• Whole grains
• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Low-fat dairy products
• Lean meats (including fish and poultry)
• Legumes
• Nuts
• Non-tropical vegetable oils

Foods to Avoid

Among the foods to limit or avoid if you suffer from high blood pressure are:

• Candies and sweets
• Sweetened beverages with sugar (including soda, some energy, and sweetened coffee drinks)
• Red meat
• Alcohol
• Drink Lots of Water

The removal of salt from the body can be aided by drinking 8–12 glasses of water each day. In addition, if your blood pressure is normal, consuming 8-10 oz glasses daily can help prevent hypertension.

The doctor may advise you to drink extra water (up to 12 glasses) if you already have hypertension.

Relying only on home remedies to lower high blood pressure isn’t smart because there are very real risks involved when it comes to BP. So, it may be smarter to view suggestions for high blood pressure treatment at home as guidelines to healthier living. If you’re showing symptoms of elevated BP, don’t hesitate to get professional help. Thanks to the Bajaj Finserv Health App, you can get this care easily, right through your smartphone.

With this app, you enjoy a range of telemedicine provisions and features that make healthcare easy to avail. For instance, the doctor search feature allows you to find the best specialists, be it a general physician or a cardiologist, in your area and book appointments at their clinics completely online. What’s more, the app has a section that allows you track your health too! Here, you can put reminders for medications, keep track of fitness goals and keep tabs on upcoming vaccinations as well. Further, you also have the symptom checker and health risk assessment functionality to take a proactive stance toward wellbeing. All of these perks are available to you at your fingertips. To get started today, download the app for free on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.