Lauren's Corner

You can lower your high blood pressure naturally.

Clear facts:

- There is no medicine available to cure High Blood Pressure

- You could quite possibly be a walking time bomb - High Blood Pressure is regarded as the 'Silent Killer'

Common symptoms of hypertension/high blood pressure:

- It is important to know that anyone experiencing any or all of these listed symptoms might already be at great risk of having an elevated blood pressure level.

- Blurred vision
- Headaches
- Dizziness & lightheadedness

* The American Heart Association states that 90-95% of high blood pressure cases are usually unknown.
* The American Heart Association also states that nearly 72 million Americans over the age of 20 years old have high blood pressure - that breaks down to 1 in 3 adults.

Having High Blood Pressure is not to be taken lightly as it can impact the other risks that lead to; heart attack, stroke, aneurisms, cognitive decline and kidney failure.

There are certain risk factors that boost your odds of developing High Blood Pressure. These are:

- Age
- Family history
- Ethnicity (particularly prevalent among African Americans)
- Excess weight

Although we are unable to control the first 3 risk factors, we can certainly have an active role in controlling our body weight. Before you let this fact filled article send you into a state of alarm, please note that high blood pressure unlike other diseases is easily detected and very controllable.

For those of you that have normal blood pressure, the following advice and easy maintenance tips can keep you healthy. Those of you who already know that you have hypertension and high blood pressure, this advice will help you control it, possibly with the help of your health care provider and a low dose of medication if needed, depending on how high your numbers are.

There is also the holistic approach to consider before taking Blood Pressure medications that can have many side effects. With proper diet and exercise there can be dramatic results in lowering your Blood Pressure reading. There are six key components to keeping those numbers low:

- Weight control
- Proper daily exercise
- Low sodium diet
- Low caffeine consumption
- Alcohol moderation
- Learned relaxation techniques

There is also the Dash Diet Plan: "The diet that lowers blood pressure." This has been tested by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. [Find the complete plan at www.nhlbi.nih.gov OR order it by calling (301) 592.8573]

Other simple tips that you can start right away are:

- Drink plenty of water - when your body gets dehydrated, it responds by retaining sodium to reduce water loss.

- Keep your potassium levels high. This also regulates your sodium retention. Adding potassium rich foods to your diet, good sources include; bananas, baked potatoes, orange juice, low fat natural yogurt, dried prunes & apricots, as well as spinach and other leafy vegetables.

Rev up your level of exercise

Not only will you shed excess pounds, which is the most important advice when it comes to lowering your high blood pressure, you will also lower you stress level and improve your heart strength by allowing your blood to pump more efficiently, which in turn lowers your resting heart rate. Just 20 minutes a day of moderate intensity activity such as brisk walking or cycling can show significant results in lowering your blood pressure naturally.

Meditation & Yoga can also help lower your Blood Pressure significantly. "Relaxation Response," a calming of the nervous system and promoting a slow breathing rate.

Just by implementing these simple lifestyle changes, you can naturally reduce your hypertension & high blood pressure and as well as greatly improve your well being. Don't let the 'Silent Killer' go undetected. Get regular blood pressure screenings and choose the healthier alternatives to reduce the need to take prescription drugs.

Plan to live a longer, healthier and vibrant life!

Have a Healthy Day!