Do you have high blood pressure? Chances are very good that you do. The goal posts have been moved by medical authorities. As a result, half of all U.S. adults are now considered hypertensive. Normal systolic (top number) blood pressure is supposed to be below 120. Normal diastolic (bottom number) is supposed to be less than 80. The current American Heart Association (AHA) and American College of Cardiology (ACC) guidelines encourage you to get your numbers down if you exceed 120/80. Can you control blood pressure naturally?
A Reader Wants to Know if 120/80 is Realistic?
Q. Is treating high blood pressure a science or is it more like throwing darts blindfolded? I have moderately high blood pressure. My doctor tried lisinopril, but I developed an uncontrollable cough.
Next we went to amlodipine and my ankles swelled. I’ve never had a problem with edema before.
Then he prescribed a beta blocker; it made me tired and interfered with my sex life. The other choice is water pills but my doctor hates using diuretics.
It’s frustrating, because my blood pressure when we started all this was 145/91. That’s obviously not good, but the goal of getting patients to 120/80 as they get older seems unrealistic.
I’m in my 50s. My father-in-law is on three hypertension drugs and I’d rather not do that. Wouldn’t I be better off losing 20 pounds and checking back in six months?
A. Losing weight can certainly lower blood pressure, so your idea is based on solid science. A study from the UK targeted weight loss for diabetes control (Diabetologia, May 31, 2021). Many of the volunteers also had high blood pressure.
The researchers had them stop their blood pressure pills when they started the low-calorie diet formula. Within about two months, their blood pressure had dropped substantially. Scottish researchers report that blood pressure drops about one point for every two pounds lost.
One example of such an approach involves nitrate-rich vegetables (Journal of Nutrition, June 3, 2021). Beets and leafy greens such as kale, spinach and chard are rich in natural nitrates.
Strap On Your Sneakers!
Losing weight can lower blood pressure. So can exercise! A new study in JAMA Cardiology (Aug. 2, 2021) demonstrates the importance of moving your body.
Some scientists in Portugal now recommend regular aerobic exercise to lower blood pressure. They invited 60 patients with resistant hypertension to participate in a three-month study. Half of the volunteers got three supervised aerobic training sessions each week, along with their usual medical care. The other half had only usual care.
Volunteers who exercised had an 8 point drop in their systolic blood pressure, and more than 5 points down in their diastolic pressure. The authors concluded:
“In this study, when added to optimized medical therapy, aerobic exercise reduced BP to clinically meaningful levels in a patient population with a low responsiveness to drug treatment and has the potential to be incorporated into the standard care of these patients.”
Electronic Monitoring and Hypertension:
If your BP reading is 128/74, a software program would consider your blood pressure “elevated.” Should the blood pressure monitor read 125/81, your electronic medical record could label you “Hypertension Stage 1.” That is what the software that comes with blood pressure monitoring devices states.
We suspect that most adults will have “elevated” blood pressure sometime during the day. Get stuck in traffic and chances are good that your systolic blood pressure will creep over 120. Get into an animated conversation with your supervisor and it might tip over 130. Make love with your partner and the likelihood is great that you will exceed so-called normal blood pressure. Should you lower blood pressure because of these temporary elevations? Probably not. Could you control blood pressure naturally? We think you can.
What Should Your Blood Pressure Be?
Trends matter. The data are quite compelling. Researchers repeatedly report that people with normal or lower blood pressure readings have a reduced risk of developing heart disease compared to people with elevated BP readings. (Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, 2017).
The higher the blood pressure, the greater the risk. Someone with “moderate” Stage 3 Hypertension would have readings of 160/100 to 179/109. That is clearly in the danger zone and deserves regular monitoring and medical intervention to lower blood pressure!
People with hypertension, especially in middle age, are more prone to cognitive decline as they grow older (Circulation Research, March 29, 2019). As a result, it makes sense to pay attention to your numbers and control blood pressure naturally if you can.
Lower Blood Pressure Numbers Are Better:
In 2017, the ACC and the AHA agreed on a lower threshold for defining high blood pressure:
“Normal BP” is defined as <120/<80 mm Hg;
“Elevated BP” is 120-129/<80 mm Hg; hypertension
“Stage 1 Hypertension” is 130-139 or 80-89 mm Hg
“Stage 2 Hypertension is ≥140 or ≥90 mm Hg.”
While some of our readers were annoyed that the bar had been moved, we heard from one who was upset that it is still higher than he considers appropriate:
“I read that the new blood pressure guidelines are 130/80, which is a reduction from the previous 140/90.
“I was taken aback, because 130 systolic seems very high to me, but I guess that is what the American Heart Association considers an achievable goal. My pressure is now 114/75 (still with a high pulse of 79), which I achieved by eating a diet rich in whole grains and fruits and vegetables.
“Is my 114/75 a good achievement for a geriatric wannabe about to retire? Or should I be working harder to get it to 109/65 with a pulse of 70? My next effort will be to start working on a runner’s heart rate.”
The DASH Diet to Control Blood Pressure Naturally:
We’d say 114/75 is a good achievement for anybody, geriatric or not, especially since he was able to get there without medication.
Is it realistic to use nondrug approaches to lower your blood pressure? As our reader illustrates, dietary approaches can work. In fact, there are hundreds of medical studies on the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) to control blood pressure naturally. DASH diets are heavy on vegetables, fruits and whole grains.
They include low-fat dairy products, but little meat and very little processed food such as crackers or cookies. The ACC also recommends reducing salt, losing weight, increasing exercise and limiting alcohol intake.
Don’t Forget the Garlic!
Q. When you write about natural products that help with blood pressure control, please add aged garlic extract to the list. There are several research studies to support its blood pressure lowering effect. You may also wish to check out olive leaf extract.
A. A review published last year in the Journal of Family Practice (Sept. 2020) answered the question, “Does evidence support the use of supplements to aid in BP control?” The authors present data on a number of natural therapies that can reduce systolic blood pressure (the upper or first number in the reading).
Aged garlic is one of these, along with olive leaf extract, beetroot, cocoa flavanols, flaxseed and L-arginine. Some people experience mild digestive symptoms such as flatulence or heartburn when they are taking aged garlic.
These reviewers also mention potassium supplements. Although they can lower blood pressure, people taking certain BP medications must avoid extra potassium. Patients should always check with the pharmacist before considering a potassium supplement or potassium-based salt substitute.
Other Ways to Control Blood Pressure Naturally:
Meditation:
What else might you do to lower your blood pressure? There are hints that regular meditation may be helpful (European Cardiology, Dec. 18, 2019).
Yoga:
Yoga practice at least three times a week also appears to contribute to lower blood pressure (Mayo Clinic Proceedings, March 2019).
Sauna:
Sauna bathing also appears to lower blood pressure (Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Aug. 2018). People who exercise vigorously as well as use the sauna lower their chance of sudden cardiac death (Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, March-April 2018).
Some Quirky Strategies to Control Blood Pressure Naturally:
Most health professionals are taught that if exercise, weight loss and diet do not lower blood pressure adequately, then the only appropriate next step is medication. Anything that seems slightly “alternative” is perceived as bogus.
The wonderful thing about blood pressure is that you can measure it! This allows the individual to monitor progress on a daily basis. If something isn’t working, you can determine that fairly quickly and move on to some other strategy or medication.
Slow Breathing:
Most of us take breathing for granted. We do it automatically. That may be part of the problem. We get so caught up in our work or our various activities that we don’t take time to breathe deeply.
Paced or slow breathing has a somewhat controversial role in helping people lower blood pressure. There is some research to support the concept (Journal of the American Society Hypertension, Jan. 2015; Current Hypertension Reports, June, 2017).
Other investigators have concluded that device-guided breathing lacks sufficient scientific support (Current Hypertension Reports, April, 2016). We remain agnostic. There are apps on smart watches that encourage you to take time to breathe. They slow you down! You can also buy RESPeRATE, a pricey device that also slows your breathing more scientifically.
Eggplant:
When a reader wrote to us a few years ago that eggplant water could help lower blood pressure we were skeptical.
Will Eggplant Lower Blood Pressure?
More recently, though, another reader insisted that eggplant did indeed help lower blood pressure.
Using Eggplant to Lower Your Blood Pressure
Should you like scientific support for such a remedy, take a moment to read that article and click on the links that are provided. One describes a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial using eggplant powder (Nutrients, Nov. 16, 2019).
Here is the conclusion:
“The participants were randomly assigned to the eggplant or placebo group. Participants in the eggplant group ingested capsules containing eggplant powder (1.2 g/day; 2.3 mg of ACh/day) for 12 weeks, whereas participants in the placebo group ingested placebo capsules. The primary outcome assessed was hospital BP. Secondary outcomes were stress and PS (psychological state). Eggplant powder intake significantly decreased the hospital diastolic blood pressure (DBP) at week 8 overall and in the normal-high BP group, and the systolic blood pressure (SBP) and DBP at week 12 overall and in the grade 1 hypertension group, compared to those of the placebo group.”
Can You Control Blood Pressure Naturally with Juice?
We have written extensively about pomegranate, tart cherry and grape juice to help lower blood pressure. We know that it seems hard to believe that such beverages could impact blood pressure, but here are some links to check out for yourself:
“Pomegranate juice improves cardiometabolic risk factors, biomarkers of oxidative stress and inflammation in hemodialysis patients: a randomized crossover trial.” (Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, Jan. 30, 2020).
“Impact of tart cherry juice on systolic blood pressure and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in older adults: a randomized controlled trial.” (Food & Function, June, 2018).
“Whole Red Grape Juice Reduces Blood Pressure at Rest and Increases Post-exercise Hypotension.” (Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Sep-Oct, 2017).
What if you don’t have success with one of these nondrug approaches? Doctors have an extensive range of pills they can prescribe to help you control hypertension. Each one has some side effects, but doctors and patients working together can usually find the right medication or combination of medicines.
We discuss the various types of antihypertensive drugs along with many effective nondrug therapies in our eGuide to Blood Pressure Solutions. You will find it in the Health eGuide section.
