How to help lower your blood pressure

Blood pressure is important to us all, as it allows us to gain an insight into how our bodies are functioning on the inside. If you suffer from high blood pressure, what can you do to lower it? The following tips have been put together to help those with high blood pressure:

Include fruit and vegetables in your diet
Given that you have high blood pressure, you should consider including more fruit and vegetables in your diet as they help lower your blood pressure. It’s recommended that adults should eat a minimum of five portions of fruit and vegetables each day. A portion is classed as 80 grams or roughly the size of your fist.

You should try eating a range of different fruits and vegetables as this will be more fun to experiment with the food you’re eating. Consuming dried, frozen and tinned fruit and veg is fine, though keep an eye out for any added salt, sugar or fats

Stick to a healthy weight
Losing weight is said to help lower your blood pressure, reducing your risk of health problems both currently and in the future. Only lose weight if it’s recommended that you need to, as you can do so by choosing lower fat and lower calorie foods and increasing your levels of physical activity.

Don’t expect changes to happen straight away. The major thing to have in weight loss is perseverance, so set realistic goals for yourself to beat.

Be more active
Being active for more than 30 minutes, five times a week, is the way to keep your heart in a healthy form, which in turn will lower your blood pressure. Many people say that they can’t find the 30 minutes in their day, but increasing your activity by even a small amount will help massively towards lowering your blood pressure.

Think of ways you can start to be more active in your day to day life. For example, doing the housework will help to burn calories just from the sheer movement.

Consume lower amounts of salt
High consumption of salt is highly linked to a rise in blood pressure, so it’s important to intake as little amount as possible. Some people with high blood pressure can avoid some medication by cutting down on their salt intake.

Most of the salt consumed in food isn’t from how it’s made by yourself, but how it has been prepared and used in foods like cereals, ready meals and bread.

Intake less alcohol
Drinking too much alcohol will eventually lead to a rise in the blood pressure of those consuming it. The recommended limits are 21 units a week for men and 14 a week for women, so be sure to not actively go over the limits above through cutting down on alcohol consumption. A unit is classed as half a pint of beer or a small glass of wine.