8 natural ways you can reduce high blood pressure

Are you concerned about high blood pressure?

Hypertension, also called high blood pressure (HBP), is the third largest risk factor for all disease in the UK. It is estimated that one in every three adults in the UK has high blood pressure. Hypertension causes most problems when left untreated, but worryingly, 50% of people here with HBP are not even diagnosed let alone receiving treatment.¹ Taking action to lower your blood pressure will reduce your risk of heart attacks, strokes, and many other health problems.

But there is good news! If you want to reduce your high blood pressure naturally, you can do this fairly easily with a combination of dietary considerations and lifestyle changes.

1. Reduce salt intake

Too much salt increases blood pressure and raises the risk of stroke and heart disease. Keep your salt intake below 6g per day (approx. 1 TSP).²

Most salt doesn’t come from your salt shaker – it’s hidden in everyday foods like bread, cereals and ready meals. Compare the nutrition labels on your foods and opt for the lower salt options. By checking labels on common household foods such as ketchup, cereals, or pasta sauces you can substantially reduce your salt intake. Challenge yourself to check two foods each week during your shopping, and swap for the option with lower salt content.

As a guideline, low salt is considered less than 0.3g salt (or 0.1g sodium) per 100g, and more than 1.5g salt (or 0.6g sodium) per 100g is a lot.

8 natural ways you can reduce high blood pressure | Chuckling Goat

Get out of the habit of automatically adding salt to your meals – taste them first!

2. Get active!

Exercise is one of the most powerful natural interventions for blood pressure. Regular activity can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by up to 30%, according to the NHS.³ The World Health Organisation recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week for good health, along with two sessions of strength training.⁴ The best kind of exercise is the kind that you will actually do! Any kind of exercise that gets your heart pumping has huge benefits for your health.

3. Reduce alcohol consumption

Excess alcohol over time or high levels of alcohol on one occasion can cause damage to the heart. This can lead to high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, stretching of the heart muscle, and elevated risk of stroke. High blood pressure is the most common, and preventable problem related to alcohol.⁵ Reduce your alcohol intake with the following tips:

Keeping track of your alcohol consumption in a drinks diary can help keep you accountable and highlight any excess levels of alcohol.
Include alcohol-free days each week.
Be mindful of “hidden” extra drinks on weekends.

4. Eat a blood-pressure friendly diet

Maintain a low-fat, balanced, gut-healthy diet, including lots of fresh plant foods – think vegetables, fruit, wholegrains, nuts and seeds, legumes, and pulses. Unfortunately, most adults in the UK consume excessive calories through food and drinks, too much saturated fat, salt, and sugar, and insufficient fibre, fruits, vegetables, and/or oily fish.⁶ Focus on:

Eating a wide variety of different foods, aiming for a minimum of 30 different plant foods each week.
The World Health Organisation recommends 30 g of fibre per day, but the average UK adult is eating less than half of this. Good sources of fibre include oats, pulses, lentils, chickpeas, quinoa, peas, and Complete Prebiotic.
Introducing Kefir as part of your daily morning routine. Studies have shown that supplementing with a probiotic can significantly reduce blood pressure.

5. Maintain a healthy weight

Choosing whole foods, low saturated fat options, and avoiding processed foods will also aid in losing weight or maintaining a healthy weight, which is important for reducing high blood pressure. This is particularly important for overweight or obese individuals. As your body weight increases, so does your blood pressure. For people who are already overweight with high blood pressure, losing weight has the most significant effect.⁷ If you are trying to lose weight, focus on reducing calorie-dense ultra-processed foods and increase daily activity and movement.

6. Quit smoking

Smoking puts you at a much greater risk of stroke and heart attack.⁸ In the short term, smoking a cigarette will instantaneously increase your blood pressure. These repeated blood pressure spikes may cause damage to your artery walls. Smoking can also lead to a build-up of plaque inside your arteries, which can lead to stroke or heart attack if left untreated.⁹¹⁰

7. Manage stress

Manage your stress levels by getting sufficient sleep, asking for help when needed, and implementing relaxation techniques. Feeling stressed at times is normal, and will only raise your blood pressure in the short term. However, feelings of stress or ongoing stress tend to lead to blood pressure increasing behaviours – overeating, bad food choices, drinking alcohol, and reduced activity.¹¹ Chronic emotional stress may also contribute to hypertension.¹² Try to identify your personal stressors so that you can avoid triggers. Make time to relax each day with stress-relieving practices such as exercise, yoga, meditation, deep breathing, and spending time in nature.

8. Monitor caffeine intake

Consider limiting caffeine if you drink a lot of it. Drinking 4+ coffees a day may increase your blood pressure. If you’re trying to reduce or prevent hypertension, consider cutting down on coffee, tea, and caffeine-containing energy drinks.¹³ However, this is not at the top of the priority list of lifestyle changes, as research suggests that coffee only causes a short-term raise in blood pressure (up to 3 hours). This occurs in non-regular coffee drinkers; in frequent coffee consumers, this effect is actually diminished.¹⁴ More research is needed to confirm long-term health effects of drinking coffee – some studies even suggest the health benefits (e.g. strong antioxidant effect) outweigh the negative effects.¹⁵

Simple lifestyle changes are a great way to reduce your high blood pressure, or to increase your protection against developing high blood pressure. Get your blood pressure checked regularly, especially if you are over the age of 35. Hypertension causes most problems when left untreated! If you are working with this condition, we suggest that you check with your GP before implementing any new protocols.

For more information, check out Fix your high blood pressure, naturally!

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