How to Naturally Manage High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure, otherwise known as hypertension, is often called the silent killer. Blood Pressure UK estimates as many as one-third of the UK population has elevated blood pressure. Unfortunately, because the condition doesn’t necessarily produce overt symptoms, many people – up to five million - are walking around unaware their readings are too high.

In this blog we’ll first look at some reasons behind these alarming figures. Next, we’ll empower you towards lifestyle and dietary habits to help keep your blood pressure within a healthy range.

What is Meant by Blood Pressure?

Blood pressure measures the force of blood against your artery walls as it’s pumped around your body by your heart. It’s expressed by two numbers. The first number relates to the systolic pressure, the level of pressure reached when your heart beats. The second reading is the diastolic pressure, meaning the lowest pressure your blood reaches as your heart relaxes between beats.

Systolic blood pressure increases when your heart beats faster or works harder than usual. However, it should reduce back down to a lower level when its workload decreases. In hypertension, both or either one of the readings may be consistently elevated.

What is a Healthy Blood Pressure?

A healthy blood pressure reading is between 90/60mm/Hg (millimetres of mercury) and 120/80 mmHg. You are considered to have high blood pressure if your readings are consistently above 135/85mm/Hg if you’re taking your readings at home. Alternatively, it’s 140/90mmHg if you’re having your readings checked in a healthcare setting.

Why is Blood Pressure So Important?

If the pressure within your arteries increases, this puts strain on them as well as your heart. In turn this can lead to stroke, heart disease, or kidney disease. High blood pressure is also connected with vascular dementia, caused by a lack of blood supply to the brain, and problems with vision, as it can harm the tiny blood vessels in the eyes.

Why Does Blood Pressure Rise?

If the diameter inside your blood vessels reduces, blood pressure will rise as there’s simply less room for your blood. One cause of this can be atherosclerotic plaques. These are fatty deposits on the inside of arteries containing fat, cholesterol, and calcium. These deposits are more likely to build up if the interior lining of the artery is damaged.
On the other hand, if the muscles encircling the blood vessels are overly contracted, the diameter of the arteries will decrease, too.
Stress naturally raises blood pressure as part of the fight/flight response, to enable you to deal with a stressor. This is fine if stress is short-term, but poses problems if it’s ongoing.
Nitric oxide is a type of signalling molecule causing blood vessels to dilate and supporting circulation. Healthy oral bacteria play a role in producing nitric oxide from dietary nitrates. Low levels of nitric oxide are linked with hypertension (1).
Obesity and sedentary behaviour are strongly associated with increased blood pressure. The connection is especially marked if you have visceral fat. This is the type of fat sitting around your belly and internal organs.
Excess salt and too little potassium in the diet can lead to high blood pressure. One reason it does this is because of a tendency for blood to retain excess water, increasing its volume.
Alcohol and smoking are associated with hypertension.
Many people find their blood pressure increases with age. This is because blood vessels tend to lose their elasticity as you get older.

Control Your Blood Pressure Naturally

The factors leading to high blood pressure can often be controlled. This is good news because it means you have more influence over your blood pressure than you might imagine.

The DASH diet, standing for dietary approaches to stop hypertension, has been found in research to successfully reduce blood pressure (2). It emphasises limiting processed foods and sugar, while enjoying fruits, vegetables, and healthy proteins like fish, poultry, nuts and legumes. This type of eating will naturally reduce your salt intake and provide plenty of antioxidants and essential fats to keep the inside of your artery walls healthy and smooth, reducing the likelihood of plaque formation.
The muscles in your artery walls need magnesium in order to relax. Magnesium deficiency is extremely common. Foods rich in magnesium include nuts and seeds, whole grains, and leafy greens.
Stress management techniques like breathwork, meditation and yoga can help dial down your stress. We have a range of Somatic and Mind/Body therapies to draw on to help reshape your body’s response to stress.
Movement is key. If you have a desk-based job, set a timer to get up every half hour and stretch.
Beetroot juice contains good levels of nitrates. So do spinach, cabbage, broccoli, and celery.
Caffeine can spike blood pressure in some people. Caffeine is not only contained in coffee, but present in cola, energy drinks, and tea, too.
Look after your oral health. Encourage a balanced oral microbiome by brushing and flossing religiously, avoiding antibacterial mouthwashes, and opting for toothpaste based on natural ingredients. If your oral bacteria are out of balance, they may not be able to produce sufficient nitric oxide.
Keeping a regular track of your blood pressure can be incredibly useful to educate yourself about the circumstances prompting it to rise. Home blood pressure monitors are useful, but always take readings when you’re seated and relaxed. Nowadays, some wearables track your blood pressure in real time.

Personalised Support for Healthy Blood Pressure

Your health is unique to you, so the above can only be general guidelines for controlling hypertension. If you choose The Forbes Clinic for your health journey, we will dig deep to find the root causes of your health issues.

A great start is an Integrative Health Assessment, designed to provide you with a comprehensive plan to optimise your health and wellbeing. Depending on your circumstances, we may recommend further therapies or functional tests to enhance your health journey. A great start could be a Multivitamin Test, available with or without results interpretation by one of our practitioners. This can reveal whether you are lacking in any artery-friendly nutrients, like magnesium, vitamin B12 or vitamin D.

Start your journey towards managed blood pressure and optimal whole-body health by booking a Discovery Call today.