Improving Hypertension Control

Astonishing development of science & technology is happening in this universe & human beings are using this boon for creating new & new luxuries everyday. Being more & more luxuries is making us sick. Thus in other words, in spite of progress & prosperity we are acquiring more & more diseases in early age due to being sedentary & dissatisfied. If you look around yourself, today’s man is thirsty for peace of mind & inner satisfaction despite being in pool of all the unnecessary accessories & sophisticated comforts around us.

If frequent and unexplained headaches in morning or during the day, chest pain, blurring or changes in vision, light headedness, shortness of breath on little exertion are becoming regular features of your routine; time has come that without blaming tense working atmosphere, you should check your blood pressure.

What is high blood pressure & how you got it?

Blood pressure is the lateral pressure exerted by the blood on the walls of arteries while flowing in system. The ideal standard blood pressure reading is systolic- 120 & diastolic- 80. Systolic pressure higher than 140 is suppose to be harmful for our vital organs.

High blood pressure is not the condition we got overnight. As per Ayurvedic principles & philosophy, we acquire this after living an erratic lifestyle and following bad habits generally for over a period of 8-10 years. Researches of modern times have also proved that, living a sedentary lifestyle for a long time is the culprit for this condition & triggers it. Metabolic disorders, obesity, smoking, stress, intake of toxins, fast foods, are generally responsible for hypertension in modern society.

Some simple steps to regulate Blood pressure:

Ayurveda the ancient system of health care always advocates of following preventive & curative natural methods to maintain & achieve perfect health through positive lifestyle changes. Ayurveda advises to live in harmony with nature. Understanding the Ayurvedic philosophy & principles helps human being to listen to body needs to recognizing & balancing emotional & spiritual satisfaction level. Thus we can understand to how to balance body & mind which largely control the incidence of irregular blood circulation.

So just opting for shortcut in the form of medications which instantly lower the blood pressure will be sufficient & effective permanently. In other words we can take help of these modern medications but should not get addicted to these & should take help of simple lifestyle modifications to live healthy & happy life long. Always keep in mind & be assured that by improving to healthy life you can avoid stage of taking medication.

Reduce stress:

Anxiety & stress are the two factors which trigger the blood pressure instantly. Whenever in stress do try to eliminate or at least try to how to reduce. Meditation & deep breathing are the yoga practices which help to reduce the anxiety & stress both. Washing legs with normal or cold water & drinking a glass of cold water or short walk in garden helps in reducing stress to large extant. Talk to family members, friends & playing with kids in park relives tension, stress & anxiety altogether. Don’t live alone, idle or aloof.

Sleep sufficiently:

Sleep is very important for maintenance of health and longevity for the human beings. It is natural mechanism of overcoming wear and tear of the body due to physical work and mental stress and tissue loss. In Ayurveda it is called one of the “Upstambha” or sub pillars of achieving perfect health.

Some simple improvisations help to improve quality & quantity of sleep. A minimum of 6-8 hours sleep is required everyday to repair the wear and tear of the body & helps to control tension & irritation in general behavior. The bed room should be absolutely clean, well ventilated and away from noise & other disturbances. The bed must be neat, clean and free from bugs. The mind should be calm & absolutely free from worldly affairs, anxieties & worries while retiring to bed. This may be achieved by praying to God or listening to light music, talking to kids or wife at the time of going to bed. One should avoid sleep when the brain is excited or hyperactive due to reading novels, excessively thinking of business or troubles in life & drinking high amount of alcohol. Sleeping late at night always bad & induces restless sleep which leads to hypertension & ill health. Sleep during the day should be avoided as far as possible. However if one keeps awake at night can sleep during the day time. One should sleep with head to the east or north. It is advisable to gently massage the head, soles and palm before going to bed. By massage, excessive or bad dreams can also be controlled.

Exercise regularly:

There are many exercises through hi-tech instruments especially designed to deal with condition but walking is found to be the most convenient and quite effective for controlling & normalizing it. Start walking immediately and keep this habit for rest of the life. Do start walking gradually and start your pace after some months. Convert this habit after 3-4 months to brisk walking for at least 35 – 40 minutes everyday. Try to start jogging after 3 – 4 months of regular walking. This is the exercise which strengthens your heart muscles. Brisk walking at least five times a week imparts great results. It is proved that even low intensity exercises help attain lower blood pressure.

Control cholesterol:

Start consuming diluted milk, skimmed milk or cow’s milk. Keep away from cheese & curd of full cream milk. Eat foods which are low in calories and fat & thus fried food, meats, eggs, ice creams and butter should be avoided from now onwards.

Salt intake:

Recent researches have proved that excessive sodium intake is harmful for heart. Reduction of sodium content does not mean that your taking salt will be sufficient, as sodium is present in packed foods, bakery products, frozen foods, cold drinks and canned fruits. Always avoid direct salt. Avoid pickles as they have high quantities of salt and oil both of which are harmful for your heart. Ayurveda recommends intake of “Rock salt” & “Black salt” as they are low in sodium content & have other essential natural minerals beneficial for well being of human body.

Water intake:

Increase your liquid intake by improving water intake as it will help to drain sodium salts from body and will detoxify by draining other harmful elements simultaneously. Every body feels that he drinks enough quantity of water but let me tell very clearly that you should consume around two liters of water. So drink at least 10 – 12 glasses of water daily and gradually increase it to 16 – 18 glasses. In summers it needs some more water so increase to 20 glasses to support your heart function naturally without stress.

Dietary improvisations:

It is seen that people in semi urban or rural areas use wholesome wheat floor and do not remove bran from their floor before making “Chapaties” (Bread). Always keep in mind that you are reducing your fiber in take by removing bran from wheat floor. Same way brown bread should be preferred instead of regular bread which has no fiber. So always use whole grains. Add green leafy vegetables, fruits in place of meats. Always eat on time, never skip any meals. If not in a position to eat formal lunch or dinner, spare some time & do have some banana or apple or any fruit 200 gms. in quantity at that time. Eat light food at night.

Reduce your weight:

Blood pressure almost always increases as your waste line expands. Researches of modern times have proved that weight reduction automatically helps to reduce blood pressure. Reducing weight is not very difficult, but you have to be a bit strict in dietary habits & regular exercise. Dietary control & continuous exercise impart excellent results in terms of loosing weight.

Limit alcohol intake:

It is never good to consume large amount of alcohol. Harmless quantity of alcohol is very low in comparison of one’s craving for it & thus makes it harmful drink. Modern researches have proved that more than moderate consumption of alcohol increases blood pressure. Most harmful effect is that alcohol reduces the efficacy of blood pressure medication.

When you think of high blood pressure or hypertension you automatically associate it with older people however, children can suffer from this condition. This alarming situation can be linked to the rising rates of obesity among young people over the last 15 years. There is a correlation in the rise of obesity and an increase in children with high blood pressure.

Hypertension can be categorised in to two groups. The first group is primary hypertension and this describes the condition where the cause or source cannot be determined. This is the most common type of high blood pressure. The second group is secondary hypertension. This refers to high blood pressure being caused by different health complications. Young children with the primary form of hypertension usually acquire it due to a hereditary condition that can be linked to a history of hypertension in the family. The risk of acquiring this condition can be greatly increased if the young child is overweight or obese.

The BMI index which measures the proportion of fat in the body has been used in research studies that revealed children with hypertension have a high percentage of fat in relation to their body mass. Research has also revealed that approximately thirty percent of young children are overweight or obese.

Secondary high blood pressure is less prevalent in adults as it is in young children. If a child is overweight they should be checked for high blood pressure as further studies have determined that eighty percent of complications relating to the kidneys were found in young children with hypertension. Other health complications related to high blood pressure in young people are convulsions and other heart conditions.

If you are concerned that your child may have hypertension there are a number of symptoms to watch out for. For example, if there is a change in their eating habits, if they get moody or irritable and if they cry a lot for no apparent reason then check with your doctor. In older children symptoms could range from headaches, dizziness and sickness. The only way to be sure is to visit the doctor and ask to have their blood pressure measured.

Milder forms of hypertension can be treated by changing their diet, reducing their consumption of salt, processed foods and sweet snacks. This can be done in conjunction with giving them more exercise which should help to improve their condition.

High blood pressure is often a symptom of an imbalance in your body’s system which can be treated with a few changes in your lifestyle and by adding natural remedies to your daily routine.

The combined efforts of eating a healthy and balanced diet, exercising on a daily basis or a minimum of three times per week, reducing stress, keeping alcohol and caffeine use to a minimum, eating more bananas, spinach and other natural foods high in potassium, shown to relax the blood vessels and thus lowering blood pressure, is the first line of defense to control or eliminate this health issue.

Be aware that hypertension can damage your heart and also increases your chances for a stroke or heart attack. Many people do not realize that high blood pressure injures your blood vessels leading to your kidneys, causing several types of kidney disease. Vision problems are the result of the fragile blood vessels, which provide blood to your eyes, becoming damaged, causing vision problems.

The most imposing new studies are showing that forty and fifty year old men and women with high blood pressure are showing signs of dementia. This occurs because connections between brain cells are damaged leading to a loss of memory or the ability to think clearly or to concentrate.

The main focus in all of the above suggestions is to help your body stay healthy so the life giving blood can be easily circulated and feeding, not damaging, your veins. Nutrients and natural remedies to control high blood pressure and hypertension have been used with outstanding results, even to the point of helping maintain normal levels without the use of prescriptions. If you have tried everything you possibly can to improve your blood pressure and continue to worsen or have a family history, then most definitely you may need prescription medication. Not always, but some conditions are completely human induced by lifestyle, like diabetes or allergies which can many times be avoided or eliminated without prescriptions just by altering your diet.