Author: Dr. Vikram Chauhan

Abstract

Hypertension is also known as high blood pressure, is a condition in which pressure inside blood vessels is persistently increased. It can lead to various complications if left untreated. Hypertension or high blood pressure is a common condition nowadays and has affected a major part of the population irrespective of gender, age, cultural, social or economical boundaries. It doesn’t matter what medications the doctor recommends, there is a strict need to control your lifestyle and diet if you want  effective management of this condition.

Understanding Hypertension

Hypertension or high blood pressure has been included in the list of major causes of premature deaths worldwide. As we all know that blood pressure is the amount of force exerted by blood circulating against the walls of arteries. So, high blood pressure or hypertension can be referred to the condition when blood pressure is too high. This condition is usually determined by systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings. If a person has hypertension then the systolic blood pressure readings will be  less than or equal to 140mm Hg while diastolic blood pressure will be less than and equal to 90mm Hg.

What Are The Signs and Symptoms of Hypertension

Hypertension or high blood pressure rarely have noticeable symptoms and many individuals won’t experience any symptoms.

Some of the Symptoms of Severe Hypertension Include

• Severe headache
• Breathlessness
• Bleeding from nose
• Dizziness
• Chest pain
• Blood in urine

These are some of the symptoms which require instant medical help. This is why regular blood pressure check ups are important.

What Are The Possible Causes of Hypertension?

Generally There are Types of Hypertension with Different Causes

1 Primary Hypertension

Primary Hypertension which is also known as Essential Hypertension onsets due to combination of factors

Genes – Some mutation in genes or abnormalities can make an individual predisposition to hypertension

Physical changes – It is believed that imbalances in salts and fluid in the body which is caused due to abnormal functioning of the kidney contributes to hypertension.

Environmental factors– Unhealthy lifestyle and poor diet is one of the major reasons for hypertension.

2 Secondary Hypertension

The conditions which triggers the secondary Hypertension includes some factors

• Severe kidney disorder
• Sleep apnea
• Cardio – vascular ailments
• Thyroid problems
• Mediation
• Drugs
• Alcohol abuse
• Abnormal adrenal functions
• Endocrine tumours

Prevalence of Hypertension

According to various studies, WHO African regions are known to have the highest prevalence of Hypertension and around 27% of the total population is affected by this. On the other hand, around 18% of the population in America have this problem.

How Can The Burden of Hypertension Can be Managed

Reducing hypertension will naturally present the risk of various disorders like Cardiac attack, Kidney damage and stocks. This might seem difficult but Hypertension can be naturally managed by reducing mental stress, adapting healthy dietary patterns and avoiding sedentary lifestyle.

Let’s Dig into this Natural Management!!

How Can We Manage The Symptoms of Hypertension with Diet?

Here, we are briefing about some Do’s and Don’t in diet and thus will severely manage hypertension naturally-

• Avoid bakery products like biscuits, crackers and white bread.
• Limit intake of noodles, pasta and Macaroni in your diet.
• Include oats, whole wheat flour, porridge, rice flakes, puffed rice and whole grain bread.
• You must include fresh fruits in your daily routine like bananas, avocados, pomegranate, berries (blueberries, strawberries, cranberries and blackberries as they are rich sources of antioxidants)
• Citrus fruits (like oranges and Kiwi), watermelon, muskmelon, figs, papaya, grapefruit, pears, etc. should be eaten for relieving hypertension.
• All frozen pulses, canned and packaged food items (fruits and vegetables) should be avoided.
• Fresh vegetables are must to be added in your diet includes dark green leafy green vegetables, spinach and kale, onion, broccoli, beans, lemon, bottle gourd, round gourd, cauliflower, tomato and potatoes.
• Non-vegetarian food items like fish, crab, lobster, turkey, egg yolk, sausages, bacon, goose, smoked and canned meat, red meat, etc. should be strictly prohibited.
• You can eat egg whites, roasted and grilled meat, fishes (salmon, tuna, machevel) and skinless chicken (limited).
• Dairy products like whole milk and cream, cocoa butter, condensed milk and low- fat cheese.
• Spices like fennel, turmeric, cumin, black pepper, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, rock salt (limited) can be taken in adequate amounts but avoid red chilli and table salt.
• Dry fruits including walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds and sunflower seeds can be consumed but cashew nuts, pistachios, peanuts and resins needs to be cut off for a while.
• Making small changes in our diet is a well proven way to help high blood pressure. It is interesting to note that DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet can effectively lower blood pressure.
• This diet possesses all important nutrients and fiber and includes food items having higher content of potassium, calcium, magnesium and low sodium content. According to this diet, a person with hypertension is allowed to take sodium to not more than 2,300 mg/day and they are recommended to reduce consumption of saturated fats. They can also use olive and canola oil in cooking modest amounts of proteins and can consume skinless poultry and soy products for this.

Lifestyle Changes for Better Management of Hypertension

No doubt lifestyle plays an very important role in onset of any ailment. But you can successfully manage blood pressure with a healthy lifestyle too without medication. So, here are some ways by which you can manage healthy ways –

1 Keep a Peek on Your Wrist Line

Being overweight or obesity can be a major reason for your ailments and moreover, blood pressure with increasing weight as well as leads to disrupted breathing while sleeping (sleep apnea). In general, men’s have a waist greater than 40 inches and women’s have a waist measurement greater than 35 inches.

2 Regular Exercise

Exercising on a daily basis or 150 minutes a week can really bring your elevated blood pressure to safer levels. Walking, cycling, jogging and swimming or some aerobic exercise will manage healthy blood pressure levels.

3 Limit the Intake of Alcohol

Drinking more than an adequate amount of alcoholic beverages can literally raise your blood pressure effectively.

Cut Back Caffeine and Quit Smoking

Caffeine is hidden to raise blood pressure by 10 mm Hg in people who are habitual to it. So, try to cut off caffeine from your routine. Avoid smoking habits which can increase the risks of cardio-vascular diseases.

5 Reduce Stress levels

Chronic stress due to any personal or professional reasons can contribute to fluctuating blood pressure. So try to change your expectations, stop controlling everything, avoid stress triggering factors, relax, activities which you enjoy doing and practice gratitude.

6 Yoga and Meditation

Practicing yoga and meditation in daily life can calm and soothes your nerves effectively. This will naturally lower the stress levels, detoxify your body, improve circulation, maintain healthy body weight, reduce anxiety and depression. Then, yoga can be a helpful and healthful addition to a regime.

Conclusion

Hence, in a nutshell it can be said that high blood pressure can easily be detected and there are many natural ways to manage it properly. There are way more simpler techniques available than medicines. By changing our lifestyles and by adopting healthy diet habits we can prevent hypertension.