What Supplements Can Help Lower Blood Pressure: A Quick Guide
It is a long and ongoing debate of which is better, the brain or the heart. If you are an advocate of the superiority of the brain, then this might be painful to hear. Without the heart pumping proper blood flow to the brain, it will not function perfectly. Definitely, the cardiovascular system is the one that keeps our other organs “alive,” and this is precisely why a lot of people want to know what supplements lower blood pressure.
Having hypertension or the vulnerability to high blood pressure is common nowadays. Given that it can be hereditary, in this day and age, we are living in a world of pizza and burgers partnered with the sedentary life. Surely, our hearts take all that abuse. Good thing, modern medicine is really pushing the boundaries of treating such ailments, but at the same time, there are a lot of supplements available to us that also help hasten the process.
Now, the only question is, “Which ones?” In this article, we will determine what supplements lower blood pressure. We are also going to touch upon the process of blood pressure briefly, so you will be able to determine if you are one of those who are suffering from high blood pressure, or to at least know how to monitor it.
What is Blood Pressure?
Why do we really have to lower blood pressure? Is it not better to have a high one because it means that our blood can take antioxidants, hormones, cells, etc. to other parts of our body faster and more efficiently? No, it does not work that way.
When you talk about blood pressure, you are referring to two types of pressure. The first one is systolic which refers to the pressure of your blood while the heart is beating. The other one is diastolic which is the pressure of the blood when your heart is resting. These are actually the values that you see when your blood pressure is measured. The normal measure is 120/80 (120 for systolic, 80 for diastolic)
Needless to say, when these numbers spike, you are more likely suffering from high blood pressure. Now, why is having high blood pressure bad? It is because it puts too much stress on your heart. More often than not, this happens because of too much pressure on the blood vessels, which will then lead to the arterial wall to become distorted. The logic is simple; the red blood cells cannot pass freely through the passageways; therefore your heart works overtime to pump more blood to keep the stream flowing.
This case of overly stressing your heart may lead to some conditions like the following:
- Heart attack
- Strokes
- Diabetes
- Aneurysm
- Loss of vision
- Kidney malfunction
- Problems in cognitive function
Besides the hereditary component, there are also other common causes of high blood pressure, and these are:
- Stress
- Alcohol
- Smoking
- Too much caffeine
- Consuming too much fat
- Not exercising
- Eating salty food
What Supplements Lower Blood Pressure: The Top Five
There are a lot of ways to fight high blood pressure, and of course, it has to deal with proper diet and exercise. However, you can also boost the effects of your newfound healthy lifestyle with the use of dietary supplements. With that said, we have listed some of the most important supplements.
This is probably the most popular supplement in this list. Your doctor might have prescribed you this supplement already. But what is so special about this one is that it is a very powerful antioxidant and it helps with the production of cellular energy. Further, studies have proven that it can lower the blood pressure naturally.
This contains the healthy fatty acids that your body needs to consume in a day. It is made up of fatty acids from fish, krill, and squid. Since you will not be able to eat those food items regularly, the answer lies in this supplement.
- Nattokinase
This supplement is different in a sense that it is derived from Japanese food. It is actually an enzyme that helps not only the cardiovascular system but also the circulatory system. It has been used for so long to help manage heart diseases, strokes, chest pains, etc.
- Magnesium
This is a mineral that helps regulate blood pressure because it can have an effect on glycolysis, production of energy, and oxidative phosphorylation. Now, those are some scientific words, but all you have to know is that these processes happen in the bloodstream. Hence, magnesium helps the blood to do all these processes, so as not to disrupt any blood vessels.
- Grape Seed
This is known to target the places where your blood will flow. As we have discussed earlier, high blood pressure happens because of inflammation or distortion of the arterial wall. Taking a supplement that has grape seed as an added ingredient can help prevent that from happening, so it is tackling the root of the problem. Grape seed can both relax the muscle tissues and help regulate the blood vessels.
Summary
There are still a lot of supplements that will help lower blood pressure; however, the ones we listed above are the most popular ones and the blood pressure supplements that will most likely be suggested by your doctor. With that in mind, do consult your doctor first before taking any supplements, just to be on the safe side.
If you are someone who had lived your life in fear due to being vulnerable to high blood pressure, you should start breaking that stigma because it is easier to battle this disease at this time. All you need to do is to do your part of the work. Drink your medicine, eat right, exercise, and as a bonus, take a supplement that fits your needs. Nevertheless, the supplements that we listed down should never be taken as shortcuts to regulate your blood pressure because it might do more harm than good.
Lastly, beyond these tips and lifestyle change, do make time for yourself. A huge factor of having high blood pressure is stress. With that knowledge, you know that you already have the weapons against stress since you have control over it. Give yourself a “peace and quiet time.” It really does not need to be extravagant as relaxing in a spa, but it can be as simple as giving yourself at least 30 minutes to just lay around in bed and meditate.
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