Controlling Blood Pressure - The Natural Way
*Dr. Sudhindra Kr. Sharma

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.

1. 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.



2. 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.



3. 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.



4. 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.

   
   
5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.



8. 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.



9. 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.

   
   

   The good news about hypertension that: it is a controllable condition. Even you can lower down your blood pressure without medications also. Improving lifestyle is of great help. Weight reduction through intelligent dietary planning & exercising regularly produces great results.

This article in nutshell:

• Be regular at Sleeping & Eating habits & Exercising are important for controlling it.
• Reduce stress & anxiety. Stay relaxed, be calm & don't panic.
• Sleep sufficiently on a proper time for complete relaxation.
• Exercise regularly. Brisk walking is simple & produces great results.
• Control cholesterol by reducing high calorie diet, fried food & butter intake.
• Eating more fiber is useful so divert towards whole grains & green vegetables.
• Shed some weight as it will help to reduce the blood pressure automatically.
• Reducing intake of saturated fats can also drive the blood pressure down.