It's Possible to Lower Blood Pressure By Eating the Right Foods

High blood pressure or hypertension is both dangerous and common. Blood needs to be pumped from your heart through your arteries for you to survive. But the narrower your arteries, the harder your heart has to pump to ensure the blood gets to where it needs to go, which raises your blood pressure. It can happen for a variety of reasons. Stress, being overweight, eating foods high in saturated fat, and living a sedentary life are all contributing factors to having high blood pressure. If left unchecked, hypertension can lead to heart disease, stroke, and problems with your kidneys.

You can have high blood pressure for years and not know it because you have no symptoms. Some symptoms include headaches, difficulty catching your breath, frequent nosebleeds, and dizziness, although these symptoms may not show up until your blood pressure is dangerously high.

If you have or have had high blood pressure, there are certain things that you can do. Along with exercise, certain foods can help lower your blood pressure.

1 - Watermelon

Watermelon is delicious and healthy and can help lower your blood pressure. It contains Citrulline, which helps your body produce more nitric acid. This gas helps your arteries to become more flexible, which means that it is easier for blood to flow through them. You can eat watermelon plain, warm or cold. You can add it to salads or smoothies. Some people like to sprinkle a little salt on watermelon to bring out the flavor. For blood pressure purposes, this is somewhat counter-intuitive.

2 - Dark Chocolate

If you need another excuse to eat chocolate, it can help lower your blood pressure. Research has shown chocolate with a high cocoa content may lower the blood pressure of hypertensive people. It can also help those who are prehypertensive. Make sure to pick dark chocolate that is high quality and has at least 70% cocoa in it. If you love dark chocolate, eat an ounce a day.

3 - Garlic

Garlic has many health benefits, and it tastes great. Garlic can help your body produce more nitric oxide, which can dilate your blood vessels and relax your muscles. Garlic can be added to just about any savory food and can be used instead of salt, which will lower your sodium intake and your blood pressure.

4 - Cinnamon

Cinnamon can help lower blood pressure, and you use it in almost anything. While this effect on your blood pressure is only short-term, it can also help with any sugar cravings you may have. Cinnamon can lower short-term systolic blood pressure. You can add it to oatmeal or sprinkle it on apples. You can also add it to your baked chicken or homemade chicken broths.

5 - Pomegranates

While annoying to eat, pomegranates can help lower your blood pressure. Keep in mind that this effect is only short-term. You can eat the fruit, but most people would choose to drink pomegranate juice. If you want to drink the juice, drinking a cup a day for at least 28 days will help lower your high blood pressure, but make sure it doesn’t have added sugar.

6 - Natural Yogurt

Natural yogurt may lower blood pressure in women. Research has shown that women who eat more than four servings of yogurt a week for a long time have a lower risk of developing high blood pressure than women who don’t. Natural yogurts are not sweetened and have more health benefits than other yogurts. Greek yogurt is a natural unsweetened yogurt that is thick and creamy and usually eaten with fruit and nuts.