High blood pressure is a chronic health condition that could lead to heart disease and stroke.
Although taking medications can help lower blood pressure, drugs often cause side-effects.
In a recent study from Andrews University, researchers find that a healthy lifestyle can effectively lower blood pressure in just 14 days.
The research team created a program that aims at helping people improving their daily habits to lower blood pressure.
Such habits include dieting and exercising in daily life. The study recruited 117 people with high blood pressure.
All people in the program follow a vegan diet, which included legumes, whole grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, olives, avocados, soymilk, almond milk and whole-grain breads.
In addition, the people walked outside daily, drank substantial quantities of water, got adequate daily sleep and participated in optional spiritual activities.
After 14 days, the researchers found that half of the participants achieved a systolic blood pressure below the recommended 120 mmHg.
The average of their blood pressure decrease was 19 points. The reduction accomplished by the program was similar to the amount achieved by standard drugs for blood pressure.
In addition, 93% of the people were able to either reduce the dose or stop their blood pressure drugs.
The research team suggest that healthy lifestyle habits are very important for maintaining a normal blood pressure levels.
Healthy lifestyle habits can benefit all type of people with blood pressure, such as people with type 2 diabetes and people with high cholesterol levels.
The fining is in line with another recent study that shows DASH diet combining with low-sodium diet can help lower blood pressure as well as or even better than many anti-hypertension drugs.
The study involving 400 people with high blood pressure shows that the combination of a low-salt diet with DASH can help lower systolic blood pressure.
DASH diet focuses on fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy foods, and includes whole grains, poultry, fish, lean meats, beans, and nuts.
It is rich in potassium, calcium, and magnesium, as well as protein and fiber. And it reduce the foods like high fat red meat, sweets, and sugary drinks.
Researchers suggest that DASH should be the first option for people who need to control their high blood pressure.
Besides a healthy diet and regular exercise, other good habits like protecting gum health can also help lower blood pressure.
A Chinese study compared blood pressure levels after standard and intensive treatment for gum disease.
The research team found that one month after gum disease treatment, blood pressure was nearly 3 points lower in those receiving intensive treatment.
The blood pressure reduction increased to 8 points lower after three months and 13 points lower after 6 months.
This finding suggests that to control your blood pressure, you should take care of your gum health.
Copyright © 2018 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
