How I lowered my blood pressure the natural way

[Khun Don]

How I lowered my blood pressure the natural way

January 27, 2016
By Richard Barrow

If you have followed my blog posts for a while, you would know that some of my main interests include tech news and healthy living. So, when there is a chance to combine the two, I jump at it. For several years now I have been interested in my health. It started with juicing and making sure that I have the daily allowances of fruit and vegetables. It then went on to include a more active lifestyle with the help of my UP3 fitness tracker (see blog here). I know I have been feeling a lot healthier, but it would be nice if I could take tests at home for things like high blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes. I very rarely go to the hospital and so I dont know my blood pressure. And, on the rare occasions that I had it taken, I didn’t really know what it meant. I did know that members of my family suffered from a high blood pressure, and that there are not always any symptoms. So, being able to test at home would be ideal.

I was in the UK over the new year holiday and one of the gifts I got for Christmas was a Withings Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor. The price was about 3,300 Baht which is a little on the expensive side, but I had long since made the decision that when it comes to health, money shouldn’t be a consideration. It is true that you can get a similar, though low-tech, device from drugs stores in Thailand for around 2,000 Baht. But, as I already mentioned, I like gadgets and this one links to the Withings app that I already had on my smartphone for tracking my weight. It is also very easy to use. Just strap it on to your forearm, press the power button and the app will then automatically turn on. You then just press start. When it finishes, you get three readings which are stored on your smartphone.

The first two readings are for systolic and diastolic pressures. In the above example, my blood pressure is written as 109/71. The third reading is for my heart rate. The top number refers to the amount of pressure in your arteries when your heart beats. The bottom number refers to your blood pressure when your heart muscle is between beats. The app colour codes your results so that you can better understand it. Anything less than 120/80 is considered to be “optimal blood pressure”. Less than 130/85 is “normal blood pressure”. Once your readings go over these numbers than the colours change to orange and then to red. While I was in the UK, I was taking my blood pressure every day. The average was about 128/75 which is still a good reading. But, since I returned to Thailand, I am back into my routine of eating healthily and taking exercise. I truly believe this has helped lower my blood pressure to 109/71 which was today’s reading. I think that once I have taken off the weight I gained over the new year, I will probably average about 100/70.

So, what did I do to lower my blood pressure without taking any medicine? The first thing I did was regular exercise. Using my UP3 fitness tracker, I set a daily goal of 10,000 steps. The good thing about a wearable like UP and Fitbit is that you can set up challenges against other people to see who can walk the most during the week. To lower your blood pressure, it is also helps to cut out stress from your life. I know, sometimes easier said than done. But, some people create a lot of problems for themselves through bad decisions they make. I find that if I meditate before I sleep and also play some soft music I can get a better quality sleep. I use my UP3 tracker to see how much deep sleep I get each night. I’ve learned from experience that what I do and eat during the day affects the amount of deep sleep I can get. So, I make changes accordingly. Finally, what you eat is very important. Fruit and vegetables rich in calcium, magnesium and potassium play an important part in lowering your blood pressure. For example, kale, spinach, beetroot, banana, broccoli, sweet potato, avocado, blueberries etc. I start the day with a smoothie that blends together vegetables and fruit rich in these nutrients. Obviously, this won’t work for everyone and you should always take the advice of your doctor first.

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The photo at the top of this page is from a Mashabe review of the blood pressure devices released by Withings and iHealth. It’s a bit of an old review as they’ve both been updated now and operate wirelessly using Bluetooth. I saw the iHealth in Bangkok for 3,790 Baht. You might be able to buy the Withings one in an iStore or iLive store. If there is anything here that you disagree with or you have something to add that will be helpful to others, then please post in the comments below. Please remember, none of this is scientific as I have no idea what I’m talking about. I just want to pass on my observations to my readers for free.

[khonrai]

hi

another thing you can do to lower blood pressure is no processed foods and sugar.
I never go to a docotor and have never needed to. Last year I had to go to doctor for health certificate for work permit. they said my blood pressure was too high I said check again your machine must be wrong LOL. the previous year I had been living in an apt with no Kitchen so all of my food was eaten out and much from 7/11 and was drinking lots of ice tea from 7/11 also

so moved to house with kitchen and stopped eating anything from 7/11 and drinking anything with sugar. I now make sun tea"no sugar" my blood pressure dropped 40 points in 1 month.
it was the same as my 29 year old female NES co teacher So either I had the blood pressure of a 29 year old or she had the blood pressure of a 64 year old LOL
last year I remember being tired and groggy all the time. this year I have much more energy and seem more focused and alive and happy. have to get another health certificate next month we'll see what my blood pressure is,

Diet exercise and mind set is what makes good health IMO

[Susana]

I've found that sugar increases my blood pressure also, so now I rarely have sugar. I do have a tiny amount of honey in my turmeric tea and a teaspoon in my oatmeal, but a small amount of raw honey has it's own benefits.

I don't eat processed foods either. I do take 25 mg lisinprill each morning at my doctor's insistence. It's more for my heart and blood vessels than anything.

[Khun Don]

Being type 2 diabetic I avoid processed meals one hundred percent as they are crammed with sugar, as well as using sugar or honey in any meals and drinks. Fructose from fruit seems to be OK as my bi-annual tests are good.

[h90]

On such gadgets it is important that from time to time you verify that they work exactly.
I would just drop in some clinic and ask them to measure + let me measure and compare the values.
From 2013 to 2014 I diet of more than 20 kg and now I do regular exercises.
It helps a lot...Never measure blood pressure but in the well being. I feel 10 years younger than I felt 2013.

[Richard Barrow]

another thing you can do to lower blood pressure is no processed foods and sugar

I have long since stopped eating processed food or adding sugar to coffee and food. Sugar takes time to quit, but it is possible. I hardly eat any street food these days as they like to add MSG and so much sugar. Most of my meals are home cooked.

The problem with high blood pressure is that there is usually no symptoms. So, even if you feel good, you might have a high blood pressure. If you then don't do anything about it, this might lead to heart problems in the future.

[h90]

I have long since stopped eating processed food or adding sugar to coffee and food. Sugar takes time to quit, but it is possible. I hardly eat any street food these days as they like to add MSG and so much sugar. Most of my meals are home cooked.

The problem with high blood pressure is that there is usually no symptoms. So, even if you feel good, you might have a high blood pressure. If you then don't do anything about it, this might lead to heart problems in the future.

I once stopped all carbohydrates, it needs just a couple of days till the body is getting used to it. But I got told it differs from person to person. For some it might be easier to stop all carbs and than step by step adding healthy ones again. But I guess it makes only sense if someone want to loose weight or has already a diabetics problem.