So you don’t want to use medication to solve your high blood pressure problems. As long as your doctor agrees, you can try to follow an alternative course of action – a natural cure for hypertension.

You will have already heard and hopefully be following the usual advice. You will have started the new diet, eating healthier low fat, low salt foods. You will have started on the new exercise program. But have you considered changing how you breathe?

We all breathe – we do it subconsciously and most people have never learnt how to breathe. But like everything else, there is a right way and a wrong way to breathe. Breathing correctly for a few minutes every day can help to reduce your blood pressure. Obviously for people with hypertension, deep breathing on its own isn’t going to work but combined with your new exercise and diet regime it should help.

Most people breathe rapidly and this can lead to an increase in blood pressure. When you are stressed, you take rapid, shallow breaths. When you are relaxed, the opposite happens when we breathe more slowly and deeply. In order to relax, try breathing in through your nose with one hand on your tummy and the other on your chest. The hand on your tummy will move out whilst the hand on your chest should stay still. Keep breathing through your nose gently and calmly and feel all of the days stress and tensions drain away. Try and practice this exercise on a regular basis.

Doctors aren’t too sure why deep breathing regulates and lowers your blood pressure but they are sure that it works more often than not. So why not try it? What have you got to lose apart from a few points on the blood pressure monitor which is almost always a good thing.

You can train yourself to slow down your breathing or you can utilize a device which is currently only available online. This is a little machine about the size of a paperback, looks like a walkman and is battery operated. It has been designed to analyse your breathing rate and pattern. Can you achieve results without this device – of course. RESPeRate only makes life a little easier as it reminds you to do the breathing exercises and helps makes sure that you are doing them correctly. So if you can afford the $300 price tag then go to www.high-blood-pressure-help.com to read more. The device has been given approval by the Food and Drug Administration and there are certainly glowing recommendations on the website.

Deep breathing is not a substitute for medication, diet or exercise but another addition to your new wellbeing program. Assuming you aren’t inhaling petrol fumes or other pollutants, there are no adverse side effects and it is free. Sometimes we forget that it is the simple things in life which are often the best. More exercise, more home cooked food, more fruit and vegetables and now more deep breathing are the secrets to a long and happy life. That is how you lower your high blood pressure without medication.

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You may be reading this article because by now you are probably aware that hypertension or high blood pressure can cause major problems to your health. And you are right. But it is also true that high blood pressure can be controlled if you take the right steps, one of them being an adequate diet. That's why people with hypertension need to be aware of what foods would be of benefit and which ones could be damaging to this condition. Let us look at the steps you can take.

If you have hypertension
If this is your case, don't get discourage thinking that a healthy diet means eating "boring" menus; nothing of that sort. What it means is that you may need to make small changes in your menus and follow certain simple guidelines such as the ones listed below:

Lower salt in your meals a little more
Reducing the sodium (salt) in your diet causes high blood pressure to go down. Avoid salty and smoked foods, cold cuts and hard cheeses. To season meals, replace salt with aromatic herbs, lemon or vinegar.

Foods rich in potassium
This mineral helps achieve an internal equilibrium with sodium. You find it in fruits and vegetables. Try to include a salad at lunch time. I, personally, like steamed vegetables such as spinach, green peas or green beans sauté with olive oil and a couple of garlic cloves; any of these vegetables would make a healthy and tasty side dish. At night, try to include either a vegetable soup or a vegetable pure as a first dish.

Reduce saturated fat
Fats from animal origin (cold cuts, meats and eggs) raise blood pressure while Omega-3 fats (fish) and oleic acid (olive oil) lower it. Try to include about 2 or 3 times a week fatty fish for lunch or dinner. As for breakfast, you can have a toast of whole grain bread, low in sodium, with extra virgin olive oil. Olive oil would help you not only to maintain the right level of blood pressure but would also protect your arteries.

Avoid alcohol excess
If you drink alcohol, do it in moderation: a small glass of red wine a day with meals. Studies have shown that an excess in alcohol consumption accounts for 7% of the hypertension cases.

Limit coffee intake
Limit beverages that contain caffeine such as coffee, tea, cokes, etc. because they trigger high blood pressure. My favorite beverage is water; you cannot go wrong with it.

More calcium and magnesium
Research has shown that low doses of calcium and magnesium, especially during menopause, raise the level of blood pressure. How can you include these two minerals in your diet? Increase your intake of dark green vegetables such as spinach, lettuce, kale, etc. You can find a large variety of dark green vegetables at the market ready to be included in your salad with very little work on your part.

Vitamin D
According to the University of Harvard, women who ingest daily calcium and vitamin D have less risk to develop hypertension. My favorite way to increase vitamin D in my body has always being walking in the sun at least 20 minutes a day, most days of the week. If you work, you may take 15 or 20 minutes after lunch in sunny days and go out for a walk. It would do wonders for you: it would help you lower hypertension, prevent osteoporosis, and, I guarantee you, would get you in a good mood.

Control your stress
Situations that cause you anxiety and stress can raise your blood pressure. Stress triggers certain hormones that in turn, they cause the level of blood pressure to go up. You may want to try meditation; it works wonders to lower hypertension.

Do not smoke
A study of the Harvard Medical School has shown that women who smoke two packs of cigarettes a day have a 21% more risk of developing hypertension. Remember that hypertension is the major risk for strokes and heart attacks.

Avoid being overweight
Overweight triggers hypertension. If you have some extra pounds, don't just go on a temporary diet. The best way to keep an adequate weight is to learn how to eat healthy and keep the good habits for the rest of your life.

Walk
Try to walk at least a minimum of 30 minutes a day, 4 or 5 days a week. It would help lower your hypertension. Walking several days a week helps also lower the level of LDL, the bad cholesterol, and increase HDL, the good one.

Conclusion
As you can see, making a few changes is not as bad as it sounds because. A few changes in your diet will pay back handsomely by keeping your hypertension or high blood pressure under control which in turn can save you a lot of grief, mental and physical, in the future.

Have a great and healthy day.

Emilia Klapp, BS, RD.

About the Author: With her new book, "Your Heart Needs the Mediterranean Diet", Emilia Klapp has helped thousands of people just like you reduce the risk of heart disease, lose weight and enjoy a more abundant life at the same time. For more information on the book and to receive a FREE especial report on the "Top 10 Mediterranean Curative Ingredients" go to: http://www.mediterraneanheart.com

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