by Dr. William Epperly of Forum Health Bloomingdale
Did you know that stress, eating inflammatory foods, and being dehydrated can all affect your blood pressure? Luckily functional and integrative medicine have powerful tools and recommendations to help with regulating blood pressure. Read on to find some of our favorite ways of helping our clients maintain healthy blood pressure naturally!
- Drink more water, 6-8 glasses per day minimum
- Eat 1-2 bananas per day
- Greatly decrease “animal” intake – dairy, eggs, and meat
- Increase fruits, vegetables, and whole grains if you tolerate them well
- Decrease sugar, white flour, and saturated fat
- Eliminate hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats
- Consume 2 TB flax seeds daily
- Exercise 30 minutes – 1 hour each day – move your body!
- Consume fresh, raw garlic 1-3 cloves/ day
- Consume cayenne pepper 3-4 times daily in small amounts
- Consume magnesium-rich foods like leafy greens, sesame seeds, coconut meat, brown rice, almonds, avocados, apricots, honey, pumpkins, sprouted nuts and seeds
- Consume 4 stalks of fresh celery daily, raw or juiced
- Destress with herbs such as lobelia, valerian, or hops
- Enjoy stress-relieving activities or hobbies such as yoga, walking, spending time in nature, creating art, etc.
- Enjoy serene and calming music
- Avoid caffeine
- Have massages or bodywork
- Play, have fun, and laugh for at least 10 minutes per day
- Begin a meditation practice
- Drink this daily tonic each morning: 8 oz water, 1 lemon or lime juiced, pinch of cayenne, honey or maple syrup to taste
- Do a bowel cleanse 2-4 times/ year
- Take hibiscus extract
- Focus on states of joy, peace, forgiveness, and love