Natural Home Remedies for High Blood Pressure

These common foods are probably already in your kitchen, and all can play a role as a home remedy to keep your blood pressure down.

Home Remedies from the Counter

Bananas. The banana has been proved to help reduce blood pressure. The average person needs three to four servings of potassium-rich fruits and vegetables each day. Some experts believe doubling this amount may benefit your blood pressure. If bananas aren't your favorite bunch of fruit, try dried apricots, raisins, currants, orange juice, spinach, boiled potatoes with skin, baked sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, and winter squash.

Home Remedies from the Cupboard

Breads. Be good to your blood with a bit more "B," as in the B vitamin folate. Swimming around the blood is a substance called homocysteine, which at high levels is thought to reduce the stretching ability of the arteries. If the arteries are stiff as a board, the heart pumps extra hard to move the blood around. Folate helps reduce the levels of homocysteine, in turn helping arteries become pliable. You'll find folate in fortified breads and cereals, asparagus, brussels sprouts, and beans.

Canola, mustard seed, or safflower oils. Switching to polyunsaturated oils can make a big difference in your blood pressure readings. Switching to them will also reduce your blood cholesterol level.

Home Remedies from the Refrigerator

Broccoli. This vegetable is high in fiber, and a high fiber diet is known to help reduce blood pressure. So indulge in this and other fruits and vegetables that are high in fiber.

Celery. Because it contains high levels of 3-N-butylphthalide, a phytochemical that helps lower blood pressure, celery is in a class by itself. This phytochemical is not found in most other vegetables. Celery may also reduce stress hormones that constrict blood vessels, so it may be most effective in those whose high blood pressure is the result of mental stress.

Milk. The calcium in milk does more than build strong bones; it plays a modest role in preventing high blood pressure. Be sure to drink skim milk or eat low fat yogurt. Leafy green vegetables also provide calcium.

Home Remedies from the Spice Rack

Cayenne Pepper. This fiery spice is a popular home treatment for mild high blood pressure. Cayenne pepper allows smooth blood flow by preventing platelets from clumping together and accumulating in the blood. Add some cayenne pepper to the salt-free seasonings listed in the Recipe Box below, or add a dash to a salad or in salt-free soups.

Home Remedies from the Supplement Shelf

Vitamin C. An antioxidant, vitamin C helps prevent free radicals from damaging artery walls, and it may help improve high blood pressure. Take a supplement or eat vitamin C-rich foods.

You should do everything you can at home to keep your blood pressure down. But in addition to these home remedies, be sure your doctor monitors your condition regularly.

Suggested Lifestyle Changes for High Blood Pressure Treatment

• Limit your caffeine intake. The caffeine in coffee, tea and sodas can contribute to high blood pressure.
• Limit alcohol intake. Blood pressure increases as your body metabolizes alcohol.
• Avoid processed foods. These are the biggest sources of sodium in today's diet.
• Maintain optimal weight. Even small amounts of weight loss can improve blood pressure.
• Relax. Meditation, yoga, breathing exercises and biofeedback are all relaxation techniques that can help lower blood pressure.
• Don't smoke. Smoking contributes to all cardiovascular diseases - and many other life-threatening conditions as well.
• Exercise. As little as 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day, like walking, can be one of the most effective  natural remedies for high blood pressure.
• Check your meds. Discuss your current medications and their risks of increasing blood pressure with your doctor.  

Nutrition and Supplements

The DASH diet, developed by researchers at the National Institutes of Health's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute is based on a large-scale research study that identified the foods that affect blood pressure (visit www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash/new_dash.pdf for more information). The most important parts of the DASH are generous amounts of fruits and vegetables and low-fat or fat-free dairy products that provide adequate calcium. The diet is also relatively low in fat and sodium. DASH researchers have shown that diets rich in potassium, calcium and magnesium, and low in sodium (2,400 mg or less), play an important role in high blood pressure treatment.  People with high blood pressure should incorporate the components of the DASH diet into their daily routine.

In addition, make sure you do the following to lower high blood pressure: 

• Eat 8 to 10 servings of fruit and vegetables per day.
• Choose low- or non-fat dairy foods, consuming two to three servings per day.
• Limit animal protein to 6 oz per day, emphasizing lean sources.
• Say no to salt. Those with salt sensitivity or a family history or hypertension may benefit from reducing salt to about one teaspoon a day (2,400 mg).
• Use garlic, which has a modest effect on lowering blood pressure and may help relax blood vessels.
• Consume 4 to 5 servings of nuts, seeds and dry beans per week (2 Tbsp nuts or seeds, or 1/2 cup cooked dried beans).
• Eat plenty of fish. Include at least three servings of fish a week, emphasizing cold-water fish like wild Alaskan salmon and sardines, which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Take fish-oil supplements if you cannot get enough omega-3-rich foods.
• Take calcium and magnesium. Inadequate intake of both of these minerals has been associated with high blood pressure. Women should get between 1,000 and 1,200 mg of calcium a day from all sources, while men may want to get no more than 500-600 mg daily from all sources.
• Take vitamin C. A supplement of this antioxidant vitamin has been shown to lower blood pressure in people with mild to moderate hypertension.