Lowering Blood Pressure Naturally

How would you lower it naturally?

I have seen many recommendations and some I consistently see is:

-Cardio at or slightly above 120 BPM
-Lowering salt to 1-2 grams
-Lowering Caffeine
-Fish oil 2-3 grams

I have also seen: Beet root, Pineapple, Vitamin d3/k2, garlic,

How good are those? How much should one take? Any additions?

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For most? Losing 30lbs.

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If I lost 30 lbs I would be hospitalized or dead, I am pretty lean.

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I have seen beet root suggested by others on here. How much should you take? Online I see 3-6 grams but, then others recommend superbeets which only has 500 mg of beetroot powder, and it makes no mention of it being " super concentrated".

If your current diet is a train wreck, a good place to start for you would be the DASH diet. It’s not super restrictive and is a good starting point for a lot of folks. Here’s a link to the NIH page with all the info you need to get started: DASH Eating Plan | NHLBI, NIH

My diet is good. I eat whole foods with some deli meat when making sandwiches. I would say the most processed things I eat are diet soda, deli meat, mini pretzels, and sandwich bread.

However, I do tend to use a lot of salt but, was made to believe that if I am active and in shape sodium is not an issue. Is there an upper threshold where it should be checked on?

I did a rough calculation, and I am comfortable saying 20G or more of total sodium a day is not rare.

*Checked out the DASH diet and aside from the sodium I do not eat anything in the limit list. I also do not use vegetable oils, nuts, or seeds (aside from macadamia oil) as the fat content/ratio are terrible.

For most people, sodium isn’t the cause of hypertension - but, there are some folks the are “salt-sensitive” where it is a major contribution factor. If I were you I would scale the salt intake down considerably. Twenty grams per day is a little crazy, given that the recommended intake is 2.3 grams.

Will do that. I have brought it down the last 2 days and damn food is bland. Read it can take weeks to get used to using less salt.

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It will take a bit to get used to, especially since you were consuming so much. Some easy places to cut - the deli meats and pretzels/breads/processed grains. These pack quite a bit of sodium in small places.

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I use MSG but, for me certain foods do not lend themselves to using MSG. I like it on vegetables but, not on say roasted chicken, beef, eggs. It adds a sweetness that I do not like on proteins unless I am making a specific dish that will have added ingredients.

I also use a good amount of salt in a protein pudding I make with frozen berries and MSG would not work in that.

It was just a suggestion because you said everything tasted bland without so much salt.

Use more acids-vinegars, lemon juice, etc.

My BP was pretty high at my last doctor’s visit in early March. About a week or so later, I started supplementing with beetroot powder (TotalBeets FWIW) to try and boost my conditioning for jiu-jitsu. Joel Jamieson, a conditioning coach for MMA athletes, has recommended it in the past and it seemed like a good time to give it a try. I’ve since noticed a drop in my daily BP readings - from 145-150 to 125-135. I’m still keeping an eye on it. But it was a noticeable drop.

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It sounds like you’re looking for a quick fix vs a long term weight loss or diet plan.

If your health markers are on point and you’re generally healthy, you may be genetically predisposed to hypertension and a prescription is likely the proper route.

If you’re wanting to use alternative methods, consider mechanism of action of prescriptions.

They typically serve as vasodilators (beet root), calcium channel blockers (not sure how to supplement safely here), diuretics (a slew of bodybuilding marketed supps here) or they slow your nervous system so maybe GABA or something.

Just Google for supplements that match the functions above and try them one at a time to see if they work for you.

Or go to Amazon and type in “natural blood pressure control” and one of many products will show up for selection ready to be delivered tomorrow, formulated and ready to go.

Keep in mind muscle mass is still mass as far as your heart is concerned, so even if generally healthy, you could be taxing your heart by being outside specific eight limits. Even if it is lean mass. A prescription is likely best either way.