Thousands of people lower their blood pressure naturally by making small, common sense changes in their daily life.
 More thousands who do not have HBP or hypertension are using the same strategy to prevent the onset of the disease.
High blood pressure is endemic in the U.
S.
affecting over 70 million people according to the American Heart Association.
 Each year the disease kills directly or contributes to 350,000 deaths.
 That's roughly the population of St Louis.
 Gone.
 Every year.
The sad thing about this "silent killer" is that it can be completely prevented, controlled or reversed naturally with no drugs, no negative side effects and at a low cost.
 Unfortunately, our Western diet and addiction to popping pills for everything that ails us does not encourage us to make the easy changes in diet, exercise and stress management that work so well on hypertension.
Without further introduction here's a  list of five tips that will get you started reducing blood pressure.
Tip # 1 Exercise.
 This is the absolutely fastest way to lower your blood pressure.
 We're not talking preparing for the Olympics kind of exercise.
 We're talking thirty minutes of mild aerobic activity like briskly walking, cycling or swimming.
 You can add strength building by including low resistance high repetition exercise as well.
  Your BP will drop within 10 minutes after cooling off and will remain there for up to 22 hours.
 Do this daily and you have shaved 2 to 4 points off your blood pressure.
There are some other great side effects as well.
 First, you'll probably lose weight.
 Secondly, exercise is a powerful way to burn off the effects of stress and becomes an important part of your stress management program.
Tip # 2 Get some sleep.
 Americans live in a far more stressful time than they ever have.
 Unlike our grandparents and those before them, we do not engage in nearly as much physical activity and allows the chemicals generated by stress to remain in our bodies.
  Sleep is the second best natural way to relieve stress quickly.
 Most Americans have trouble getting 6 hours much less 8.
 If you have sleep apnea, odds are you also have HBP.
  Figure out natural routines to encourage sleep.
 Try warm milk or herbal tea or reading or soothing music.
  Tip # 3 Fresh Vegetables.
 Diet is the biggest contributor to both causing and curing hypertension.
 Thanks to our obsession with salt, fat, processed foods and fast foods we have created a culture that encourages blood pressure problems.
However the cause is also the cure.
 Fresh vegetables not only provide the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients we need; the also contain powerful antioxidants which can stop and reverse hardened arteries and plaque build up.
 Try to eat 5 servings a day.
Tip # 4 Fresh Fruit.
  Fruits also contain numerous antioxidants that are important in lowering pressure.
 However they come with higher sugar content than vegetables so they should be limited to three servings a day.
Tip # 5 Hydrate.
 Dehydration is a big problem in the U.
S.
 Drinking adequate water is certainly helpful for controlling blood pressure, but it also is beneficial for a number of conditions.
 Hydrating properly allows the blood vessels to remain elastic and efficiently handle the pressure of your heart beat.
As a general rule you should drink half of your body weight in ounces.
 So if tou weigh in at 150 lbs you should drink 75 ounces of water each day.
These are just random tips on how to control the condition without medication and is certainly not meant to be a comprehensive list of things to do.