Five Smart Strategies to Lower Your Blood Pressure Naturally

Control Your Weight

According to Prevention Magazine, the most important lifestyle factor in controlling high blood pressure is weight. Most people can lower their blood pressure simply by losing a few pounds. A combination of a healthy diet and regular exercise is best to lower your blood pressure naturally. Incorporate the elements of the DASH diet, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, which emphasizes protein and a variety of healthy foods like whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and low-fat dairy, according to the Mayo Clinic. The DASH diet also limits saturated fat, cholesterol and total fat.

If you've got high blood pressure, try to consume less sodium. The recommended daily sodium limit for most Americans is 2,400 mg, but cutting that down to 1,500 mg will have a positive effect on your blood pressure. Some groups of people, like African-Americans and the elderly, are more prone to have sodium-sensitive blood pressure, according to Prevention Magazine. Keep an eye on the salt shaker and learn to read the labels on any processed food you eat every day.

You can also help to lower your blood pressure naturally just by slow, deep breathing. Other meditative activities, such as yoga, help to cut back on stress hormones that can raise your blood pressure. Make deep breathing a daily activity to help calm you down after a busy work day.

Another way to lower your blood pressure naturally: consume a little dark chocolate every day. A 2005 study by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that eating dark chocolate lowers blood pressure and improves insulin sensitivity in healthy adults, which can also help decrease your risk for diabetes. Dark chocolate, rather than white, has flavanoids that help make blood vessels more elastic. Prevention Magazine recommends a daily allotment of ½ oz. dark chocolate containing at least 70 percent cocoa.

Light drinking has been shown to help lower blood pressure, according to Prevention Magazine. A study at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital showed that about half a drink daily for women lowered blood pressure more than drinking no alcohol. Men should stick to no more than two drinks per day.