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Many of our clients suffer from high blood pressure. So we often get asked what they can do to reduce it. There are several things we know that will help with this, from a health and fitness point of view. But if your blood pressure is high (or you suspect that it is) the first thing you should do is talk to your doctor.
Now that disclaimer is out the way, here’s what we recommend:
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Move More
It’s important to move more and get as much regular exercise as possible. That’s the whole idea behind our Seniors Fit and Active program. Even 30 minutes a day can help reduce your blood pressure dramatically. It’s really important to be consistent though, so if you find it hard to motivate yourself to exercise, you’ll love the supportive community at the DVCC.
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Resistance Exercise
Resistance training can also help reduce your blood pressure. If you’re wondering what that is, resistance training is a way of working your muscles out by using an opposing force and therefore creating resistance. We do this a lot with dumbbells. The idea is to place your heart and other important organs under strain.
You might think placing your heart under strain sounds like a bad idea if you’ve got high blood pressure, but quite the opposite is true.
You need to put your body under resistance in order for it to work more efficiently, pump the blood around your body and lower your blood pressure.
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Take a Fish Oil Supplement
Fish oil is good for your body on so many levels. From keeping your hormones and mood balanced, to keeping your bones and joints healthier and reducing blood pressure; everyone should be taking fish oil supplements.
Studies have found that just by adding 3-6 grams of fish oil a day, you can lower your blood pressure and help promote healthy cholesterol and lower triacylglycerol levels.
In fact, fish oil will benefit anyone with anything. 99.9% of people will see results from this vital supplement.
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Lose Weight
Blood pressure usually increases with your weight. So if you’re packing a few excess pounds, then a great way to lower it is to increase your exercise and reduce your body fat. In fact, being overweight can also lead to sleep apnoea (disruptive breathing at night) which is another big culprit in raising blood pressure.
Of course it depends on you, your body shape and personal goals, but in many cases just losing 10 pounds can reduce your blood pressure.
If you incorporate weight loss with an active lifestyle, your days of worrying about your blood pressure will be long gone.
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Eat Healthily
We recommend eating healthily to absolutely anyone, not just seniors suffering from high blood pressure. It’s not about diets. It’s not about cutting out all the foods that you love.
It’s about learning which foods have a positive effect on your body and mind and eating more of them.
If you’re struggling with high blood pressure then the first thing to change is the way you’re ingesting fat. For example, replacing your Trans fats (manmade fats) with natural saturated fats (good fats). Cooking with coconut oil, stocking up on leafy vegetables and drinking plenty of water are all great place to start.
