Lower Blood Pressure Naturally

Effective blood pressure control requires neither high-tech equipment nor time-consuming regimes like meditation

Blood pressure remedies don’t work.

I’m talking specifically about the types of things you “take” such as herbs, supplements, “superfoods” and specific blood pressure “formulas”.

Oh sure, there may be a few things that have a minimal impact on your system. Dark chocolate has recently been shown to drop blood pressure by up to 3 points systolic. That’s with practical amounts that you could live with.

A 3 point reduction is welcome but is by no means the result of an effective blood pressure remedy.

Most other natural “remedies” don’t stand up to investigation at all. They’re usually the result of fads that get brief publicity through the placebo effect. And because such remedies are red herrings that waste your time, money and nerves they are not harmless.

Hypertension medications are only slightly more effective…

We have a false impression of blood pressure medications as well. We tend to think they are very effective – it’s just the side effects that make them hard to take. But the truth may surprise you…

Any doctor will tell you that determining the right drug(s) and dosage for each patient is often a long and frustrating process of trial and error. And any patient will confirm that it can be a horrible ordeal. And that’s before you even get to the side effects!

It may still be worth it if the drugs do what they’re designed to do, but they often fall short. In a landmark study by the Office of Veterans’ Affairs, still used as a basic reference, the most effective blood pressure drug, diltiazem, showed a response rate of just 63%. That’s why effective blood pressure control often requires multiple drugs, compounding the side effects and health risks.

Isn’t lifestyle the key to healthy blood pressure?

If you listen to the media you would think that lifestyle is the key to all good health! Of course lifestyle is important but its effects on our blood pressure may be exaggerated. A recent study produced shocking results that cast new light on the issue. A massive medical review showed that obesity is not linked to any health risks, at least based on medications used. These and other new findings will hopefully lead to an end of the demonization of overweight people.

We also know that high blood pressure does not discriminate and it can afflict people with extremely healthy lifestyles. And there are just as many cases where even major lifestyle changes have no effect on ones’ hypertension. For many people the cause of high blood pressure remains a mystery but it’s clear that it’s not all lifestyle-related.

What exactly is natural blood pressure control and why is it more promising?

Remedies and drugs are things you take… they’re an “outside-in” approach. Blood pressure control allows you to use your body’s own resources to regulate your blood pressure; it works from the inside-out.

The mind is a surprisingly powerful tool you can use to help regulate internal processes. We’ve all heard tales of gurus, yogis and martial arts masters who can nearly stop their heartbeat and accomplish amazing physical feats using mind  control.

The placebo effect is another very common example of the mind influencing our health. But the placebo effect is only temporary and is beyond our control. And other forms of mind control require intensive training and devotion.

But we have another tool at our disposal, a mechanism that’s one of our body’s most powerful regulators of blood pressure. And it’s something we can all learn to use relatively quickly and easily…

It’s our breathing.

This time I’m not talking about yoga or any ancient practices we associate with breathing. Doctors have developed a modern method called slow breathing that’s tested and proven specifically to reduce high blood pressure.

Slow breathing has been clinically tested by the same rigorous methods used for testing drugs and the results have been published in peer-reviewed medical journals around the world.

Slow breathing does some pretty amazing things. Using just 15 minutes a day has been shown to:

• Reduce blood pressure by significant amounts: Top reductions average 36 points systolic over 20 points diastolic. Overall average reductions come out at 14 points systolic and 8 points diastolic.
• Produce cumulative effects: Both intensity and duration of results build over time. In most cases, blood pressure reductions start to last around the clock within a few weeks. Some people respond even faster.
• Produce an extremly high response rate: one study achieved an 82% response rate in resistant hypertensives, people who had failed to respond to other forms of treatment, incuding drugs.

Another great thing about slow breathing is that it affects much more than just your blood pressure. It’s extremely effective stress and aniety relief, it strengthens the respiratory system, improves sleep and much more. In fact, our breathing affects just about every aspect of our health.

Try a unique method of slow breathing with music for lower blood pressure yourself on my website. Some people get great results from just the demo online.