Maintaining Healthy Blood Pressure: Tips and Strategies for a Heart-Healthy Life
Know Your Numbers Week is the UK's biggest blood pressure testing and awareness event. It takes place annually in September and in 2024 it runs from the 2nd to the 8th of September.
Know Your Numbers Week aims to bring awareness to those who may unknowingly have high blood pressure, so they can get the support they need to take action to bring it under control.
Why should you know your blood pressure numbers?
Knowing your blood pressure numbers is crucial for maintaining and protecting good health.
Here's why:
1. Early Detection of Hypertension
High blood pressure (hypertension) often has no symptoms, so regular monitoring is essential to detect it early. Uncontrolled hypertension can lead to serious health issues, including heart disease, stroke, and even kidney damage.
2. Prevention of Heart Disease and Stroke
High blood pressure is a significant risk factor for heart disease and stroke. By knowing and managing your blood pressure, you can significantly reduce your risk of these life-threatening conditions.
3. Monitoring Impact of Health and Lifestyle Choices
Your blood pressure can reflect the impact of lifestyle choices such as your diet, exercise, stress levels, and sleep. Regular monitoring helps you see how these factors affect your health, empowering you to make better decisions where needed.
4. Informing and Guiding Medical Treatment
If you’re on medication for blood pressure or other related conditions, monitoring your blood pressure helps your doctor adjust your treatment plan as needed to make sure it’s effective.
5. Awareness of Other Risk Factors
Knowing your blood pressure helps you understand your risk for other conditions, such as diabetes and kidney disease, which are often linked to hypertension.
6. Preventing Complications During Pregnancy
For pregnant women, monitoring blood pressure is vital to detect preeclampsia, a dangerous condition that can occur during pregnancy.
Regularly checking and understanding your blood pressure numbers empowers you to take control of your health, prevent complications, and live a longer, healthier life.
5 Ways to Maintain Healthy Blood Pressure Numbers
1. Increase Phytonutrient-rich Plants
The colourful part of the living plant contains an array of different plant chemicals, also known as phytonutrients. These are protective plant compounds that have been shown to be powerful antioxidants. Antioxidants protect cells from damage and can reduce inflammation, which, in turn, can keep blood pressure in control.
Phytonutrient-rich foods such as dark green leafy vegetables like kale, rocket, Swiss Chard and spinach, all berries, pomegranate, and beetroots have been shown to counter oxidative stress and increase nitric oxide. Nitric oxide increases blood flow and lowers blood pressure.
2. Include Turmeric Root in Your Daily Diet
Some studies document that curcumin can promote the widening of blood vessels, which in turn, increases blood flow and reduces blood pressure. A 2023 meta analysis review shows curcumin significantly decreased diastolic blood pressure levels in studies where curcumin supplementation was administered for more than 12-weeks.
Another 2024 study concluded that “curcumin/turmeric supplementation could be regarded as a complementary method to improve blood pressure and endothelial function”.
You’ll find cold-pressed, organic turmeric root in our ZEN juice.
3. Include Ginger Root in Your Daily Diet
Studies show that ginger can reduce blood pressure and may be as effective as some blood pressure medications. The findings of a 2019 study revealed that ginger supplementation has favourable effects on blood pressure.
You’ll find cold-pressed, organic ginger root in our ZAP juice.
4. Move Regularly and Incorporate “Movement Snacks”
Being physically active everyday is a major factor in cardiovascular health. Regular movement is one of the most effective ways to strengthen the heart muscle, manage cholesterol levels, and high blood pressure.
We recommend implementing regular “movement snacks” throughout your day to keep your body moving. Set a timer on your phone or use an app such as “Stand Up!” to trigger you to move every hour on the hour.
You could do 5-10 squats, press ups, jumping jacks, do a lap of the office/room/garden/block, march on the spot, walk up and down the stairs - and sit back down again!
5. Manage Your Stress
Stress can lead to high blood pressure in several ways, both directly and indirectly. The acute stress response known as the “fight or flight” response, increases blood pressure in a bid to help you fight or flee a situation.
If stress becomes chronic (aka our modern day), your body remains in a heightened state of alertness. Over time, this can lead to persistent increases in blood pressure, as the repeated activation of the stress response wears down your cardiovascular system.
Here are our favourite ways to manage stress and bring down the “fight or flight” response:
3-5 minutes of 4:6 ratio breathing, morning and night
This is a simple and effective method for reducing stress, promoting relaxation, and improving focus and concentration. Here's how to practise the 4:6 ratio breathing technique:
Find a Quiet Space: To get the most benefit from this technique, choose a quiet and comfortable place where you can sit or lie down.
Sit or Lie Comfortably: Sit up straight with your back supported or lie down on your back with your arms at your sides.
Close Your Eyes: Close your eyes to help you focus and minimise distractions.
Breathe In (Inhalation - 4 seconds): Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose, counting to four as you fill your lungs with air. Feel your abdomen rise as you breathe in.
Hold Your Breath (Pause - 4 seconds): Once you've completed your inhalation, hold your breath for a count of four. Keep your airways gently closed during this pause.
Exhale (Exhalation - 6 seconds): Slowly exhale through your mouth, counting to six as you release the air from your lungs. Focus on fully emptying your lungs.
Repeat: Continue this 4:6 ratio cycle for several minutes or as long as you like. You can gradually increase the duration of your practice as you become more comfortable with the technique.
Gentle yoga for 10 minutes each day has also been found to help manage/reduce the stress response.
Another habit shown to help is journaling, which is simply to write down your troubles or issues, and to practise gratitude each day by simply saying out loud or writing down 3 things you are grateful for in your life.
