Treating Hypertension Naturally With Naturopathic Medicine

Healthy Me

Hypertension or high blood pressure is a silent killer and a leading cause of death in North America. High blood pressure can lead to various other health issues – such as stroke, kidney failure, sexual dysfunction and heart attacks. Majority of the times, hypertension goes undetected until you are in your Doctor’s office and they measure your blood pressure.

Symptoms of high blood pressure / hypertension 

Some of the major symptom that is caused by hypertension or high blood pressure is headaches that tend to worsen when you are quite a bit stressed, but generally there are no other symptoms, hence its very important  to get your blood pressure checked at least once or twice a year – especially  if you have a lot of stress and do not eat well, and have a lot of salt in your diet.

What causes high blood pressure / hypertension?

  • Foods – that high in salt and fats
  • Lack of exercise and inactivity
  • Obesity
  • Family history of high blood pressure
  • Stress and continual lack of adequate sleep
  • Kidney failure
  • Smoking

How can you treat hypertension naturally or with naturopathic medicine 

Having a healthier diet and lifestyle helps reduce, prevent and control your blood pressure. Having more of an active lifestyle – with some form of moderate activity – at least 45 – 60 minutes per day would be ideal for stress management – this could be in form of brisk walking, jogging, swimming or yoga.

If you are overweight, losing 10 – 15 lbs will help reduce your blood pressure.

In terms of diet, having a diet filled with fresh fruits and vegetables, less salt and processed food, drinking filtered water and reducing your intake of meats would be very helpful. Try to choose fish and lean meats instead. Limiting your alcohol intake and quitting smoking would be great as well to improve blood flow to your body and heart in general.

In our naturopathic practice, I have also found acupuncture  and various natural supplements to be very beneficial for reducing hypertension. It is important to get a proper assessment done by a naturopathic doctor before you start on any supplements that you read or have heard about that help with high blood pressure.

By: Sushma Shah, Naturopathic Doctor, at the Nature’s Intentions Naturopathic Clinic in Toronto.

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