Other Natural Remedies
Besides a change in diet, there are numerous other natural remedies for easing high blood pressure.
Aromatherapy
Blue chamomile is great for people with high blood pressure;’ says Victoria Edwards, an aromatherapist in Fair Oaks, California. Carry the essential oil with you and inhale directly from the bottle whenever you feel flushed or agitated, suggests Edwards. She also recommends a daily massage using an everlast massage oil, which combines 1 drop of everlast (also called immortelle or helichrysum), 2 drops of blue chamomile and 10 drops of lavender in one ounce of olive, almond, sunflower or another carrier oil. (Carrier oils are available in most health food stores.) Massage this blend into the area under the collarbone every day at bedtime, she says.
Food Therapy
One of the best ways to lower blood pressure is to eat more celery, which contains an oil that can lower blood pressure, adds registered pharmacist Earl Mindell, R.Ph., Ph.D., professor of nutrition at Pacific Western University in Los Angeles and author of Earl Mindell’s Food as Medicine and other books on nutrition. Celery oil allows muscles that regulate blood pressure to dilate, says Dr. MindelJ, and scientific studies show that rats who consumed the equivalent of four stalks of celery a day lowered their blood pressure an average of 13 percent.
Juice Therapy
Celery juice has a mild diuretic effect, similar to many drugs that are prescribed for high blood pressure;’ says Elaine Gillaspie, N.D., a naturopathic physician in Portland, Oregon. She recommends an eight-ounce blend of one part celery juice, one part carrot juice and one part water, taken at least once a day. “This juice is highly nutritious and can be helpful for people with high blood pressure,” says Dr. Gillaspie.
Herbal Therapy
Eating up to three or four cloves of garlic every day may lower blood pressure, according to Varro E. Tyler, Ph.D., professor of pharmacognosy at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. If you’d rather not eat fresh cloves, try garlic supplements. Dr. Tyler recommends the enteric-coated capsules for maximum absorption of allicin, the blood-pressure-lowering ingredient in garlic. He says to follow the dosage recommendations on the label of the product you choose.
Imagery
To soothe your blood pressure, imagine going to your refrigerator and taking out three or four ice cubes, writes Gerald Epstein, M.D., a New York City psychiatrist and author of Healing Visualizations. Picture yourself slowly washing your head, face and neck with the ice. Feel the coolness seeping into every pore and entering your bloodstream in the brain. Envision an icy feeling tumbling down through your neck and trunk and into your fingers and toes. At that point, sense that your blood pressure is within a normal range.
Dr. Epstein suggests doing this imagery for three to five minutes three times a day or whenever you sense that your blood pressure is elevated.
Relaxation and Meditation
Studies suggest that meditating for 20 minutes twice a day can help lower high blood pressure, says Sundar Ramaswami, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist at the F. S. Dubois Community Mental Health Center in Stamford, Connecticut.
Sound Therapy
Listening to relaxing music for 20 to 30 minutes each day can slow the heart rate and help lower blood pressure in some people, says Steven Halpern, Ph.D., composer, researcher and author of Sound Health: The Music and Sounds That Make Us Whole. To get started, turn on the music, then sit or lie comfortably, close your eyes and take a deep breath. Dr. Halpern suggests that you wear headphones to focus your attention and avoid distraction. He recommends, however, that you keep the speakers playing, so your body absorbs the sound energy. While the music plays, let your breath slow down and become steady. Listen not just to the notes but to the silence between the notes. Dr. Halpern says this will keep you from analyzing the music and allow you to relax.
Vitamin and Mineral Therapy
Along with conventional therapy, the best ways to lower high blood pressure are to cut back on sugar, salt, caffeine and alcohol and to reduce or eliminate meats in your diet, says David Edelberg, M.D., an internist and medical director of the American Holistic Center/Chicago. he also says that people with high blood pressure may want to use the following vitamin, mineral and herbal regimen to help control the condition: 500 milligrams of calcium twice a day; 400 milligrams of magnesium twice a day; one tablespoon of flaxseed oil a day; 400 international units of vitamin E a day; 30 milligrams of coenzyme Q-I 0 three times a day; one hawthorn berry capsule three times a day and one ginseng capsule twice a day. Flaxseed oil and coenzyme Q-IO, hawthorn berry and ginseng supplements are available in most health food stores.
Yoga
Two yoga poses, the corpse and the knee squeeze are especially helpful with high blood pressure, according to Alice Christensen, founder and executive director of the American Yoga Association. These two poses help improve blood circulation and relieve tension, which is a major contributor to high blood pressure, she explains. An association study found that people with mild high blood pressure could lower it by doing these two poses every day. Christensen recommends meditating twice a day for 10 to 20 minutes each time. Lie on your back on either the floor or a mat. Be at your sides, with the palms of your hands legs should be straight, with your feet in a relaxed Relax all of your muscles, close your eyes and hold the pose for 30 seconds to several minutes, until your muscles completely relax. Breathe deeply and scan your body to feel tension. If you feel tension, concentrate on the area and relax the muscles.
NOTE: If you feel pain in your lower back, try bending your legs. Raise your knees and place your feet flat on the floor. Hold this position for 30 seconds to several minutes, following the instructions above.