Vitamins to Help Lower Blood Pressure
High blood pressure and hypertension affect millions of Americans. If you have high blood pressure, you have a greater risk of heart disease or stroke. Often times, high blood pressure is aided by a vitamin deficiency.
High blood pressure and hypertension affect millions of Americans. If you have high blood pressure, you have a greater risk of heart disease or stroke. Often times, high blood pressure is aided by a vitamin deficiency. While simple changes in diet and lifestyle can help with lowering your blood pressure, adding more of these vitamins can help facilitate a blood pressure drop.
Calcium
While calcium is known for helping to strengthen bones and teeth, it also has the benefit of helping to maintain a healthy blood pressure. Calcium also helps with muscle contractions, nerve transmission, relaxation and blood clotting, all of which are related to high blood pressure. Calcium works best to lower blood pressure in pregnant women. A possible side effect of calcium is that too much of it may increase the risk of prostate cancer in men. The mineral can be found in such items as yogurt, milk, cheese, salmon, sardines and leafy green vegetables.
Potassium
Potassium helps to balance the fluids in your body and keeps sodium levels in the body from getting too high. Since an excess amount of sodium can be a cause of high blood pressure, the potassium is vital to balancing that out and keeping blood pressure at a safe level. Studies have shown that a diet rich in potassium can help to lower the Systolic pressure by approximately seven points and the diastolic pressure down approximately three points. Potassium is found in fruits such as bananas, meat, milk, grains and legumes.
Magnesium
One of the reasons you may have an elevated blood pressure is due to a deficiency in magnesium. Magnesium works to regulate chemical reactions which take place in the body. It helps calcium in muscle contraction and blood clotting. You must make sure to get enough magnesium every day (420mg per day for men and 320mg per day for women) or you body will begin to take magnesium from your bones to make sure it has enough. Magnesium can be found in spinach, broccoli, legumes, cashews, sunflower seeds, halibut and milk.