Tuesday, June 23, 2009

How to Control Hypertension with Herbs

By Yolande Koy

An increasingly common disease that is affecting almost one third of Americans, as shown by existing statistics, is hypertension. More commonly known as high blood pressure, the incidence of this disease has increased at an alarming rate since the turn of the century. The common factors of hypertension would be build-up on the arterial wall, rapid heartbeats and an increase volume of blood.

No one is safe from this insidious disease, as it does not discriminate among the world population. No matter your age, gender or race. The disease has managed to gain a stranglehold on the population due to the prevalence of sedentary way of life, bad eating habits and stress.

You can however treat hypertension or the the very least manage it by adopting a program for a healthy lifestyle incorporating, a balanced diet, exercise and herbal remedies. One of the most effective herbal remedy, which is also well known, is garlic. For those that would like to try a highly recommended herbalist combination, try garlic and raisin. Of course, it may be too much for those that only starting to use herbal treatments.

Something more palatable would be grapefruits. Although it has been a popular breakfast for some time now, not many people know the benefits of this great fruit. The elevated levels of vitamin P in the fruit make it a valuable fruit in combating hypertension. As a supplement to the grapefruit, you could take a carrot, another effective food to control hypertension.

The more exotic herbs beyond fruits and vegetables would include Garcinia, hawthorn berries and a superb herb for hypertension, Shepherd's Purse. The blood vessels are relaxed and cleansed with these herbs. Other than that, you could use an infusion of sarpagandha, Siberian ginseng, motherwort, mistletoe and lime blossoms. To give an extra boost, you may add one teaspoon of honey to the infusion.

Honey is another food that can be used to deal with high blood pressure. It is able to strengthen your blood vessels and heart. The simplest way of taking honey is to make a drink out of it. Just mix one tablespoon of lemon juice and one teaspoon of honey to make a refreshing breakfast drink. If you are feeling especially brave, replace onion juice for the lemon juice.

A balanced diet is essential in dealing with high blood pressure. Fruits are highly recommended, as are vegetables. Apples and bananas are easily obtained at any local supermarket. Spinach, tomatoes and leafy greens rank as some of the best. Beyond that, you can try fasting a day every week. Instead of eating your regular meals for the day, you take fresh fruit juices.

As a final point, stress is fairly common to everyone nowadays. It is however, important that you know how to cope and control the stress. There are many people that use yoga to help unwind after a hard day's work. Other than that, you could use the soothing smells of aromatherapy or a nice relaxing massage.

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