3 foods that help lower your blood pressure

As you know from reading this blog, I'm trying to lower my blood pressure naturally without drugs. There are a few ways to do that - exercise, alternative medicine, lifestyle changes and changing my diet habits. Today I wanted to let you know about some foods that help lower blood pressure.

Some of these you may have already heard of and some you may not have.

Chinese Wolfberry

The Chinese wolfberry has long been a stable in traditional Oriental medicine. Its major health benefits have been noted since 1000 AD. It is loaded with antioxidants, phytochemicals and other important nutrients lacking in our regular diet. And it is these antioxidants that are thought to play an important role in maintaining and controlling blood pressure. But above all that, perhaps the most important note about the Chinese wolfberry is that it tastes good. If you're going to add something to your regular diet, you usually want to be able to eat it without gagging.

Bilberry

The bilberry is blue just like the blueberry and is also sweet in taste. That's a good start. It's in the same family as cranberries, huckleberries and blueberries so you know it has to be good for you. What make the bilberry so special is its high amounts of phytochemicals which are thought to have the ability to help lower blood pressure. It also contains high amounts of vitamin C and E - two powerful antioxidants that help eliminate free radicals. The bilberry helps improve circulation and blood flow which helps relieve the pressure of the blood on your veins and arteries. It's another good food to start adding to your diet.

Green Tea

I'm sure you've probably heard about drinking green tea to help with your health, so here's one more reason - green tea is thought to help lower high blood pressure and your cholesterol. I note both high blood pressure and cholesterol since most people who have hypertension also have high cholesterol.

Lately green tea has risen in popularity and its high concentrations of epigallocatechin gallate have been made popular in the new Snapple tea commercials. They call it EGCG and feature it prominently on their bottles.

But what I find so special about green tea is that it has been shown to not only help prevent high blood pressure but to help lower it in those who already have it. And that's the boat I'm in.

And that's why I try to drink 2-3 cups of tea at least 3-4 times a week. There are several varieties of green tea so try a few to get one you like. You can also try Yerba Mate which has the same health benefits of green tea.

So now you have your blood pressure lowering regimen - berries and tea. Enjoy.

These aren't the only foods that help lower your blood pressure. There are several others. And I'll post them here in future posts.

Have a great day.

-Chris