What helped you most in reducing blood pressure?

Increase of Potassium rich foods. Decrease in sodium.

losing weight I guess and lowering sodium intake

Losing weight and limiting sodium, for sure.

As many have said, losing weight and watching sodium. I try to be at or under 1500mg a day. My NP recommended the DASH diet.

All of the above and BEETROOT. It's amazing how it works. On one of my regular BP checks my BP had dropped considerably so I went through the things I had done differently that week. I realized I had eaten a lot of fresh beetroot that week. I researched and sure enough, it is known to reduce blood pressure. Try it. I roast them or grate them fresh. Delicious.

And try some relaxation techniques alongside the low sodium diet - meditation; yoga; Tai chi; guided relaxation - all can help with the stress contribution to your blood pressure.

formal relaxation (i.e. more than just sitting chilling) helps to calm down your autonomic responses - the fight or flight response that helps us deal with threats but aren't much help when the threat is stress. It's not the same as resting, sleeping or "relaxing" like sitting with a book.

You know that feeling you get in your chest when someone pops a balloon or you go to step off the pavement and a car wizzes past? That sudden constriction in your chest, you gasp, and fireworks go off in your head? That's the fight or flight response, and if it's something like a car it's useful because it sharpens your responses, your vision, readies your muscles, so you can leap out of the way or attack the threat.

But when the "threat" is things like bereavement, relationships, unhappiness, too many demands and so on, then the fight or flight response is unhelpful as you don't tend to need to run away or attack when confronted with those threats, so the build up can eventually cause you problems - like high blood pressure (among others).

There's all kinds of relaxation techniques - some will suit you better than others, so it's worth exploring them a bit. I started with yoga, and we used to always finish the sessions with relaxation and breathing exercises. You can join classes, or get the CDs. Guided relaxations can be deeply relaxing if that's what works for you. Something like Tai Chi would be better if you don't like to spend too much time in your own head and need something physical to focus on.

Good luck xxxx

High blood pressure is one of the reason why Im dieting, ive been given a period of grace to see if I can make lifestyle changes to reduce blood pressure before being put on medication. I dont drink or smoke, but I am overweight. Obviously losing weight is going to take time, but the 2 things which had an immediate effect were to keep my salt intake to under 6g a day and to switch to decaffinated tea and coffee. There are no guarantess that losing weight will bring blood pressure down, but im hoping it will make a further reduction. Walking everyday also helps, but stress is probably the worst culprit of them all, you may not be able to change your circumstances, but its imperative you change your response to stress.

All of the above and BEETROOT. It's amazing how it works. On one of my regular BP checks my BP had dropped considerably so I went through the things I had done differently that week. I realized I had eaten a lot of fresh beetroot that week. I researched and sure enough, it is known to reduce blood pressure. Try it. I roast them or grate them fresh. Delicious.

Thanks, I bought some beets today for another reason (its really cleans out my colon), but if it helps with my blood pressure I am all for it.

Eating Beet root or its juice intake really helps. I have seen it work on some of my friends that have tried it. Again too much juice can have a strong cleansing effect, so drink it in moderation.

Increase of Potassium rich foods. Decrease in sodium.

^^^ this ^^^^

Losing weight helped initially. I went from 316lbs to around 216lbs and my blood pressure dropped form borderline high to normal. But a couple of years later it started to creep back up to borderline even though I hadn't regained the weight or changed my eating or exercising habits. Unfortunately, for some of us high blood pressure is hereditary. The only thing that seems to bring mine down now is blood pressure medication and a low sodium diet. My advice is to work hard at eating a healthy diet that is aimed at reducing sodium and your cholesterol numbers and start exercising every day, even if it's just a long walk. And make sure that you are staying in contact with your doctor throughout the process. She or he will be able to monitor how things are going and let you know if it may just be time to try meds.

I am so sorry for your mom's passing. It is always hard to lose a parent.

There is debate as to the role sodium plays, if any. Calcium/Magnesium supplementation works for some. Raw garlic taken daily, if you can stand it, is supposed to help. I've been on medication and still have high pressure, nothing seems to help much. It is frustrating.

In regards to sodium intake, I think its effect on blood pressure is very dependent on the person and how their body responds to salt. If I eat more than about 2000mg/ day, I retain water and my blood pressure goes up and stays there until the water goes away. Other people may not be bothered by it. I think anyone who is trying to figure out if sodium matters should log their sodium intake and regularly check their weight and blood pressure to see if certain amounts seem to be having an effect on them.

Also, just a note that Calcium is one of those supplements that everyone should be a little careful with. It can interfere with certain blood pressure medications and has other side effects if you take too much.

I'm sorry about the loss of your mom. It's so difficult when a parent passes away.

I have HBP. I've lost 66 pounds so far and that has helped. I lower my sodium, drink a lot of water and probably should reduce my caffeine intake. I'm also on meds. I have a friend who has to be on meds to control her BP and she is not overweight.

This has a been a big problem for me also. Like others have said, keeping my sodium intake to a maximum of 2000 mg (I'm on bp meds, btw) seems to help me a lot. On the days I go over I really notice it. Sorry about your mom. I know the high bp is a difficult thing to deal with esp. when you're already dealing with a lot of life stress.