High Blood Pressure is a really common issue nowadays. A person can only reduce their blood pressure by following a healthy diet, exercising a lot and stopping smoking. Can taking supplements also help? If yes, What supplements lower blood pressure?
According to the AHA, around half of the adults in the US are going through high blood pressure, also known as Hypertension.
Hypertension increases the risk of Heart attacks, heart failure or strokes in a person.
Living a healthy lifestyle can lessen your blood pressure. A healthy lifestyle includes eating healthy food with low amounts of salt, exercising regularly, not smoking, maintaining a healthy amount of weight, and limiting your alcohol intake. In some cases, doctors recommend you to take medication to lower your blood pressure.
According to a study, natural treatment and supplements can reduce your hypertension. But the question now is, do these supplements actually work? Are they safe?
In this article, we go through the research of supplements for lowering your blood pressure, talk about their effect, risks and their alternatives as well.
Do supplements work?
Everyone should get in touch with their doctor before taking any supplement to lower their blood pressure.
According to some evidence it has been known that some supplements actually help in lowering the blood pressure.
However, most of the studies have been conducted of only low quantity or small sample sizes of supplements.
No doctor recommends daily intake of supplements to decrease hypertension. According to some studies by the AHA, “There are no specific supplements, vitamins or liquids that can work as a substitute for lifestyle and prescribed medicines.”
The AHA also suggests consulting a doctor before taking any supplement for lowering the blood pressure as not every supplement works the way it has been advertised and some can even increase your blood pressure.
Below is the list of common supplements taken by people to lower blood pressure.
Potassium
Potassium is a mineral which plays an important role in the regulation of your blood pressure. When your blood pressure increases due to extra consumption of salt or sodium in your body, potassium helps in clearing out the sodium from your body.
Sodium causes you to have high blood pressure as it stops your kidneys from taking out any water from the water. Carrying extra water in your body leads to a rise in your blood pressure.
Potassium reduces your blood pressure in these two ways:
- By easing up the walls of your blood vessels.
- By causing your body to remove excess sodium in the urine.
According to a 2017 studies report, it has been found that potassium supplements have been really helpful to decrease systolic as well as diastolic blood pressure.
It showed the best effect in people who consumed a lot of sodium in their diet, people who didn’t take a lot of potassium before the study and people who were not taking any medication to stabilize their blood pressure.
But, potassium supplements can be dangerous for people who have kidney issues. As with any other supplement, it is better to consult a doctor before the intake of a potassium supplement.
The AHA recommends eating potassium rich foods to help stabilize your blood pressure.
These foods include:
- Spinach
- Avocados
- Dried Apricots
- Tomatoes
- Mushrooms
- Low fat milk or yogurt
- Prunes or its juice
Magnesium
Magnesium is also a mineral that plays a huge role in the regulation of blood pressure. It helps many processes that go on in your body including the nerve and muscle functioning, the immune system, and synthesis of protein. Magnesium supplements work the best if you’re wondering what supplements lower blood pressure?
According to the authors of a 2016 review, after analyzing the magnesium supplements for about 34 times just for the perfect results, it has been known that magnesium supplements do actually reduce blood pressure. It has been known that taking 300 mg of magnesium everyday for 1 month can increase your magnesium levels to a point where it can help lower your blood pressure.
According to the ODS, A magnesium-rich diet can reduce the risk of any heart disease, type 2 diabetes and of heart stroke.
Magnesium-rich foods include:
- Spinach
- Peanuts
- Almonds
- Black Beans
- Cashews
- Potatoes
- Avocados
- Brown Rice
- Fat free yogurt
Folic acid
High blood pressure can be really very harmful for you if you’re pregnant, if your doctor is calling it gestational hypertension. If your doctor is not treating you for this issue, it can cause a lot of other complications like stroke, preterm delivery, low birth weight and preeclampsia.
According to a study from 2018, it has been known that taking supplements with folic acid can lessen the risk of preeclampsia and gestational hypertension.
Folic acid comes in the category of Vitamin B, and taking enough vitamin B when you’re pregnant can help avoid any birth abnormality. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) suggests that women who may get pregnant take 400 mgs of folic acid every day.
Most of the prenatal vitamins have folic acid in them, which you can also find as a separate supplement.
For people who are not pregnant, it hasn’t been determined by the researchers yet if folic acid helps in reducing blood pressure.
Other supplements
According to research of National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, some other supplements also help in lowering the blood pressure which include:
- Flaxseed
- Cocoa
- Roselle
- Green or Black tea
- Garlic
- Probiotics
- Fish Oil
However, the evidence for the effects of the above mentioned supplements is less and they might be helpful in lowering the blood pressure but only a little if they do.
Things to avoid
Everyone should be aware of any claim that a supplement can reduce high blood pressure.
Supplements are not made through by the FDA and their quality might differ.
Consult a doctor before taking any supplement. Some can cause you negative effects and may interrupt the effect of your medications, including those to treat your high blood pressure.
A doctor can tell you about the benefits and side effects and they can recommend a reliable brand as well.
Someone who has hypertension will get great benefits from avoiding things that cause rise in blood pressure, which include:
- Caffeine
- Oral contraceptives
- Caffeine
- Antidepressants
- NSAIDs like ibuprofen
Summary
High Blood Pressure is a really common problem. So if you were here curious about What supplements lower blood pressure? It has already been answered that some supplements like potassium, folic acid and magnesium can reduce blood pressure.
Moreover, it has been recommended by official organizations to change your lifestyle when needed and take antihypertensive medications as well.
