10 ways to LOWER your Blood Pressure (Science-backed)

[@sandraelder1101]

I like the straightforward format of your videos so much. No emojis, no sound effects, clicks or swooshes, no teaser delays - just great info shared clearly and perfectly paced! You keep things moving without racing through the content. I also really appreciate that you are straight with us when the data is ambiguous or unconvincing. Thanks for all you do. Your videos have helped me a lot. And the bossa nova is a bonus 😁.

[@rn5697]

It's always the same for every disease... In general : 1) Reduce sodium 2) Healthy whole unprocessed foods or minimally processed 3) Move more 4) No alcohol, cigarettes or coffee 5) Healthy weight 5) Reduce stress 6) Improve sleep 7) Purpose in life 8) Family support 9) Supplements 10) Medications PS. Excellent videos as always

[@chaseylain9133]

you can't just put coffee in one line with cigarettes and alcohol! It generally is a healthy beverage, only some people who are perticularly sensitive to caffeine can run into problems with it. but I pretty much agree with all the other points. Maybe I'll change family support to healthy social life but your friends could also kinda be considered family

[@maffy3855]

1. Reduce sodium salt..?

[@umangplastik9288]

Moderation is the key

[@juanwick8820]

modern hero

[@sandraelder1101]

Just to clarify no. 4 - Caffeine was mentioned as the culprit, not coffee per se.

[@BikerBreatnac]

My blood pressure went from high to optimal when I became vegan 6 years ago and went from an overweight meat-eater to being a vegan with similar weight to what I was in my mid-20s. I do try to eat as much Whole Food Plant-Based as I can, but having vegan junk food occasionally. It seems to work well for me. I cannot imagine the route I was going down with my heavy meat diet. Now, I am in my 50s and I am very fit and healthy. I also weight train, cycle, run and walk including walking wearing a weighted vest, I have a daily meditation practice, gave up smoking 21 years ago and gave up drinking over 2 years ago. I do work at a desk all day, but invested in a standing desk a few years ago. I am not saying that becoming vegan lowered my blood pressure, I used to smoke, drink, workout, eat meat, sit at a desk all day, have stress and insomnia. What I am saying is something between giving up meat and dairy, drinking, starting a daily meditation and mindfulness practice and generally having a healthier lifestyle and has amazing results for me. However, I did see my blood pressure lower after giving up meat and dairy and before I gave up drinking and having a daily meditation practice, so I think it did help a lot towards it.

[@brocklastname6682]

Plus regular alcohol consumption wrecks your sleep. Which can also affect your BP.

[@peterz53]

Thanks. Have also seen study in interval walking training (IWT) which did a good job lowering BP beyond normal walking. Basically, it you do a 20 to 30 minute walk, every 3 or 4 minutes ramp up walking speed to max for a couple of minutes. I believe the study I saw came out of Japan. Effects were large.

[@theflyingdutchman787]

All these ten items I pretty much live by. I still couldn’t get my BP lowered. I eschewed medication for years. Now I’m on a low dose of BP medicine with no side effects and finally I have consistently good results.

[@Dexxx5757]

Pls check uric acid

[@theflyingdutchman787]

@@Dexxx5757 Thanks. I will. Although I pretty much eat a vegan/vegetarian diet with occasional fish.

[@sandraelder1101]

Yours is a good example of when meds can be a great blessing.

[@gz625]

Seems like your kidneys are not working properly

[@theflyingdutchman787]

@@gz625My labs are perfect.

[@totalwayne3089]

Replacing salt was new to me! Thanks!

[@sandrafrancis3631]

Great advice for everyone, even if you don't have high B.P. 👍

[@mb7626]

Katy Bowman’s work might be a good guide for the moving more recommendation, exercise can be hard to implement if it’s more of a ‘supplemental’ practice that you have to will yourself to do at prescribed or set intervals in the day etc but building it in as a necessary part of your lifestyle via shaping your environment might make it easier to maintain. I’m not quite there yet myself but I keep looking at it as a thing that I’d like to adopt at some point.

[@corinayuen2487]

Gil, you forgot to mention secondary high blood pressure - that's when another disease is causing it. I had HBP that got worse and worse until I was diagnosed with Cushing's disease. When I had the tumor removed, 2 months after the surgery, my BP dropped, dropped, dropped, until it was below 120/80. I have since been totally normal. Nothing could have brought down my BP if I had not had the tumor removed. Sadly, doctors never question if there's anything else behind the condition, especially if you're middle age. You instantly get a pill, or two!

[@GeriatricMillennialGamerDude]

I really like summary videos like this one. You have an impressive catalog of videos and it is useful for new viewers to have them summed up every couple of years.

[@dallasball6624]

The only medical advice on KZbin I trust.

[@mirandamom1346]

Someone did tell me which exercise is best for reducing blood pressure- you did! And we’ve added a short isometrics routine three times weekly to our program.

[@AnnieKMusic]

Sound quality is great in this video!!! Crisp, easy to hear.

[@azdhan]

Great info! Many thanks for sharing Dr Carvalho

[@helenaMe325]

Can't see the link to the video about the best workouts. ? Very good video 👍👍

[@stargazerbird]

Weight is all in my experience. I once went to the docs for a regular check up for the pill. I had to take the children I looked after with me into the room including one with behavioural challenges. My stress was through the roof. BP was completely normal. I was at a BMI around 20. Nowadays I am chilled out most of the time but a lot heavier. BP does go up when I am stressed.

[@deanofrankenstein6391]

Excellent info as usual, Doc.

[@richardolson170]

Hey Dr. Gil! I wanted to request some informational videos. I was wondering if you could make a video on a low carb vegan diet (like different food options and if it is healthier to be low(er) carb in general. Second why is the rda for potassium 4700 mg? Do we really need that much and how can we get it, where did all the RDA'S come from and should we be focusing on them? Thanks and I appreciate what you have been doing!

[@dan-qe1tb]

Get it tested in your blood

[@roxyiconoclast]

Before reducing sodium, you might want to get an electrolyte panel from your doctor. I was surprised to find that I have low sodium along with somewhat high BP.

[@opolotfrancis9946]

It's true some BP is due to too much calcium in the arteries

[@ashleyfarias449]

It wasnt mentioned in the video but msg can help with cutting back on sodium as well as maintain flavor in your dishes

[@karolynann4106]

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is an excitotoxin. Excitotoxins are substances that damage neurons by over-activating glutamate receptors in the brain. MSG has been linked with obesity, metabolic disorders, Chinese Restaurant Syndrome, neurotoxic effects and detrimental effects on the reproductive organs.- NIH

[@DennisForbes]

Tried every natural technique to little impact on pretty bad hypertension: about 160 over 120. Months of elimination experiments yielded error margin changes. Started taking telmisartan and within weeks averaged about 105 over 70, which has continued for two years now. Zero observed side effects or downsides.

[@captainbuck5969]

I think exercising with burst of speed is very helpful. After warm up on the treadmill, I do 2 minutes normal pace followed by 1 minute all out. I do this for 30-45 minutes. This beats a steadily increasing rate of speed.

[@inezbradley]

Also, better salt (with high levels of electrolytes) mitigates & allows for healthy levels of sodium and getting iodine from Whole Foods.

[@Dean-sn7sm]

Hello Gil. I wanted to ask a question that maybe could be turned into a video (a video suggestion), that I’ve been thinking about and asking myself lately. That is, is it better to eat a salad before or after your main meal? I eat salad about every day and often more than once a day, ranging from cucumber and tomato type salads to grain-based salads with vegetables or legumes. In my culture, it was traditional to eat a salad after your main meal, but with less people eating salads and most restaurants always serving soups or salads before your main course (because it puts food in front of you quickest), most people do the opposite now. What I want to know is, assuming your main meal is protein and carbohydrate based, is having the salad before or after this meal a better choice? Other factors could be the type of salad, the type of main meal, and the window between eating them. I have heard mixed results about this with some people claiming one way and some the other. Ultimately, I know it is of little concern because the best course of action would be to: simply eat salads because they are good for us, and not worry about when. So, this is a question for the 1%, but as someone who eats salads as apart of a daily diet, I think it is an interesting subject worth looking into.

[@bgrune1]

Good stuff but you didn't mention ground flax seed. Flax is so beneficial for health in so many ways one of which is a lowering of blood pressure. As Dr. Greger says the only side effect is a pleasant nutty taste.

[@karolynann4106]

Yes, I think he said two tablespoons a day

[@Heintjoo]

great video once again

[@stefaniasmanio5857]

Hi dr. Gil. Fantastic and precious as always! ❤ thanks! Thank you for the summary at the end of the video. ❤ btw I often get confused, when caffeine is involved: what about tea? Black classical English tea.... would you mind telling us something about it? ❤❤❤ how is your mother?❤ ❤❤❤❤

[@joebartles3986]

Don’t use red hearts. Use blue ones instead to get a reply.

[@Reddo2407]

What about the nutritarian diet and whole foods plant based diet ( vegan) to reduce blood pressure

[@lyallward2460]

Very interesting video. I'm glad you got around to making it. I would note that you did not talk about this issue with respect to short term and long term effects of each of these strategies. Food, weight and activity maybe being the longer term priority. Which I am sure you are aware of and doing this for.

[@pl4t000n]

What about stuff like citrulline and beetroot?

[@Alejandro-Te]

Great summary.

[@Wamm7115]

Could you expand mone on caffeine and blood pressure, thanks.

[@AndrewPawley11]

Excellent!

[@ozlemm3457]

Thank you for the Turkish subtitles.

[@Maya-qd5bz]

Have anyone tried reiki, energy healing for stress reduction and relaxation? And what are your results. Thanks : 🙏

[@MichaelToub]

Great Video!

[@sneslzorus9978]

Sometimes my bp is not 120/80 is a little bit higher just to share a bp readings: today 7am 117/79 Yesterday: 118/82 (pm), 127/83 (am) sat: 111/79 (am), 117/82 (pm) fri: 122/85, 117/83 Is it something to be concerned when it's slightly elevated? (I use the wrist cuff)

[@mattharrison9550]

From what my doctor told me, the wrist cuff is no where is accurate as arm cuff. Apparently the cuff should be as close as possible to the level of your heart. I personally don't know much about this. I just go off what my doc said. You blood pressure is very good. That's not elevated at all. When you get reading like 120/80 to 160/90 , that's maybe something to be concerned about.

[@bmiles3582]

BP can vary quite a bit throughout the day. For example, if I check when I just sit down, it could be 130, then after 10 minutes it could be 120.

[@steakershocks]

Gil Deep breathing exercise works too Adam J Story makes really youtube videos on it.

[@marcelotemer]

Question is: someone who already does not add any salt, but has challenge with with BP. Will benefit from adding this 50% sodium 50% potassium salt? Or have to find a 100% potassium? (person is not removing salt if goes for 50%~50%, since baseline is zero salt)

[@verwimpwim123]

What about Pycnogenol?

[@bmiles3582]

I looked up the DASH diet, they recommend a lot of carbs. How we gonna lose weight on that diet? Also, I reduced my salt a lot, and I'm not sure it had a good effect on me. I became dehydrated. I think when we reduce salt, we have to watch the electrolyte balance. But yes, I agree that restaurant food is overly salty.

[@NutritionMadeSimple]

hi, carbohydrate content is not a key determinant of weight loss, see kzbin.info/www/bejne/eIKsop2Lg8-pa8k the key is to find a diet you find sustainable & satiating. this can be higher or lower carb depending on personal preference

[@ChaseDaTruth]

Reducing refined sugars is even a far better way to lower blood pressure, because the glucose molecule requires more H2O in the blood stream to circulate than salt, also our body has additional ways of regulating sale in our body, both through the skin as sweat and through the urine and our kidneys. Sugar has to either be used as energy or stored as fat.

[@CaroAbebe]

There’s no refined sugars in the DASH diet, as there shouldn’t be (much) if you home cook your meals.

[@stan8926]

10 years of Paleo, eventually BP 140/90. 18 months of WFPB SOS free - off pills and BP 105/70, but mornings below 100/65. Adding my own salt (small amount) did not make effect.

[@rickjensen2717]

WFPB SOS ???

[@simplynoah4706]

​@@rickjensen2717 Whole food plant base

[@felicidade1899]

thank you.

[@elcidgaming]

always sitting on my Home based job is making me sick. So I changed my lifestyle. now I work on my bed lying down

[@nujabes1fan]

My diastolic is always really low. My readings can sometimes be 120/60s. What does that mean?

[@joebartles3986]

It means you are a very special little boy.

[@Drgluee]

Sounds healthy to me. Unless it starts to drop into the 50's when you are active during the day, I wouldn't worry about it.. Or do worry about it since worry = stress = higher BP.

[@ClovettCC]

Thanks Dr. C. What about bicarbonate in water to make it alkaline?

[@bennettlewis5495]

Why didn't you lead with weight loss? It should be #1 (followed by complementary exercise at #2, and alcohol reduction at #3). It's, by far, the most effective way to lower blood pressure, permanently. Most of the rest are quick-fix temporary strategies that do not significantly transform (or reverse) the underlying physiological causes of high blood pressure. Lose the weight, especially through focusing on liver and pancreas health. Get those organs healthy and your heart and blood vessels will follow. Reducing your blood pressure 3mm Hg by cutting salt does not move your body, nor your habits, towards good health, AND, it is an essential electrolyte that supports good health if you are doing the types and quantity of exercise necessary to lose the weight to lower your blood pressure. Certainly we don't need to add salt to our diet, but suggesting it is the primary and key component of restoring blood pressure to a healthy level can be at cross-purposes with the best strategies.

[@martinwallace5734]

I use 50% - 50% Sodium - Potassium salt. I cannot taste any difference; since using it, my systolic BP dropped about 8 - 10 mmHg.

[@Julottt]

Great, why not using 100% postassium salt then? because you feel a significant difference?

[@mirandamom1346]

We tried 100% K salt and it was bitter tasting. We now use the 50% product and the flavor is fine, just less intensely salty, so I find myself adding more than I would add regular table salt.

[@Julottt]

@@mirandamom1346 Ok, good to know.

[@buckw65]

If I do 3 cold baths per week, my BP is 120/80. If I stop, it goes up to 130/90 after a couple weeks. Maybe a nervous system issue ??

[@marksmanw8756]

It is still within the acceptable range. For those who actually have HBP cold showers are not recommended as far as I know.

[@buckw65]

@marksmanw8756 yes exactly what my doctor says too. People with heart rhythm problems should also stay out of the cold bath

[@karolynann4106]

Cold water raises my blood pressure a lot. I use hot water to bring mine down when it gets real high.

[@buckw65]

@karolynann4106 yes for sure...I tried that as well , 175/110 in the cold (5c) for 3 minutes. But it's the lowering to a health number that I find interesting

[@krism6260]

@nutritionmadesimple: just today i was philosophical about low blood pressure, especially the orthostatic hypotense versions (things climbing a mountain can do to you 😅). Lots of women have this problem, and when discussed with their GP, "they should be happy their RR is low". Which doesnt solve the problem. Has there ever been any research about (orthostetic) hypotension and eg different components of blood. E g cholesterol or something (hb seems irrelevant, as i was always eligable to donate blood). There must be something out of the ordinary, or at least improvable, to solve this irritating (young/elderly) female problem? Or are we again not interesting enough for science 😉 (Ie: or too complicated 😊)

[@anathardayaldar]

I can't stand KCL. Even a hint of it.

[@ml3141]

Same!

[@SuperAngelic5]

Same! I get sick to my stomach.

[@ml3141]

To me potassium chloride taste horrible. Nothing even close to salt at any amount.

[@Fearzero]

Wut?

[@Korterra1364]

Nice. I'll definitely be recommending the workouts to friends and family. I've always pressed the importance of sleep with them as well. Is there any way you could do some videos on Crohns/Ulcerative colitis? There's so much talk of gut dysbiosis and how the microbiome might be linked to IBD. I've had some doctors tell me that diet has nothing to do with IBD, and have read research suggesting people on a vegan diet had much lower rates of relapse. I don't really know what to think and I'm certainly not qualified to do my own literature review. There are so many of us with IBD that feel helpless and like its just a matter of time before the biologics fail and we have to get surgery. There are some people like Dr. Chanu Dasari and his MGI-clinic that are proposing a specific diet for IBD. I just want to understand where we are with the literature on diet and IBD. Thanks!

[@Margo714P]

Why not discuss breathing exercises? The 4-7-8 method is great at reducing pressure. My friend's levels went from the high 130's/110's to constant readings in the 100's/80's. This was almost immediate too, and just 10 minutes, twice a day, that's all he does.

[@CraigHocker]

Sounds like that comes under #9 on his list.

[@mmhromeo333]

Also supplements like olive leaf extract, hibiscus tea, beet root etc

[@Dean-sn7sm]

8:05 ‘Mindfulness and Meditation’ is what breathing exercises are. I do a ‘mindfulness’ program which is largely breathing exercises coupled with controlling your thoughts. Breathing exercises can stand alone from these but, pretty much all meditation I’ve seen is a breathing exercise to a degree.

[@dragonmummy1]

@@mmhromeo333he’s looking at science backed tips.

[@jozefwoo8079]

There is no science for 4-7-8

[@dannyspitzer1267]

I don't use salt so I just try to increase my potassium through food itself, instead of salt substitutes

[@Fearzero]

Whole plant diet. Easy.

[@asharzurin3977]

Extremely true

[@davedraycott5779]

Déficient, in B12, iron and calcium.

[@Fearzero]

@@davedraycott5779 @davedraycott5779 Nope. B12 from water lentils and nutritional yeast or a supplement. Iron from cooking kale, spinach or collards and sprinkling lemon juice on to raise absorption, and calcium from aforementioned greens. I've been at this diet 23 years son. Don't believe the charlatans.

[@theveryfirst]

Can you go too low?

[@MattDapson]

I thought sodium impact on BP was debunked.

[@robertusga]

What outcome data from which RCT in humans do you base your "debunked" comment on?

[@robertusga]

@PaulB_864 oh really? Was it the "RCT" or the "data" bit that got you flumoxed?

[@paulmaxwell8851]

No, it was not. About 25% of people are especially salt-sensitive, which means salt reduction for the other 75% brings limited results. But sodium does make a difference.

[@periklisspanos7185]

My doctor has 350 blood pressure and nothing happens to him

[@turntablesrockmyworld9315]

My takeaway is that I need to start drinking lots of alcohol daily in order to eventually stop in order to lower blood pressure.