Ayurvedic Treatment for Hypertension-Blood Pressure
Hypertension is one of the major causes of disability and death all over the world. Hypertension causes heart attacks, strokes, kidney failures and other disorder if it is neglected and remains untreated. In many cases, hypertension does not cause any symptoms until it causes complications such as heart attack and stroke and plays a role of silent killer in the body. So it is important to realize that you may have high blood pressure and only way to find it out that get your blood pressure checked at regular intervals.
Blood pressure is high when arterial blood pressure is elevated above the normal ranges. The normal blood pressure reading is systolic 120 over diastolic 80.
Symptoms of Hypertension:
- Pain experienced at the back of the head and neck on waking up, which soon disappears.
- Dizziness
- Palpitations
- Heart pain
- Frequent urination
- Nervous tension
- Fatigue
- Difficulty in Breathing
Causes of Hypertension:
- Stress and hectic life-style.
- Vitiation of vata
- Smoking and an excessive intake of intoxicants
- Hardening of the arteries
- Obesity
- Metabolic disorders
- Excessive intake of common table salt
- Overloading of fast foods
Ayurvedic Approach to Hypertension:
According to Ayurveda, high blood pressure involves all the doshas, the heart, and the blood vessels. We can see signs and symptoms of derangement of vata dosha mainly that of 'Vyana vayu' in high blood pressure. The treatment is to correct the balance of vata dosha. Pitta vitiation is also seen often and should be treated.
People with Pitta and Vata predominant constitution and Pitta and Vata imbalance, are more prone to hypertension than any other. Unprocessed anger, frustration, irritability, anxiety and fear leads to mal-adaptation of the endocrine system, which then leads to conditions like hypertension. Treatment is based on bringing these imbalances back to normal.
In the treatment of hypertension; nutrition, exercise, breathing exercises (Pranayama), yoga, meditation, behavioral modification along with various herbs and minerals are prescribed.
Ayurvedic Diet for Hypertension:
- Avoid meat, eggs and salt
- Reduce protein intake
- Follow the following vegetarian diet:
- Vegetables: Garlic, lemon
- Fruits: Indian Gooseberry, Grape fruit, watermelon,
- Dairy: Butter milk & Curd
- Limit sodium in the diet.
- Cigarette smokers tend to have high blood pressure. Nicotine increases the resting heart rate and increases the release of the adrenaline
Correct your diet and control your weight. One important thing to do is lose any excess amount of body fat you have. One of the good reasons to be slim (lean) is to keep your blood pressure low, losing body fat will lower the pressure enough that a person need not take medicine to control blood pressure. Either you have normal blood pressure or you have hypertension with high cholesterol levels your diet should definitely of low fat, low saturated fat, and low cholesterol diet. It will be helpful to minimize the risk of fatty cholesterol deposits and will prevent complication of high blood pressure.
Home Remedies for High blood Pressure
Tip 1: Vegetables such as carrots, spinach and parsley (Ajwain) play a significant role in lowering blood pressure. Take a glass of juice made of these vegetables twice a day to help keep your blood pressure under control.
Tip 2: Indian gooseberry (Amla) is an effective home remedy for high blood pressure. Mix 1 tablespoon of fresh amla juice with an equal amount of honey. Take this mixture daily in the morning before your breakfast.
Tip 3: Boiled potatoes are essential for lowering blood pressure. The magnesium and potassium present in the vegetable are very effective in lowering blood pressure.
Tip 4: Grapefruit is another remedy that is useful in preventing high blood pressure. The vitamin content in the fruit helps in toning the blood vessels.
Tip 5: A clove of garlic is highly recommended for high blood pressure. Consume one to two cloves of garlic daily with your meals.
Tip 6: Watermelon seeds are also a good remedy for high blood pressure. Take some dry roasted seeds and grind them up. Add the seeds to 2 cups of water and boil for about 15 minutes. Strain the liquid and consume daily in the morning and evening.
Tip 7: Make a mixture of 1 teaspoon each of honey and ginger juice with 1 teaspoon of cumin powder (Jeera), stir well and consume this mixture twice a day for treating high blood pressure.
