High Blood Pressure - Top 3 Home Remedies

World's medical fraternity has rightly dubbed hypertension as the 'silent killer'. Hypertension relates to rush of blood pressure in the arteries. Constant high blood pressure can lead to life-threatening complications like:

• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Kidney failure
• Eye damage
• Arteriosclerosis

Normally, systolic and diastolic blood pressure should be around 120/80 mm/Hg. However, when it shoots up to 149 mm/Hg and 90 mm/Hg or more, then it is referred to as hypertension.

Systolic blood pressure measures the pressure in the arteries when the heart muscles contract. Diastolic reading refers to the pressure exerted on the artery walls between heartbeats as the heart relaxes.

The most common symptoms of this condition are:

• Severe headache
• Shortness of breath
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Nosebleed
• Palpitation

However, many people do not experience the symptoms even when the blood pressure readings are alarmingly high.

Hypertension cannot be attributed to one single factor. It can be caused by a combination of factors such as:

• Smoking
• Alcoholism
• High-Salt Diet
• Lack of Exercise
• Stress
• Obesity
• Genetics
• Increasing Age
• Chronic Kidney Disease
• Pregnancy
• Adrenal Diseases
• Certain Medications, Antidepressants, Decongestants, Oral Contraceptives, etc.

But don't lose heart. To keep the 'silent killer' at bay, some simple home remedies can be of use to you:

Home Remedy 1

• Take a cup of warm water.
• Squeeze half a lemon in it. To reduce sourness, you can add honey.
• Mix it well.
• Drink this on empty stomach, regularly.

Home Remedy 2

• Grind equal quantities of dried watermelon seeds and poppy seeds (khus khus).
• Take 1 teaspoon of this mixture in the morning on an empty stomach and again in the evening.
• If you do not have poppy seeds, just add ground watermelon seeds in warm water and steep for half an hour. Strain the solution and drink it.

Home Remedy 3

• Have 1-2 crushed garlic cloves daily.
• If you do not like eating raw garlic or if it causes a burning sensation, then take it along with a cup of milk.

Tips

• Include watermelons and bananas in your diet.
• Coconut water is also good for high blood pressure and nausea.
• Have oats.
• Avoid alcoholic and caffeinated beverages.
• Reduce salt intake. To avoid salt, flavor your food with herbs and spices, even lemon.

Health Benefits of Guava

Diarrhea and Dysentery :

Guava is very rich in astringents (compounds those make your gums feel tighter and fresh after you chew guava leaves or eat a raw guava or use some toothpaste) which binds up loose bowels in diarrhea. These astringents are alkaline in nature and have disinfectant and anti-bacterial properties, thus help cure dysentery by inhibiting microbial growth and removing extra mucus from the intestines. Further, other nutrients in guava, such as vitamin-C, Carotenoids and potassium strengthens and tones up the digestive system and disinfect it. Guava is also beneficial in gastroenteritis due to reasons stated above.

Constipation :

Guava is one of the riches sources of dietary fiber. Its seeds, if ingested whole or chewed, serve as excellent laxatives. These two properties of guava help forming bowels, retaining water and clean your intestines and excretory system thoroughly. It is said that single constipation can lead to seventy two types of ailments. It is absolutely true. Every way to your total health goes through proper digestion and more importantly, proper excretion. Guava ensures both of these.

Cough and Cold :

Juice of raw and immature guavas or decoction of guava-leaves is very helpful in giving relief in cough and cold by loosening cough, reducing mucus, disinfecting the respiratory tract, throat and lungs and inhibiting microbial activity due to its astringent properties. Guava is one of richest in vitamin-C and iron which are proven to be preventive against cold and viral infections. In some areas in India, roasted ripe guava is used as a remedy against extreme cases of cough and cold and congestion.

Skin Care :

Guavas can help improve your skin texture and avoid skin problems more than the best of beauty creams or skin toner gels can do. This is chiefly due to the abundance of astringents in its fruits (more in immature ones) and in leaves. You can benefit from it either by eating the fruits (this help tighten your muscles apart from your skin) or by washing your skin with the decoction of its immature fruits and leaves. It will tone up and tighten the loosened skin. In addition to the astringents, guava is very-very rich in vitamin-A, B, C and potassium which are very good anti oxidants and detoxifiers and keep your skin glowing and free from aging, wrinkles and other disorders.

High Blood Pressure : 

Guava helps reduce cholesterol in blood and prevents it from thickening, thereby maintaining fluidity of blood and reducing blood pressure. Studies have shown that food stuffs which lack fiber (such a refined flour) add to blood pressure, due to quick conversion to sugar. Guava, being very rich in fiber and hypoglycemic in nature, helps reduce blood pressure.

Weight Loss :

Guava is very helpful for those who want to lose weight without compromising with their intake of proteins, vitamins and fiber. Guava, being very high in roughage and very rich in vitamins, proteins and minerals, but with no cholesterol and less digestible carbohydrates, is very filling and satisfies appetite very easily. Just have a medium sized guava in the lunch and you will not feel hungry till night. But ironically, it helps gaining weight in lean and thin people. This is probably due to its richness in nutrients, which keeps your metabolism right helping proper absorption of nutrients.

Scurvy :

Guava can outdo many other fruits, including orange and other citrus fruits, when it comes to concentration of vitamin-C, whose deficiency causes scurvy and which is the only remedy to it. It contains five times the vitamin-C in oranges.

Other Benefits :

Guava helps control diabetes, protects prostrate, its Lypocene reduces the risk of cancer, the juice of the leaves cures toothache, swollen gums and oral ulcers, heals wounds when applied externally, convulsions, epilepsy, bacterial infections and so on and so forth.

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