3 Herbs To Help You Combat High Blood Pressure
If you're concerned about your blood pressure but are not yet at the stage when you need to be on medication, then you should consider a change of diet. In addition to eating healthier, which means less salt and fatty foods, you should also add some healthy herbs to your diet. In particular, you should add herbs that have been shown to have a positive effect on lowering blood pressure. The list below will cover 3 such herbs. One is an herb you can add to salads and pastas, while the other two you can use to make teas or purchase in pill form.
Basil
Basil is a common herb, but it's also one that has tremendous healthy benefits. Of particular interest to people with high blood pressure is a study conducted in China that found that basil was beneficial in lowering blood pressure in a similar way that medication does. The great thing about basil is that there are so many ways to cook with it. You can add it to a green salad, layer it into lasagna, or make a pesto sauce using olive oil, pine nuts, basil leaves and cheese.
Hawthorn
Hawthorn is one of the more popular herbs for treating heart ailments, so it's not limited to lowering blood pressure. It's also been used to deal with high cholesterol, congestive heart failure, as well as treating hard arteries. The chemical in hawthorn that is believed to help with lowering your blood pressure is called proanthocyanidin. This chemical relaxes blood vessels, which aids in lowering total blood pressure.
Some people make jellies and jams using the berries of the hawthorn plant, but the most common way to take this herb is in pill form. You can then take it with your daily vitamin regimen.
Cats Claw
Cat's claw comes from the rain forests of South America. It was used for a myriad of health ailments, including ulcers and arthritis. There are two reasons that cat's claw is believed to be helpful for high blood pressure. First, it dilates blood vessels. As was mentioned when discussing hawthorn, this is beneficial for lowering blood pressure. Also, it behaves as a natural diuretic. Many people who have high blood pressure are prescribed diuretics, so cat's claw mimics one of the common blood pressure treatments. You can get cat's claw in tea bags or in pill form.
Be sure to talk to your doctor to find out what herbs you can add to your diet to help lower your blood pressure.