3 Easy Ways to Manage High Blood Pressure
- 2 hours ago
- 10 min read
This article is a transcribed, edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in January 2024. For the original video, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xcb08ukcXD4
Brad: Wow. Oh, my blood pressure's good. I feel so much better now. It's good.
Mike: Well, mine's probably up because I work with you.
Brad: Plus, you're bald.
Mike: Oh, whoa, whoa.
Brad: Actually, there's a study that says bald people typically have higher blood pressure. But we don't know about that.
Mike: It's probably because we don't have hair anymore, and we're upset about it.
Brad: That's right, so blood pressure is a common concern for a lot of people because it's true. We're going to go through that and take a trip back to memory lane, and add one important thing we found out about it near the end of this video
Mike: But before that, we should probably tell them who the heck we are.
Brad: Okay, the first thing we need to do is establish what your blood pressure really is. You don't want to take your blood pressure just once and assume that's the way it is all the time. The best way to do it is to take it five to seven days in a row in the morning after you get up and have been up for half an hour, and then before you go to bed, and do it in the same chair, the same posture, same position. You should be in a firm chair with armrests, just like I am here.
Brad: 90-degree bend at the knees and the hips. Sit up, the cuff at heart level, and then take it. You're going to relax while you do it. Make sure you write it down, write the time, and again, do that five to seven days in a row, and then average it. But there are a couple more things that you have to be careful of or be consistent with. Mike?
Mike: Yes. You want to make sure you don't have any caffeine before you check it because that can raise people's blood pressure. Also, no alcohol in the evening. And apparently, you want to make sure you have an empty bladder because apparently, that can affect your blood pressure.
Brad: Oh, it's true.
Mike: And I would recommend making sure you're seated for a few minutes before you check it, and don't have any, like, type of intense exercise before either, because that's going to make your blood pressure go up.
Brad: That's right. Again, consistency, relaxed position. Now we wanna talk about the numbers. How do you know if you have high blood pressure after you've established an average for the week?
Mike: So, typically 120/80 is still normal. And if you are considered high, you're typically 140/90. They normally say the lower number is more pertinent than the higher number, but it's important to look at both still.
Brad: That's right, and if you are questionable, you absolutely want to see your doctor and get it assessed by the doctor, and then proceed from there. If you are the type of person who is sedentary, you haven't been watching your diet, and you do have high blood pressure, you probably can reduce it without taking meds just by making lifestyle changes. So that's good news, particularly if you want to avoid meds.
Mike: So we want to go over three options to help reduce your blood pressure without taking meds. Now the first two were actually going to go back in time, a video that Bob and Brad did together in the past. And Bob actually did some changes to his sleeping habits as well as some supplements to his diet, which really helped him. So I think we could time-travel now.
Brad: That's right. Let's go back because it worked really well. Woo woo woo woo woo woo woo.
Bob: I was finding my blood pressure was creeping up a little bit. It wasn't terrible, but I had some measurements that were in the 140s for the systolic, right? And it was up to 88, like on the diastolic
Brad: 88?
Bob: Yeah. So it started to get up there, you know?
Brad: Well, you're getting into that warning sign.
Bob: And I don't know if it's from working with you or what.
Brad: Well, that might be an issue. That's what my wife says.
Bob: So anyway, I tried a few things, and I really don't know which one of these worked the best. So I tried two things, and one thing that worked for my wife was to have ground flax seeds. And said she just takes a couple of tablespoons of that a morning, I think two tablespoons a morning, and just mixes it in with your oatmeal, or whatever.
Brad: I put it in my yogurt.
Bob: You put it in yogurt.
Brad: Yeah, because I started taking it a few months ago.
Bob: And you're supposed to take the ground kind.
Brad: Yeah. I get the organic ground.
Bob: So a Canadian study found that eating 30 grams of flaxseed daily for six months lowered systolic and diastolic pressure by 10 millimeters per mercury and seven millimeters per mercury, respectively.
Brad: Oh, top and bottom.
Bob: Yeah, the top and the bottom. And you know, I've had more than that. I have dropped more than that. So I think maybe both of these things are working. So the second thing, do you want to hear it?
Brad: So the first thing was the flaxseed.
Bob: Flaxseed.
Brad: Okay.
Bob: The second thing was, do you remember that book you borrowed me on breathing?
Brad: Oh yeah.
Bob: So in this book on breathing, they did an experiment where the guy actually plugged up his nose, and his friend's nose for, I don't know if it was a month? I don't remember how long it was. So he was just mouth breathing. During that time, his blood pressure went way up, and his anxiety levels went way up. Everything was bad.
Brad: Right, right. I remember that. Yeah, the book is "Breath," I believe.
There are a number of studies in there that are stated.
Bob: And so I looked online too, and yes, there are studies that support that a nose breather has lower blood pressure than a mouth breather. Now I've been a mouth breather my entire life, and part of it is because I don't breathe through one of my nostrils.
Brad: You're clogged up on one side.
Bob: Little bit on that side, yeah. Deviated septum, possibly. So I started, and you had mentioned this, and that's where I got it from. And I don't know if you got it from the book, but I started at night, taping my mouth shut. My wife really appreciates this.
Brad: Well, I've done it, and my wife too. And you have some nice tape here.
Bob: Yeah. This is the tape we're using: Nexcare. It's just a medical tape, like, it's pain-free, and it's hypoallergenic, and it's for sensitive skin.
Brad: I mean, to be honest with you, I've actually used Scotch tape.
Bob: I'm surprised you don't use duct tape.
Brad: Well, it's a little cheaper than the Nexcare. It'll work fine. I just put it on your mouth.
Bob: Yeah, that's what I do.
Brad: Feels kind of weird.
Bob: No, it's weird, but it works. And the only thing I found I sometimes had trouble breathing through my nose at night. I wake up. And if you have trouble breathing, your mouth separates enough that you start breathing through your mouth again.
Brad: Right, you don't seal it up.
Bob: Yeah, it doesn't seal up.
Brad: So I started using the Breathe Right tapes.
Bob: Yeah, well, the other thing I wanted to mention about the taping is that I was doing it because of dry mouth. I woke up, and my mouth felt like it was sandpaper. It's not fun. But it was helpful for that. I don't need it anymore, and I'm not having that issue.
Bob: You know what also seems to be, Brad, I might be wrong on this, but it seems like my teeth are whiter. No, I'm serious. Any dentists out there know why?
Brad: We have to get onto the blood pressure.
Bob: There are a lot of benefits to this. So anyway, I started using the Breathe Right strips.
Brad: It's right here. They're spring-loaded. You tape them down, and they pull the nostrils apart. I've never had them on before. I thought it was kind of a bunch of hooey.
Bob: I thought it was a bunch of hooey, too.
Brad: But it does feel like it does open them up slightly.
Bob: It does. Now the only problem I have with these, Brad, is that you have to keep buying them. And two, they start irritating the skin a little bit.
Brad: Well, it's because you're sensitive.
Bob: Yeah, I'm a sensitive guy.
Brad: So again, we're continuing to get the breathing through the nose, so the blood pressure goes down.
Bob: My daughter recommended these. These are called nose vents. They're plastic.
Brad: Are they hard plastic?
Bob: No soft.
Brad: They're soft. Okay.
Bob: So you could just stick them in your nostrils. I know this is gross.
Brad: Yeah, that is gross.
Bob: But it works.
Brad: So they stay in pretty good?
Bob: Yeah, they actually work better than the Breath Rights, I think. But they can fall out sometimes, and you find them in bed, you know. But I prefer these. So I got this on, and I got the tape off my mouth. All right, all this led to, though, my blood pressure was like 142/88. Dropped down to 117/78 pretty consistently.
Brad: So the flaxseed wasn't a part of that drop?
Bob: It was, both of them. So I don't know which one did it. Or I think they both did it to be honest with you. So if you're already taking blood pressure medicine, you have to make sure you get things checked out with your doctor before you try anything.
Brad: Exactly. Whoa, we're back to the future or the present, whatever. So those are two nice options that worked for Bob. They may work for you now, but we're giving you a third option. I think everyone agrees with this. Stress reduction. When you lower your stress in your life, your heart and blood pressure will relax and come down. So, the first one.
Mike: There are options for exercising that can help with stress reduction. Now we're talking about 30 minutes of easy aerobic exercise. So things like walking, maybe jogging, biking, going to fitness classes, whatever you enjoy, just doing something, getting those good hormones moving through exercise can help reduce your stress.
Brad: Right, and this is an option that I have done very successfully. I do like to exercise, so for me it was just easy to do. So this was about 30 years ago, when my blood pressure was working up there. And I consistently do this now. But if you're not an exercise person, this is not for you. There are some other options, Mike?
Mike: You can even do yoga or meditation classes; often, those are very relaxing environments, and people reduce their stress that way. And some people like me just want to let out their daily aggression on some weights. So lifting weights is a good option as well. It's just another form of exercise. Just pick what works for your lifestyle and what you enjoy the most, and see if it reduces your stress and helps with your blood pressure.
Brad: That's right. So again, there are a lot of options. Look for them. We've given some options here that worked for us. Now go for yourself and find out what works.
Mike: And if you want to check out more videos, watch "One Food Lowered My Wife's BP by 15-20 Points (Blood Pressure)." This is about Bob's wife.
Brad: Right. So very good. Enjoy, and really stay relaxed and keep your blood pressure low.
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