When it comes to taking care of your life and body, staying healthy is a full-time job.
This is especially true for people who struggle with certain medical conditions which require special attention and consideration, such as people with high blood pressure.
However, if you or someone close to you is currently suffering from blood pressure-related problems, you might have some good news on the way.
How To Lower Your Blood Pressure?
The NEWSTART Lifestyle Program is a new approach to managing blood pressure, developed by a team led by M. Alfredo Mejida.
Mejida is an associate professor at the University of Michigan and makes the claim that the
NEWSTART program may be an effective way to keep blood pressure under control without
the need or use of medications or other medical interventions.
Instead, this program places a strong emphasis on lifestyle changes such as diet, exercise, and a well-maintained sleep schedule.
Mejida first presented the findings he and his team uncovered at the 2019 meeting of
the American Society of Nutrition in Boston, Massachusetts.
In the initial study used to test the effects of the NEWSTART lifestyle, Mejida and his
team of researchers focused on a group of 117 participants, all of whom struggled with
high blood pressure.
After two weeks of following the NEWSTART lifestyle program, all of the participants
involved were reported to have lower blood pressure levels than when they started, with
half of the total number of participants had their blood pressure dropped all the way down
to recommended levels.
This is extremely noteworthy, as the results produced by the participants in this study
are comparable to the results that are most common among those who regularly use medication
in order to manage blood pressure.
So, you may ask
Advertisements:
Advertisements:
What does the NEWSTART lifestyle entail?
For starters, the NEWSTART lifestyle program prescribes a specialized vegan diet, giving
priority to plant-based food items such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes and
whole grains.
Additionally, participants in the NEWSTART lifestyle program are encouraged to exercise
regularly and get a good night’s sleep every night, in addition to staying properly hydrated
by drinking adequate amounts of water every day.
While the results of the NEWSTART Lifestyle Program as demonstrated by the participant
group is significant, they’re not exactly surprising.
At least, that’s what some experts in the medical and nutritional fields seem to claim.
According to Dr. Andrew Freeman, a cardiologist at the National Jewish Health Institute in
Colorado, the findings of Mejia and his team’s research are actually to be expected.
Advertisements:
Advertisements:
In an interview with Healthline, Freeman says:
“Exercise, particularly cardio and aerobic exercise, has been known to be a potent dropper
of blood pressure for a long time, and we know that fruits and vegetables rich in potassium
and naturally occurring nitrates can actually lower blood pressure as effectively as many
of the medications […] So that, to me, is no surprise.
It’s nice that they put it all together in this study.”
However, despite the seemingly obvious and apparent results that these changes can have
on a person’s blood pressure, there are many who seem uninterested in the idea of
completely overhauling their established lifestyle, even if there are guaranteed health benefits
involved with doing so.
Advertisements:
Advertisements:
Blood pressure regulation via medication
According to Dr. Freeman, there are still many individuals who would prefer the relative
the simplicity of regulating their blood pressure via medication as opposed to making any major
changes in terms of diet, exercise, or sleep schedule.
However, even for blood pressure patients who regularly use prescription medications,
lifestyle will nevertheless continue to play an important factor in the individual’s
overall health.
Advertisements:
Advertisements:
Freeman says:
“If you look at the latest blood pressure guidelines, no matter what you do, lifestyle
intervention is supposed to be part of the plan […] So even if you use so-called standard
In western medicine, lifestyle is still a factor.
I want to make sure I underscore that because it’s something that’s often missed.”
This isn’t to say that all of the onus in terms of lifestyle health should be placed
squarely on the patients with high blood pressure, as that would be unfair.
As Dr. Freeman suggests, there are many cases in which the doctors of these patients may
be equally culpable as well.
For instance, Dr. Freeman co-authored a study conducted in 2017 that surveyed a group of over
900 different licensed cardiologists.
According to the findings of the survey, 90 percent of the cardiologists surveyed reported
that they had received little to no formal training or education in relation to the importance
of nutrition.
As Freeman postulates, if more cardiologists were educated in the field of nutrition as
part of their medical training, they could potentially be more well equipped when dispensing
advice to their patients.
Advertisements:
Advertisements:
As Freeman concludes in his Healthline interview:
“It’s important to remind all the healthcare people out there that we need to arm ourselves
with every tool in the arsenal […] That includes medications and procedures of course,
but we really need to learn more about lifestyle medicine, and a lot of those gaps that are
created during our training, we really need to spend time filling so that we have the
tools available to treat diseases better — and more cheaply, for that matter.”
How to maintain your cardiovascular health?
To put it simply, there are no easy ways out when it comes to maintaining you’re own cardiovascular
health.
Eating right, staying hydrated, staying active, and maintaining a proper sleep schedule is
all-important components to keeping your blood pressure at healthy levels; however, this
isn’t to say that any of these things don’t require at least a certain degree of commitment,
discipline and effort.
Advertisements:
Advertisements:
Blood pressure lifestyle
For people with high blood pressure, a long-term commitment to these lifestyle changes
is the most important way to keep your cardiovascular health on track and ensure that you are doing
everything within your power to take the reigns of your own personal health.
At the same time, however, we don’t mean to demonize blood pressure medications entirely;
indeed, they may prove to be necessary for people with more serious complications related
to high blood pressure.
In the end, it just comes down to doing what you can to maintain your own heart health
based on the information you receive from the experts and professionals in the field
of cardiovascular medicine.
Advertisements:
Advertisements:
Did you find this article helpful or informative?
For readers who may struggle with high blood pressure, what measures do you take in your
everyday life to help keep your heart healthy, and are there any tips or techniques you’ve
learned that may also be worth sharing?
We’re always interested in hearing feedback from the people who read our blog, so be
Be sure to scroll down and leave a comment in the section below in order to help keep the conversation going.
This product has made diabetes management a breeze. It’s an intelligent assistant that keeps me on top of my health and well-being. click here to revolutionize your diabetes care!
Managing diabetes can be overwhelming, but this product has simplified the process. It’s a reliable companion that helps me stay on track with my health goals. click here to take control of your diabetes!