Hypertension is a disease that requires medical follow-up. Reviewing one’s lifestyle and using alternative medicine can, in some cases, limit the need for blood pressure-lowering drugs.
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1. Hawthorn to calm an anxious temperament
Hawthorn is used for its regulating action on the cardiac rhythm and for its calming and anxiolytic effect.
Thanks to these two joint actions, it is well suited to people under stress, who tend to have palpitations, tremors … It acts as a natural beta-blocker, but without the disadvantages of fatigue and a significant slowdown of the heart rate, said Dr. Jean-Michel Morel, general practitioner herbalist.
How to use it?
- It can be found in the form of standardized plant extract : 1 to 2 teaspoons per day should be swallowed.
- More practical, there are dry extract capsules : 2 to 3 capsules per day to reach 400 to 800 mg, spread over the day. To be taken as a cure for at least 3 months. You can then decrease the number of capsules, and then space out the doses.
Be careful, it is better to ask for medical advice in case of heart problems or if you are already taking a treatment against hypertension!
2. Olive leaves to regulate the metabolism
“The olive tree has hypotensive properties and regulates the cardiac rhythm. It also acts on glucose metabolism, with an effect on cholesterol and diabetes,” notes Dr. Morel.
This is why it is often prescribed in case of hypertension in people who are in “metabolic overload”: tendency to be overweight, too fatty and sweet diet…
How to use it ?
The leaves should be used as an herbal tea: 30 g of plant for 1 liter of water, boil over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes and then let infuse for 1 hour. Drink 1 liter of herbal tea throughout the day, in cures of 5 days per week during 3 weeks, then respect a pause of one week before resuming.
The improvement is slow but progressive, over several months: you can gain up to two points of tension, provided you reduce salt in your diet, drink 1 to 1.5 liters of water per day and practice physical activity,” warns the doctor.
3. The essential oil of lavender, to relax quickly and well
The essential oil of lavender officinale (also known as true or fine lavender) has a rapid sedative action and acts on the autonomic nervous system, which regulates blood pressure. In 2011, a placebo-controlled study conducted on 40 people showed that applying it in massage, diluted in a vegetable oil, lowers blood pressure (systolic and diastolic) as well as the pulse.
How to use it ?
The easiest way is to use it pure, by local way. Put a drop of essential oil on the inside of each wrist and on the solar plexus and apply by massaging clockwise until penetration, when you feel stressed and tense, for example at the end of the day.
It is interesting to associate it with the essential oil of petit grain, if you already have some in your pharmacy, “its antispasmodic and cardiac tranquilizing action completes it well: you can then apply 1 drop of each”, adds Dr Morel.
4. Omega-3 to protect the heart
Omega-3 fatty acids have an overall protective effect on cardiovascular health and act on high blood pressure by relaxing the blood vessel walls,” explains Dr. Morel.
A 2012 review of studies concluded that consuming omega-3-rich fish oil supplements for at least 8 weeks provides a mild decrease in systolic and diastolic blood pressure in people with hypertension.
How to use them?
You should reach 900 mg of omega-3 per day. But to achieve this, you would have to eat fatty fish (sardines, salmon, etc.) every day, which, in addition to being difficult, is not recommended because the latter may be contaminated by pollutants (dioxins, PCBs or methyl-mercury).
“It is often useful to resort to a supplementation“, indicates the general practitioner. 1 capsules dosed at 1000 Mg of omega-3 per day make it possible to reach the good quantity, in the long course, in cure of at least 2 to 3 months.