1. Exercise

A good fitness routine helps maintain a healthy blood pressure. The American Heart Association recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity a day to keep your heart healthy and blood pressure in check. You can take a light jog, go for a nice walk, swim or do anything that’s active and enjoyable. Exercise is good medicine.

2. Eat well

To prevent and control hypertension, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommends the DASH diet, a nutritional plan that emphasizes regular consumption of fish, poultry, whole grains, nuts, fruits, vegetables, beans and low-fat dairy. For more info about lowering blood pressure through diet, check out 11 Foods Proven to Lower Blood Pressure.

3. Reduce your salt intake

As a big contributor to hypertension, salt (a.k.a. sodium) causes your body to retain water, which raises blood pressure. Unfortunately, controlling your daily salt intake means more than putting down the salt shaker or switching to a low-sodium substitute. Roughly 80% of the salt that Americans consume daily comes from prepared grocery-store foods. So when you’re shopping, keep a low-sodium diet in the front of your brain. Buy unsalted vegetables, use other spices to season foods and avoid processed foods.

4. Find your target weight

The more weight you gain, the higher your blood pressure becomes. To maintain a healthy blood pressure, you need to maintain a healthy weight. In recent studies by the National Institutes of Health, overweight adults who slimmed down experienced significant decreases in blood pressure.

5. Choose the right nutritional supplements

The big pharmaceutical companies may conveniently choose to ignore the facts, but the right daily nutrients have been shown time and again to help lower and control blood pressure as effectively or better than dangerous drugs.

• Magnesium: Found in fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products, Magnesium acts as a potent vasodilator to relax blood vessels and lower blood pressure. In addition to this, Magnesium helps sharpen mental focus and promotes deeper, more restorative sleep.
• Vitamin B6: Found in beef liver, light tuna, avocados, cereal grains and dairy products, Vitamin B6 helps lower blood pressure by reducing blood levels of an amino acid called homocysteine. Vitamin B6 also helps your body absorb Magnesium better.
• Cinnamon: In recent studies by the International Society of Sports Nutrition, Cinnamon was shown to significantly improve blood pressure and reduce many risk factors for heart disease and diabetes. The conclusion: Cinnamon is the only spice of its kind.

6. Drink responsibly

In addition to increasing blood pressure, alcohol can cause unwanted weight gain and harm your liver and kidneys. Limiting your alcohol consumption helps limit your risk of health issues. You don’t have to cut out alcohol entirely. Just limit happy hour to an hour, rather than several.

7. Stress less

As a physical reaction to a perceived threat, stress and anxiety can lead to dangerously high blood pressure from a cascade of adrenaline and cortisol hormone imbalances. When you relax, hormone levels and blood pressure typically return to normal. Yet chronic stress can cause sustained high blood pressure. So consider any stress or anxiety you may have and work on soothing the problem. Your blood pressure will thank you.

8. Make a plan

Include doctors and other medical professionals when making plans to naturally lower and control blood pressure and become a healthier version of you. And if your doctor recommends drugs to control hypertension, carefully research all the hidden side-effect risks before you think about filling any prescription. Always put your health first.