Blood pressure: everyday habits that help

Step by step

1. 1

   Step 1: Find the salt you are not thinking about

   Most salt does not come from the salt cellar. It comes from packets: savoury snacks, biscuits, pickles, papad, ready sauces, instant noodles and bakery items. Cutting those back does far more than cooking blander food. Herbs, lemon, garlic, ginger, cumin and coriander give you the flavour back.

   Learn more: Anti-inflammatory swaps for an Indian kitchen
2. 2

   Step 2: Walk most days

   Regular gentle activity is one of the most reliable things you can do for blood pressure, and it does not need to be strenuous. Thirty minutes most days, which can be split into three lots of ten, is a sensible target. A walk after meals counts.

   Learn more: Movement & blood sugar
3. 3

   Step 3: Eat for potassium as well as less salt

   Vegetables, fruit, beans and lentils bring potassium, which works against sodium rather than simply avoiding it. Build meals around them, keep portions steady, and favour whole foods over packaged ones. If you have kidney problems, ask your doctor before increasing potassium-rich foods.

   Learn more: Nutrition basics
4. 4

   Step 4: Take stress seriously

   Constant low-level stress and short sleep both push blood pressure up, and both are easy to treat as unavoidable when they are not. A few slow breaths with a longer breath out, a short pause when worry circles, and a settled sleep routine are small and they add up.

   Learn more: Worry: a four-step pause when your mind will not stop
5. 5

   Step 5: Keep your checks, and keep taking what you are given

   High blood pressure has no symptoms, which is exactly why it needs measuring rather than guessing. Have it checked as often as your doctor advises. And if you are on medication for it, none of the above replaces it: these habits work alongside treatment, never instead of it, and stopping a medicine is a decision only your doctor should make.

   Learn more: Sleep & recovery

All topics in this guide

• Blood pressure in women, and why it changes after 55
• Heart attack signs in women, and why they are missed
• Anti-inflammatory swaps for an Indian kitchen
• Movement & blood sugar
• Nutrition basics
• Worry: a four-step pause when your mind will not stop
• Sleep & recovery

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