Herbal Recipes to Help Lower High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure also known as hypertension affects about 67 million Americans. When you have hypertension, your heart has to work extra hard to pump blood through your body. While pharmaceutical treatment of high blood pressure focuses on the symptoms, herbal remedies for high blood pressure provide a tonic to support the body and increase the efficiency of the heart and blood circulation.

Please consult your healthcare practitioner before using herbs to make sure they don’t contradict your medications.

One of the most important things to do is to stop eating processed foods. They are loaded with salt and too much sodium disrupts the balance of fluid in the body.

Hibiscus tea is made from the petals of the bright-red flowers of Hibiscus sabdariffa. The taste is tart and many people find it pleasant. I enjoy drinking it chilled, if you find the taste too tart, you can add honey.

Hibiscus acts as a diuretic which draws sodium from the bloodstream decreasing the pressure on the arterial walls. This flower mimics ACE inhibitors. ACE inhibitors are a common group of pharmaceutical drugs used to treat high blood pressure. As a result of this inhibition, blood vessels relax and blood volume is lowered decreasing blood pressure.

Hibiscus Tea

Ingredients

• 1-2 teaspoon of dried hibiscus
• 1 cup of fresh, piping hot water
• 1 cinnamon stick (optional)

Directions

• Bring water to a boil and add the hibiscus and cinnamon sticks (if using them) and allow it to steep for 5 minutes.
• Add honey and drink 2-3 times daily. This makes an awesome iced tea for those sticky, hot summer days.

Hawthorn (Crataegus oxyacantha) is an excellent herb for heart health as it is rich in flavonoids, namely oligomeric procyandins (OPC’s) and quercetin. Flavonoids have many benefits but one of the conditions  it affects is various forms of heart disease. This includes arrhythmia, palpitations, improving the function of capillaries, regulating glucose metabolism, reducing arterial blood pressure and the risk of hypertension. The flavonoids pertaining to hypertension cause a widening of the blood vessels which ultimately reduces the pressure of the blood.

You can enjoy hawthorn in the form of a tea or in the form of balls which is what is given below. This recipe also calls for cinnamon and ginger, which are great for helping circulation flow smoothly.

Hawthorn Balls

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons of powdered hawthorn berry
• 1/2-1 tablespoons of cinnamon powder
• Raw honey
• Water
• Cocoa or carob powder

Directions

• Place the cinnamon and hawthorn powder in a bowl and mix the two together.
• Add just enough honey and water to make a paste.
• Thicken the mixture with cocoa powder or carob powder until it has formed a dough that you can cleanly roll into small balls no bigger than your index fingernail.
• Place them on a cookie sheet and dry in an oven at a very low temperature (no more than 150 degrees Fahrenheit) until dry.
• Store indefinitely in a glass jar out of direct sunlight and in a cool place.

Ginger-Cardamom tea is a useful home remedy for high blood pressure. Combined with ginger and cinnamon both warming spices that improve circulation, you can make a tea to help your heart get healthy. Black tea improves blood pressure because of the heavy concentration of flavonoids. But if you have blood pressure that is on the more severe side, caffeine may do more harm than good. This warm, spicy tea is really good on chilly winter days.

Ginger-Cardamom Tea 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of water
• 2-3 teaspoons of honey (or to taste)
• 1 teaspoon of cardamom pods
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder OR 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder
• 1 ½ tablespoons black tea or 1 teabag
• 1/2 cup milk

Directions

• Crush the cardamom pods to release the oil-there’s no need to grind them finely.
• In a saucepan combine all the ingredients except for the honey.
• Bring to a boil and simmer for 6-9 minutes until you get a rich caramel brown color.
• Stir in honey and strain into a mug and enjoy!
• Drink 1-2 times daily.

Blueberry syrup is my favorite way of incorporating the benefits of herbs and spices into my daily life. This is not sickly sweet and heavy. This is a great way to give yourself a natural boost. Blueberries are rich in the flavonoid quercetin.  Try mixing in elderberries for an extra heart healthy kick. Elderberries do so much more than just ward off colds and flu!

Blueberry Syrup

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons of dried blueberries OR 4 tablespoons each of dried blueberries and elderberries 
• 4 cups water
• 1 cup  honey
• 1 pot
• strainer
• glass jar with an airtight lid

Directions

• Add the dried berries to the water and bring to a simmer over low heat.
• Simmer until the liquid is reduced to half.
• Strain the solids out, pressing on them to extract any extra juices and pour the liquid back into the pot.
• Stir in the honey, warming the mixture just to ensure the two blend together thoroughly.
• For a thicker syrup, heat the honey and berry juice over medium-high heat for 20 minutes.
• Bottle and label and store in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 weeks.
• Take 1 tablespoon twice daily.

Cayenne pepper (Capsicum annuum) is a known vasodilator, meaning it widens the blood vessels. It quickly expands blood vessels which improves the flow of blood. Faster and more efficient flow takes pressure off of the arteries decreasing your blood pressure. Capsaicin is one of the major ingredients in red peppers. The spicier the pepper is the more capsaicin it contains.

Cayenne pepper helps to create new red blood cells, improves blood structure and aids in detoxing the blood. Cayenne pepper has the ability to remove some plaque build-up off of the arterial walls.

Recommended dosage is 1 teaspoon of organic cayenne pepper a day, and slowly work your way up to one tablespoon, 3 times a day.

Dark chocolate is made from the seeds of the cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao) and is full of antioxidants including polyphenols, flavonoids, and catechins. It is exceptionally high in its levels of flavanols. Flavanols are phytonutrients which are known as plant-based nutrients. Not many other foods come close to the amount of flavanols found in cocoa seeds.

Flavanols are found in certain fruits, vegetables, teas, unprocessed grape juice, wine and berries. Black teas and red wine contain high levels of flavanols. Flavanols release a chemical known as nitric oxide. This chemical is a free radical meaning its cancer fighting which is essential for cellular health.

Activated nitric oxide dilates blood vessels making it easier for the blood to circulate throughout your body. Nitric oxide is absolutely necessary in maintaining a healthy body. By keeping the blood vessels open, it allows the blood to efficiently carry vital oxygen and nutrients to all parts of your body. Dilated blood vessels decrease stress in the body. This in turn, lowers blood pressure and reduces the risk of stroke or a heart attack.

Eaten in moderation, dark chocolate can actually reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke and maintains efficient blood circulation.

Your dark chocolate or cocoa powder should contain at least 50-80% of cocoa so you will reap the health benefits. Just remember that the more cocoa content your chocolate contains, the more nutritious it is.

There are  so many different herbs and foods you can utilize to lower high blood pressure. Many of these herbs could be used in your meals on a daily basis, so you can gradually build up your health.

Always check with your health care practitioner to make sure any prescriptions you take for high blood pressure and any herbal remedies don’t interfere with each other.