The most effective supplements and dietary changes for high blood pressure and cholesterol your GP may not tell you

Dr Andrew Fisher gives his insights on the most effective dietary changes and supplements for these common conditions

High blood pressure (hypertension) and ‘high’ cholesterol are common findings for which I am regularly asked what can I take instead of pharmaceuticals to help with this?

Although there can be large gains made by increasing activity levels with both aerobic and resistance exercise, as well as improving diet, there are supplements or specific dietary changes that may be particularly helpful.

Below I list my top five tips which are not regularly considered for blood pressure cholesterol management:

Tip #1 -add a (non-odourous!) Garlic capsule daily

Garlic supplementation appears to reduce blood pressure, and the magnitude is quite respectable in people with hypertension (around 10 points systolic or 8-10%) , whereas there is a smaller but significant reduction in people with normal blood pressure.

Consuming two cloves of garlic a day can be challenging and also off putting for those around you! Happily you can consume a garlic capsule to produce a similar effect.

Garlic also decreases LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol.

Tip #2 - Use Lo- Salt

Eating a high potassium diet and indeed supplementing with potassium chloride has been shown to lower blood pressure.

Lo-salt contains potassium chloride as well as the normal sodium chloride that we use as table salt. It can be purchased in various concentrations and when starting to use this substitute it is best to begin with one that contains 25% potassium chloride before they’re moving up to the 50% potassium chloride version as there is a slight difference in taste that your taste buds will quit people become used to and allow you to move up to the more effective version

Tip #3 - consider magnesium

Several large scale studies have shown that oral magnesium does reduce blood pressure in patients with hypertension.

Tip #4 - consider turmeric (Curcumin) or Berberine.

There is evidence that turmeric can both reduce blood pressure and decrease triglycerides.

Although barbering is often used to improve blood sugar control, it is less known that it has a positive effect on your cholesterol profile: reducing total cholesterol and triglycerides.

Tip #5 - add all the other important (and delicious!) things to your diet

For blood pressure: A heaped tablespoon of flaxseed daily, Spirulina added to your smoothie or glass of beetroot juice or hibiscus tea have all been shown to help lower BP.

For your lipid profile: some soy protein, a cup Yerba mate daily, or even going full hog on a vegan diet is shown to reduce your LDL cholesterol

Don’t Forget to make those behavioural changes too

There is increasing evidence that regular sauna use is associated with a drop in blood pressure, so don’t overlook those behaviours we could change in order to improve our blood pressure or cholesterol profile.

If you found these tips interesting and would like five Advice why not book a meeting with the Longevity Docs for your own personalised advice.