Well visits with your primary care physician are important to alert you and your doctor of potentially serious health problems. High blood pressure is one of these issues that can increase your risk of developing heart disease, damage to your heart, and having a heart attack. Working with your physician is the best way to reduce your blood pressure before a serious problem does develop. There are some simple things you can do as well to reduce your blood pressure.

Bask In The Sun

You may know that the sun helps to provide your body with all of the vitamin D that it needs. The sun can also reduce your blood pressure naturally when you expose the skin to the sun's UV rays. When the UV rays hit the skin, they help to convert the nitrate in the cells to a gas called nitric oxide. The nitric oxide gas controls the flow of blood in the body and increases the efficiency of the blood vessels by opening them up. The dilation allows blood more freely through the arteries and blood pressure decreases. 

If you want to harness the energy of the sun to allow you to lower your blood pressure, then go outside for an hour or more each day. If you do this, you should still protect the skin from UV damage by applying sunscreen. A lotion with an SPF of 30 will work well to keep your skin safe while you sit in the sun.

Eat Some Dark Chocolate

If your doctor has informed you to stick to a healthy diet that is low in fat, cholesterol, salt, and sugar, then you may be concerned about indulging your sweet tooth and affecting your blood pressure negatively. However, not all sweets are bad for you. In fact, some can actually lower your blood pressure. This is true of dark chocolate due to the flavonoids in the cocoa. 

If you want to experience the health benefits of the chocolate, then make sure to purchase a bar that contains a great deal of solid content. This means that it contains a high percentage of cocoa and fewer fillers like milk and sugar. Most chocolate bars list their cocoa content on the front of the packaging, so opt for a chocolate bar with a label that says it has 70% cocoa or more. These chocolates are usually bittersweet. Eat a few squares each week to gain the blood pressure reducing benefits of the sweet. For more information, contact a business such as Rural Health Services Consortium Inc.

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