Weight Loss, Hypertension, and Alternative Therapies

According to the national guidelines and recent research, losing weight can lower both systolic and diastolic blood pressure -- and potentially eliminate high blood pressure. For every 20 pounds you lose, you can drop systolic pressure 5-20 points.

Losing extra weight really helps when you have high blood pressure. As you work on diet and exercise, are there other things you can do to shift the numbers on your scale in the right direction? Some alternative or holistic treatments, though they're not a quick fix, can support the other positive changes you're making, like eating better and moving more. Here are a few to consider, especially if you’re finding it hard to shed the pounds. “Find the right mind-body strategy fit for you to manage blood pressure and work to eliminate emotional eating.” -- Adam Perlman, MD

Meditation

Best known as a practice for calm and clarity, meditation helps tame one of the biggest things that can sabotage your blood pressure control and your weight loss efforts: stress. Stress is notorious for undermining eating habits. Many people's best diet intentions fall apart when they're stressed. That’s because recurrent or chronic stress leads to higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which drives appetite and the motivation to eat.

Stress is also distracting, leading people to lose sight of the quality and quantity of the foods they’re eating. Plus, stress is bad for blood pressure on its own, pushing readings upward even if you eat right. Finding healthy ways to manage your stress is key. "If your goal is to lose weight, and you have high blood pressure, using food is never the way to manage that stress," says Adam Perlman, MD, executive director of Duke Integrative Medicine. "You need new tools, such as meditation, to fill the food void." Set a goal to get calmer so you make better food choices. "Find the right mind-body strategy fit for you to help reduce the stress, manage blood pressure, and work to eliminate emotional eating," Perlman says.

Mindfulness and Mindful Eating

A close cousin to meditation practice, mindfulness means being aware of what you're feeling, both emotionally and physically. One study found that mindful eating could help reduce binge eating, heart rate, blood pressure, and stress-related inflammation.

If you focus on the nourishment and pleasure of food first, you can start to let go of negative habits and actions around food. “Clients learn to eat when they’re hungry, and stop when they’re full,” says psychotherapist Jean Fain, who wrote The Self-Compassion Diet. "They rest when they’re tired, and move when they feel energized. When they do that, they don’t have to deprive or neglect themselves. They lose weight naturally. " Try it. Ask yourself, "Am I really hungry?" If you’re not, do something other than eating, Perlman suggests. If you decide to eat, pay attention to each bite: Take small ones, and chew slowly and well, savoring your food.

If you're overweight, losing even just 5 pounds (2.3 kilograms) can lower your blood pressure. The more weight lost, the more blood pressure can drop. As you lose weight, it may be possible to reduce your dose of blood pressure medication — or stop taking blood pressure medication completely.