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Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
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Lifestyle and home remedies
By Mayo Clinic staffAs your blood pressure increases, so does your risk of cardiovascular disease. That's why it's so important to control prehypertension. The key is a commitment to healthy lifestyle changes.
- Eat healthy foods. Try the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet. Choose fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy foods. Eat less saturated fat and total fat.
- Maintain a healthy weight. If you're overweight, losing even 5 pounds can lower your blood pressure.
- Reduce sodium intake. Limit the amount of sodium in your diet to no more than 2,400 milligrams a day — or even less. Remember that table salt, monosodium glutamate (MSG) and baking soda all contain sodium.
- Increase physical activity. Regular physical activity can help lower your blood pressure and keep your weight under control. Strive for at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day.
- Limit alcohol. If you choose to drink alcohol, do so in moderation — up to one drink a day for women, two drinks a day for men.
