Many adults around the world deal with high blood pressure, which is also known as hypertension. Besides medication, lifestyle changes help in treating the condition. This article provides some dietary tips for lowering blood pressure. By adding certain herbs and spices in your diet, you will be able to maintain your blood pressure at optimal levels. Some of the herbs and spices that help are given below:

• Garlic – Garlic is a popular ingredient for treating high blood pressure. It can be added to various meats and curries. It contains allicin, a substance that has antibacterial, antioxidant, and antihypertensive properties. Garlic helps the blood vessels to relax and dilate, which allows blood to flow more freely in the body. Fresh garlic is better and more effective to reduce blood pressure than tinned or processed garlic. It is recommended to have about 4 grams of garlic a day to notice a remarkable reduction in blood pressure readings. Add fresh garlic to your favorite recipes. If you definitely cannot eat garlic then opt for a supplement.
• Turmeric – Turmeric is gaining popularity because of its medicinal values. Curcumin, in turmeric, is a powerful antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties. It helps lower blood pressure by lowering the excess platelet aggregation. Include at least 500mg of turmeric in your diet, by adding turmeric powder to your curries or opt for a supplement.
• Pistachios – These healthy nuts help to decrease hypertension. Pistachios have a compound in them that reduces the tightness of blood vessels. Some studies have proved that almonds have a similar effect. You can snack on plain pistachios or almonds. Or you can sprinkle pistachio and almond shavings on salads and pestos. Avoid salted pistachios and almonds, as salt increases the blood pressure.
• Celery seeds – Celery seeds have been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat hypertension for centuries. Modern research has validated its use for lowering high blood pressure. This could be because celery seeds are powerful diuretics, which can be the reason it also lowers blood pressure.
• Cinnamon – Various studies have proved that cinnamon is effective in reducing hypertension. Add cinnamon to your gravies and smoothies. Use fresh cinnamon as far as possible. Cinnamon powder can also be used.
• Hibiscus – Hibiscus tea (made from the hibiscus flower) is a miracle drink that lowers high blood pressure. The hibiscus flower is rich in anthocyanins and polyphenols that are good for the heart and helps lower blood pressure.
• Flax seeds – Flax seeds have a natural ability to lower blood pressure. Studies have proved that eating 30 grams of flax seeds daily for six months helped lower systolic blood pressure by about 10 points and diastolic blood pressure by almost 7 points. This number may not sound huge, but sometimes this drop may be the difference between having a stroke due to high blood pressure and escaping it due to low blood pressure. Flaxseed has potent antihypertensive effects achieved by a dietary intervention. The magnitude of reduction in blood pressure by consuming flaxseed for a period is comparable to many drugs, but of course without the side effects of the drugs.