1. Green is the way forward

Leafy greens such as spinach, broccoli, kale, or collards are rich in potassium, which helps flush sodium out of your body through your pee and relaxes your blood vessel walls. This helps lower your blood pressure.

2. Very Berry Merry

Berries like blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries contain anthocyanin, a natural compound that helps artery walls become wider and more flexible. Consumption of berries thus helps in releasing pressure on arteries and effectively lowering blood pressure

3. Yo(go)gurt

Calcium is not only good for your bones but has been proven vital to maintain good blood pressure. It helps blood vessels tighten and relax as per the need thus avoiding unnecessary pressure. What better way of introducing calcium in your daily diet but plain, low-fat yogurt.

4. Need For Seed

Seeds are a rich source of vital minerals like magnesium, which helps control blood pressure and relax your blood vessels. Adding unsalted seeds like pumpkin, flax, and sunflower to salads, yogurt, or oatmeal can come in really handy if you are looking to lower your blood pressure.

5. CheatBeet

This is the closest thing that can come to a cheat sheet for blood pressure control. Three parts beetroot and one part apple juice—drink 2 cups of this mix and your systolic blood pressure (systolic pressure raises your chances of strokes) will go down in just a few hours.

6. Mighty Garlic

Garlic is known to be helpful in boosting nitric oxide levels, which dilates blood vessels. The more relaxed your blood vessels are, the less your heart has to work to pump blood through them. That helps keep your blood pressure down.

7. Go old school…Mustard Oil

Before we had the modern day legends such as olive oil we had the old school classic Mustard oil. Mustard oil not only suits our Indian palette better, it is often debated that it is better for our bodies as our digestive system is more familiar with it naturally. It contains about 60 per cent monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), 21 per cent polyunsaturated fats (PUFA) and about 12 per cent saturated fats. It also consists six per cent of the omega-3 fatty acids (N-3) and 15 per cent of the omega-6 (n-6) — the two essential fatty acids — in the ideal ratio of 1:2, which is a huge benefit for the heart as it helps lower bad cholesterol and raise good HDL cholesterol. Use of mustard oil as a cooking medium reduces the chances of heart disease such as coronary artery disease (CAD) — the most common type of heart disease and also helps regulate blood flow and protects the body from hypertension.

8. For that sweet tooth…Dark Chocolate

Dark chocolate (at least 50% to 70% cocoa) can give you a boost of a plant compound called flavanol, which like garlic can raise your nitric oxide levels and widen blood vessels. That can make your blood pressure drop a notch.