The benefit of using bioidentical natural progesterone when you have high blood pressure is that one of its effects is to balance the water retention action of oestrogen. This water retention is a factor in high blood pressure and is linked to both oestrogen dominance and Pill and HRT use.

As progesterone is a natural diuretic it helps balance this by helping to reduce weight as excess water is expelled and this in turn helps reduce blood pressure.

What Else Can Help?

Obviously keeping calm is good and simple techniques such as meditation, relaxation, yoga, tai chi or just sitting down quietly reading or listening to music can all help. Regular exercise is also good and a walk in the fresh air every day will really make a difference.

Your diet matters too and keeping to a healthy weight is essential as can the appropriate supplements. A new one called KWAI Blood Pressure contains a unique combination of magnesium with potassium and other vital substances to help maintain normal blood pressure and heart function, all of which provide nutritional support for the cardiovascular system. Magnesium is an essential mineral for the maintenance of heart muscle contraction, and potassium is important for contributing to the maintenance of normal blood pressure.

Many studies have shown that diets which are rich in both magnesium and potassium can help lower raised blood pressure there is some evidence that they work synergistically. A Swedish study of 34,670 women aged 49–83 years found that women with pre-existing hypertension had a lower risk of having a stroke when their diets were higher in potassium and magnesium so it could help. You will find the supplement in good health stores and Boots.

Also, two new pieces of research presented at the American Heart Association’s High Blood Pressure Research 2012 Scientific Sessions have highlighted the benefits of both yoghurt and cranberries in helping you avoid, or deal with, high blood pressure.

In the first, a 15 year study of 2,000 volunteers, it was found that when at least two percent of daily calories came from yogurt the participants were 31 percent less likely to develop high blood pressure than people who don’t eat yogurt at all.

The study involved people with no history of high blood pressure and if you want that benefit then what you need is a 6 ounce serving of a low fat organic plain yoghurt every three days. Don’t dilute the effect by having one with fruit, sugar or any other additives.

If you add a glass of cranberry juice to your daily intake then that showed a significant drop in blood pressure for those lucky participants who drank the juice compared to those who received the placebo. This was just an eight-week study, but the researchers found that blood pressure dropped an average of three points, from 121/73 mmHg to 118/70 mmHg, in the study subjects who drank the cranberry juice.

How does it work?

Bioidentical natural progesterone, because of its ability as a diuretic, is a key first step and two other things we know help with high blood pressure are calcium and antioxidants. Yoghurt provides calcium, and high blood pressure has been linked to low levels of this mineral.

Other studies have shown that the antioxidants in cranberry juice have been linked to lower blood pressure.

Because weight management is critical in hypertension, watch that your juice and yoghurts are low in calories and sugar or sweeteners.

If yoghurt and juice don’t appeal then other items such as nuts and seeds are also beneficial, but only in small amounts as they can also be high in fat and calories and including oily fish a couple of times a week will boost your  omega-3 fatty acid intake, which will also be of benefit.

Helpful information:

As a precaution, when taking bioidentical natural progesterone with blood pressure medication or diuretics, it is advisable to monitor your blood pressure regularly as you may able to reduce the drugs dosage in consultation with your doctor.