No-sweat secrets to lower blood pressure

Sure, keeping a lid on your blood pressure cuts heart disease risk by 50%. But a British study reveals that when blood pressure is in the healthy range (below 120/80 mmHg), blood flow to other organs is optimized too. The result: Risks of kidney and liver disease drop by 47% and lung disease risk dips by 28%. And while hormonal changes that occur after age 50 can double women’s odds of developing high blood pressure, it’s easy to combat the climb. Just…

- Melissa Gotthardt

Spoon up berry cobbler

Enjoying a cup of strawberries, raspberries or blueberries a day does more than give your taste buds a treat: Finnish research suggests adding berries, berry puree or cold-pressed berry juice to your daily diet lowers your systolic blood pressure (top number) up to 9 points and your diastolic (bottom number) up to 5 points in eight weeks. Berries brim with polyphenol compounds that boost production of nitric oxide, a compound that helps blood vessels stay supple.

Take 'belly breaths'