Woman’s Weekly Wellbeing: High Blood Pressure

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Each week we team up with sister magazine Woman's Weekly and look at ways of helping you with different health conditions. This week we look at high blood pressure.

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Cycling

Aerobic exercise (one that works the large muscle groups, such as arms, shoulders and legs), like cycling, makes your heart stronger. This in turn takes the pressure off the arteries and helps to lower blood pressure. A UK study of people who hadn't exercised found that cycling four times a week for six weeks increased their aerobic fitness by over ten per cent.

Try: Visit http://new.britishcycling.org.uk

Hypnotherapy

If you've got high blood pressure, you'll probably have been told to make some major lifestyle changes - give up smoking, lose weight, learn to deal with stress. Hypnotherapy sessions can be helpful. If your hypertension is linked to stress, the deep relaxation you experience during a session can be beneficial.

Try: National Council of Hypnotherapy. For a trained hypnotherapist, call 0800 756 6375, or visit www.hypnotherapists.org.uk

Cocoa

A study of a tribe of Indians who regularly drank around five cups of cocoa a day showed that on average their blood pressure remained lower than their peers who'd emigrated. The theory is that it's the antioxidants - polyphenols - in cocoa beans that help widen the blood vessels and alter levels of nitric oxide, which plays a key role in maintaining health blood pressure.

Try: Valrhona Gastronomie Range Cocoa Powder. Price, £6.95 for 250g, from the Chocolate Trading Company (0870 050 8244; www.chocolatetradingco.com).

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