4 lifestyle changes that lower high blood pressure | Dr Sanjay Gupta

Welcome to ZOE Science and Nutrition, where world leading scientists explain how their research can improve your health. Can you name a health condition that has no symptoms, but is the single greatest risk factor for death globally? No? Here's another clue. Thirty percent of adults in the world have it, and it causes dementia, heart disease, and stroke. Any guesses? The answer is high blood pressure, known to doctors as the silent killer. However, while high blood pressure is serious, today's guest explains there are steps you can take right now that can make a huge difference. Today, I'm joined by doctor Sanjay Gupta, one of The UK's leading cardiologists based at York Teaching Hospital. He's a passionate believer that lifestyle changes are the most powerful way to improve your blood pressure. In this episode, Sanjay shares evidence based sustainable lifestyle changes that can significantly reduce blood pressure and support overall health and well-being. By the end, you'll have all the tools you need to keep your blood pressure in check. Sanjay, thank you for joining me today. Thank you for having me. And, Sarah, thank you for being here. Pleasure. So, Sanjay, we have a tradition here at ZOE where we always start with a quick fire round of questions from our listeners, and we have these very strict rules. You can give us a yes or a no, or if you have to, a one sentence answer. You willing to give it a go? Yeah. Alright. Can long term high blood pressure lead to dementia? Yes. Absolutely. Is low blood pressure always better than high? No. Can simple lifestyle changes lower your blood pressure significantly? Yes. Does alcohol help lower your blood pressure if you're stressed? It may do. Can your gut microbiome influence blood pressure? Absolutely. And finally, what's the most common misunderstanding about blood pressure? The idea that blood pressure is a disease. For many people, blood pressure, I believe, is a scream. The body is screaming out and saying I'm unhappy. And if we take the scream and make it a disease, then you end up treating the blood pressure, but not addressing the root cause of the scream. And in some ways, you do that patient a disservice. I've definitely heard of high blood pressure, and I know that it's one of those things that lots of us are taught by our doctors that we should worry about. But I can't be the only person who doesn't really understand what it means, why my blood pressure rises, and what it means for my health. So luckily, we have one of The UK's leading cardiologists to help us finally understand what it's all about. And we're joined by professor Sarah Berry, who I discovered actually spent many years running clinical trials in humans looking at the impact of food on blood pressure. So I think we're in for a treat. Can we just start at the beginning, Sanjay? What is blood pressure? Okay. To …