A new activity to lower blood pressure
You do not have to be an athlete in order to practice Tai Chi, a discipline that causes great benefits and helps in cholesterol and blood pressure reduction.
Tai Chi is an oriental discipline with the quality of giving the body elasticity and a sensation of wellbeing. This martial art has spread throughout the world thanks to its many beneficial effects. It does not require any particular aptitude and can be practiced by anyone, given the right dedication and concentration.
This discipline can be practiced at different levels, with the movements and positions getting more intricate as the exercise becomes more complex, but with the help of a teacher one can easily learn and practice it.
Over the years, it has been observed that this discipline can cause numerous improvements to physical and psychological health. Clinical studies have shown that Tai Chi is useful in cholesterol and blood pressure reduction. These findings come from a Taiwanese study, where this discipline is very popular.
The study was carried out on a population sample between 50 and 80 years of age from all over the country, most of whom were women.
The main factors of cardiovascular risk are high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels.
The addition of Tai Chi to your daily regiment, without excluding medication, which can be complemented by an appropriate diet, could help you lower your blood pressure and cause additional benefits to your health.
The benefits of Tai Chi are far from insignificant. In fact, practicing this discipline, or another such as yoga or meditation, is bound to benefit your body and mind, not to mention the cholesterol and blood pressure reduction.
Scientific articles below:
- A Tai Chi exercise programme improved exercise behaviour and reduced blood pressure in outpatients with hypertension (Int J Nurs Pract. 2012 Dec;18(6):545-51)
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ijn.12006/full - Effects of Tai Chi training on exercise capacity and quality of life in patients with chronic heart failure: a meta-analysis. (Eur J Heart Fail. 2013 Mar;15(3):316-23)
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/enhanced/doi/10.1093/eurjhf/hfs170/ - TAI CHI DIMINISHES OXIDATIVE STRESS IN MEXICAN OLDER ADULTS (The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging© Volume 16, Number 7, 2012) http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=f39cba1b-6df5-4b5e-a394-27b762032ff9%40sessionmgr4004&vid=1&hid=4109
- Effect of Tai Chi versus Walking on Oxidative Stress in Mexican Older Adults (Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2013; 2013: 298590) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3725784/