From our other sites
The story
On a 5ch message board, users traded tips on “how do you actually lower your blood pressure?” In Japan, a reading above 140 systolic / 90 diastolic is generally the benchmark for recommending a doctor’s visit, and the thread ranged widely — from concrete fixes like cutting salt, exercising, and taking blood pressure medication, to the view that rising blood pressure with age is a natural process not worth obsessing over. Opinions split, though, on whether blood pressure that’s gone up can truly come back down, and on what counts as a healthy target for elderly people — and in the end, the recurring refrain was “don’t trust amateur judgment, talk to an actual doctor.”
What people said
If they're the right ones, you'll be back to normal in three months.
Mine went from 160 down to 117.
Wait, don't tell me — are you the guy who's always making those "I have no motivation, I want to die" threads?
Even if it drops, it'll probably just bounce right back.
If you absolutely need something like that, mix carbonated water with unsalted tomato juice half and half.
If it's not punchy enough, add a splash of Pokka Lemon 100 (bottled lemon juice).
Take medication.
Do cardio every day.
Fix your diet (cut salt, eat potassium-rich vegetables).
Mine was flagged just from the bottom number hitting 90.
The potassium flushes out excess salt while the lycopene helps lower blood pressure.
Also natto — it helps keep calcium and other stuff from building up inside your blood vessels.
Won't that spike your blood sugar though?
It's aging.
As you get older your blood vessels stiffen, so your blood pressure rises even if you're living a perfectly healthy life.
You don't need to obsess over it, but you do need to manage it.
"Dangerous" doesn't even cover it — that's heart disease.
Do they ever tell you anything besides "take your meds"?
You're not unhealthy because your blood pressure is high —
your blood pressure is high because you're unhealthy.
Don't make lowering the number your goal, aim for a healthy body instead (´・ω・｀)
In the end it really does just come down to good food and reasonable exercise.
If the number looks like it's dropped, some other part of your body is just compensating for it.
No, come on…
Just losing weight alone will lower it, for example.
The volume of blood that needs pumping goes down, so the pressure needed to pump it goes down too.
Apparently if you get hurt while drunk, they can't operate until the alcohol's out of your system either.
I doubt anyone here is dumb enough to actually take health advice from random strangers on a board like this, but still.
Yeah, that's right.
Safest bet is to see an internist and then get guidance from a registered dietitian.
I'm actually a licensed nurse myself, but this kind of thing really is case-by-case.
If it's caused by kidney trouble, the whole treatment approach changes. (Cutting salt is still the basic diet advice, but you'd also need to limit protein.)
It's fine for donating blood, but it's still a health problem.
High blood pressure itself is a sign something's off with your circulatory system.
I've also heard that elderly people with low blood pressure often can't walk properly and decline mentally faster, while running a bit higher keeps them active and sharper.
Both for the country and for families with elderly relatives, dying suddenly while still active ("pin-pin korori" — living healthy right up until a quick death) beats years bedridden.
Blood pressure rises as you age — that's natural, so it's not really a problem.
One bowl of ramen: 7.5g (5.0g of that from the soup alone)
One plate of "Napoleon": 6.0g (likely meant to say napolitan spaghetti)
One cup noodle: 4.5g
One plate of homemade yakisoba: 3.5g
One plate of homemade curry: 2.5g
A convenience-store sandwich (the 3-piece kind): 2.5g of salt
A convenience-store rice ball: 2.0g
Soy sauce, one tablespoon: 2.0g
"One plate of Napoleon" — what's that supposed to mean? You mean the whiskey?
That's like saying "I got anesthesia and now nothing hurts."
Background and key points of this discussion
Japan’s diagnostic benchmark for high blood pressure is a reading of 140 systolic over 90 diastolic, and going past it typically prompts a recommendation to see a doctor. In the thread, opinions split between lifestyle fixes — cutting salt, eating potassium-rich foods, doing cardio — and treating it mainly with blood pressure medication. Notably, claims that elevated blood pressure never truly returns to normal were met with pushback pointing out that losing weight reduces the volume of blood that needs pumping and therefore lowers the pressure required — anecdotes with no real expert backing sitting side by side. There was also debate over whether the same standard should apply to the elderly, given that hardening blood vessels naturally push blood pressure up with age, with some arguing the real goal should be overall health rather than just chasing a lower number. A few posters in the thread claimed to be nurses or registered dietitians, but these are all anonymous, self-reported claims — any actual treatment plan needs to be based on an actual doctor’s diagnosis.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from a 5ch “Hardware/Industry” board (nicknamed “Geha,” a board known for console-war-style threads) thread: “So, how do you actually lower your blood pressure?“
Leave a Reply