A British study showed that 20 hypertensive men and women needed 37 minutes to finish a math test that healthy controls banged out in 10. Those 20 people won't be bungling arithmetic much past their 50s, though. If you have hypertension, losing weight and getting regular exercise can lower your blood pressure by 15 to 20 points, says Dr. Irene Gavras of Boston University. You'll cut your risk of heart attack and stroke by 40 percent, and you might avoid having to take blood-pressure medications, some of which can cause impotence. In a British study of 541 adults, those who had the highest blood levels of vitamin C also had the lowest blood pressure.
Researchers believe that vitamin C helps blood vessels dilate.
You can get your RDA of 60 mg of vitamin C by eating broccoli, peppers and citrus fruits. Men usually have heart attacks in the morning, and one reason is that your blood pressure stays elevated by at least 15 points until about 11 a.m. Schedule those gripe-filled weekly staff meetings after lunch, and straighten your desk every night so you won't face a disaster site the next morning. If you won't give up java, keep it to one cup. Pile on the Garlic Garlic lowers BP by helping maintain proper levels of a key enzyme.