We’ve all heard about the major causes of high blood pressure: stress, clogged arteries, genetic factors, salt, etc.

But there are other little-known causes of which you may not be aware. The good news is that many of those hidden causes are easy to eliminate and once purged will therefore lower your blood pressure.

That’s why today I’m going to tell you about the major causes of high blood pressure most people don’t know about.

1) Medications

There are too many medications that increase blood pressure as side effects to list them all here. Antidepressants, birth control, ibuprofen, naproxen and decongestants are only a few examples.

The key here is to think back in time to when your blood pressure began to rise and track if you began taking any medications around the same time. The side effects may or may not be immediate so be aware of that.

2) Herbal Solutions

Natural herbal medicines work because they have powerful ingredients. These powerful ingredients can, however, also cause side effects. Herbs like St. John’s Wort, ginseng and the root of licorice can all raise blood pressure if taken in big doses.

As with traditional medications, tracking when you began taking the herbs and when your blood pressure began to rise may connect the dots.

3) Lack of Nutrition

Modern diets are not very nutritious. Most of us don’t consume enough vegetables and do consume too much processed food. The results are lack of essential things like major vitamins, magnesium, calcium or potassium in your diet. This can raise your blood pressure.

Supplementation is helpful but does not replace a healthy diet. Add several servings of fresh vegetables per day and cut down on processed food. Then watch your blood pressure drop. Another option is juicing fresh, organically grown vegetables such as beet, kale and carrots.

4) Thyroid or Adrenal Issues

These problems are becoming a major health issue and most people are not even aware of them. Do you feel tired most of the time (especially in the morning and early evening)? Have you been adding on weight without overeating? Do you sometimes feel dizzy when you stand up? These may all be signs of thyroid and adrenal issues and they may be adding to your blood pressure.

5) Lack of Quality Sleep

This is nothing but problematic, especially if you sleep less than 5-6 hours per night. Sleep is essential to heal your body and balance the hormones as well as the nervous system. Enough said.

If you’re having trouble sleeping, check out our Insomnia program guaranteed to knock you out in 24 minutes…

6) Alcohol

One glass of wine three to four times a week has been proven beneficial for blood pressure and overall health. Anything more can contribute to high blood pressure. Hard liquor is especially harmful and binge drinking (getting drunk) is worse than spreading smaller amounts out over the week.

7) Habit

We’re all creatures of habit. Your body is constantly adjusting itself to what it considers normal. The longer a pattern exists, the deeper the physical habit becomes and defines a new ‘normal.’ If you have high blood pressure over a period of time, your body begins to consider that level of blood pressure normal and keeps it up even if the original cause for high blood pressure is removed.

This is the reason why so many people say they’ve tried everything to lower their blood pressure (diet, exercise, herbs, even traditional medications) and nothing works. The only way to lower the blood pressure is to reset your system to make lower blood pressure the new norm.

These seven elements contribute to high blood pressure. There is, however, one thing they all have in common. Because when it comes down to it, there is only one underlying cause for high blood pressure.

Everything that contributes to high blood pressure causes some kind of STRESS on the system – it can be emotional, mental, physical or senssory stress. The solution is to reboot your system for a few minutes to let your body reset itself with lower blood pressure. This is what our simple blood pressure exercises do.

You can learn more about our easy to do blood pressure exercises here…

But first, what are your thoughts on this? Please leave your comments below.