Stress on the body causes an increase in blood pressure, no matter what form it takes- whether it is environmental, biological, or emotional.

As it turns out, one operation – that causes bad stink – common in many countries checks the box on all three kinds of stress in a major way and makes your blood pressure skyrocket.

Researchers in North Carolina conducted a study of 100 people over the course of 2 years who live near pig farms.

Not just any pig farms, though…they were concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs. These mega-farms house and slaughter tens of thousands of pigs and have been increasingly taking the place of the smaller, healthier family-owned farms in many locations across the globe.

What the researchers found was that all three kinds of stressors were hit with exposure to the farms.

The irritability from noise and odor, environmental impact on air and water with the constant influx of elevated hydrogen sulfide levels, and biological impact of the many chemicals within the body all played a part in the elevated numbers.

Both systolic and diastolic numbers went up when the odors were the strongest, based upon participant journaling and daily blood pressure measurements.

Researchers found that the negative feelings associated with the odor were affecting the diastolic number (the bottom number which measures pressure on the arteries between heartbeats). It increased by at least 2 mm/Hg on average.

The impact on systolic (top number which measures pressure on the arterial walls during a heartbeat) was on average increased by 3 mm/Hg with EACH increase in hydrogen sulfide of 10 parts per million.

Hydrogen sulfide is the chemical that smells like rotten eggs and is released when manure breaks down.

Inhaling the hydrogen sulfide and myriad other chemicals that are released into the air has also been shown to increase the rates of asthma and other respiratory illnesses.

Whether or not you live around a pig farm, you’ll want to check out these 3 easy exercises guaranteed to drop your blood pressure below 120/80 as soon as today…