If you struggle with high blood sugar, there’s a good chance you’ve also been told your blood pressure is creeping up.
That’s not a coincidence.
High blood pressure and blood sugar problems don’t just happen together — they feed off each other. In fact, they’re both central features of what doctors call Metabolic Syndrome — a condition driven largely by insulin resistance.
Most advice sounds familiar:
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Cut salt
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Exercise more
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Lose weight
That’s fine… but it barely scratches the surface.
If you really want to calm high blood pressure when blood sugar is part of the picture, you need to target the shared root causes.
Here are 10 lesser-known — but highly effective — strategies.
1. Focus on Lowering Insulin — Not Just Glucose
Most people obsess over blood sugar numbers.
But chronically elevated insulin may be the real blood pressure driver.
When insulin stays high:
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The kidneys retain sodium
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Fluid volume increases
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Blood pressure rises
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The sympathetic nervous system becomes overactive
In other words, high insulin = fluid retention + vascular tension.
Practical strategy:
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Stop constant snacking.
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Avoid refined carbs.
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Be mindful of very large mixed meals (high carb + high protein).
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Consider time-restricted eating (if medically appropriate).
When insulin drops, your kidneys often release retained sodium naturally — and blood pressure can improve surprisingly quickly.
2. Increase Potassium (Safely)
You’ve probably been told to reduce salt.
But here’s what’s rarely emphasized: many people with high blood pressure are actually low in potassium.
Potassium:
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Relaxes blood vessels
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Helps flush excess sodium
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Improves insulin sensitivity
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Reduces arterial stiffness
Instead of supplementing blindly, prioritize food sources:
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Avocado
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Spinach
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Zucchini
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Mushrooms
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Salmon
⚠️ If you have kidney disease, consult your provider before increasing potassium.
3. Restore Nitric Oxide Production
People with blood sugar problems often have impaired nitric oxide (NO) production.
Nitric oxide:
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Relaxes blood vessels
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Improves circulation
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Helps insulin move glucose into cells
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Lowers blood pressure
High glucose damages the endothelium (the lining of blood vessels), reducing NO production.
Food-based nitric oxide boosters:
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Arugula
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Beetroot
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Celery
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Swiss chard
Beetroot, in particular, has been shown to reduce systolic blood pressure within hours in some studies.
This is one of the fastest natural ways to improve vascular function.
4. Correct Magnesium Deficiency
Magnesium deficiency is extremely common in insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
High blood sugar increases urinary magnesium loss.
Magnesium helps:
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Relax blood vessel walls
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Improve insulin sensitivity
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Calm the nervous system
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Balance potassium
Highly absorbable forms include:
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Magnesium glycinate
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Magnesium malate
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Magnesium threonate
Some people also benefit from topical magnesium if digestion is sensitive.
Repletion alone can lower blood pressure by 5–10 mmHg in some individuals.
5. Investigate Sleep Quality — Not Just Quantity
You can sleep 8 hours and still have poor sleep quality.
One hidden driver of stubborn high blood pressure in people with blood sugar problems? Sleep apnea.
Even non-obese individuals with insulin resistance can develop it.
Sleep apnea:
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Spikes nighttime blood pressure
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Worsens insulin resistance
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Causes morning glucose elevations (the “dawn phenomenon”)
If blood pressure remains elevated despite lifestyle changes, a sleep study may be a missing piece.
6. Lower Uric Acid
This is rarely discussed in standard blood pressure advice.
Elevated uric acid:
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Reduces nitric oxide
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Increases arterial stiffness
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Worsens insulin resistance
Fructose (especially from sweetened drinks and fruit juices) significantly increases uric acid.
Reducing:
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Sugary beverages
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Fruit juices
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High-fructose sweeteners
…can improve both blood pressure and metabolic health.
7. Use Brief Cold Exposure
This one surprises people.
Short bursts of cold exposure can:
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Improve vascular tone
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Increase nitric oxide
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Enhance insulin sensitivity
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Improve metabolic flexibility
Simple options:
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30–60 seconds of cold at the end of your shower
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Short cold walks
The key is consistency, not extremes.
8. Reduce Arterial Glycation
Chronic high blood sugar causes glycation — a process where sugar binds to proteins in tissues.
In arteries, this makes blood vessels:
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Stiffer
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Less elastic
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More prone to pressure spikes
Nutrients that may help counter glycation:
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Benfotiamine (a B1 derivative)
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Alpha-lipoic acid
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Carnosine
But the most important strategy is tight glucose control.
Over time, reducing glycation improves arterial flexibility — and that lowers pressure.
9. Rethink Sodium Timing
It’s not always about eliminating salt — it’s about context.
For some insulin-resistant individuals:
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Heavy salt intake at night may worsen morning blood pressure.
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Moderate sodium earlier in the day is often better tolerated.
Interestingly, people on low-carb diets sometimes need adequate sodium to prevent stress hormone spikes.
Balance matters more than blanket restriction.
10. Activate the Vagus Nerve
High blood pressure in metabolic disease often involves overactive sympathetic (“fight-or-flight”) tone.
The vagus nerve activates the calming parasympathetic system.
Simple methods:
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Slow nasal breathing (5–6 breaths per minute)
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Humming
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Gargling
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Cold water face immersion
These may sound basic — but done daily, they can significantly lower baseline stress physiology.
The Big Takeaway
If you have both high blood sugar and high blood pressure, it’s rarely just about salt.
It’s about:
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Insulin levels
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Endothelial health
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Mineral balance
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Nervous system tone
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Arterial stiffness
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Inflammation
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Uric acid
When you address the shared mechanisms, blood pressure and blood sugar often improve together.
And that’s when real progress happens…
And if you do suffer from high blood pressure, take a look at what this top blood pressure MD has to say…
Blood Pressure MD: “Sticky blood” Disables 17 Americans Every Hour…Are You One of Them?
Every 60 minutes in the U.S., “sticky blood” permanently disables 17 people.
· 10 lose limbs to amputation
· 5 go into kidney failure
· 2 lose their vision completely
It’s a hidden complication of high blood sugar that almost no one talks about — and it has nothing to do with your A1C numbers.
Think about pouring maple syrup through a straw… that’s what’s happening inside your blood vessels when sugar lingers in your bloodstream too long.
But there’s hope.
A breakthrough discovery from a Texas doctor shows that one common kitchen food can help reverse “sticky blood” — thinning and clearing it so it flows freely again.
In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, people who added more of this food to their diet saw massive improvements in blood sugar, circulation, and nerve health — often allowing them to cut their medication in half.
The best part?
You probably already have it in your pantry.
>> This pantry food fixes “sticky blood” and unclogs your arteries
Enjoy!
