5 ways to lower your blood pressure | Raymond Townsend, MD, PhD

The Proof with Simon Hill

Simon Hill

Nutrition, Health & Fitness, Self-improvement, Education

4.9 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 21 October 2025

⏱️ 136 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, I continue my conversation with Dr Raymond Townsend, Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. We explore how to optimise and treat high blood pressure through lifestyle, medication and a deeper understanding of the latest clinical evidence. Dr Townsend explains how much risk reduction comes from lowering blood pressure, what the newest AHA/ACC guidelines recommend, and how diet, exercise and sleep all play a role in protecting your arteries, kidneys and brain. What We Cover Why lowering blood pressure matters The latest hypertension guidelines When to start medication Key lifestyle interventions for long-term health Common myths about salt, diet and protein New therapies and what’s on the horizon Blood pressure is not just a number — it is a reflection of your overall health. This episode provides a practical guide to lowering it safely and effectively. Want to support the show? The best way to support the show is to use the products and services offered by our sponsors. To check them out and enjoy great savings, visit theproof.com/friends. You can also support the show by leaving a review on the Apple Podcast app and sharing your favourite episodes with friends and family. This episode is brought to you by: 38TERA Consider 38TERA's DMN prebiotic supplement a daily multivitamin for your gut. Formulated by yours truly and gastroenterologist Dr Will Bulsiewicz. Use code THEPROOF for a discount at checkout. Function Health Take charge of your health with advanced blood testing and personalised insights. Function Health provides a practical solution to track key health markers such as cholesterol, blood sugar, and more. For the first 1,000 listeners, new members get a $100 credit when signing up. Head to functionhealth.com/simonhill to claim your credit. Only available to those living in the United States. LMNT Stay hydrated with LMNT. Get a free Sample Pack of LMNT’s most popular drink mix flavours with any purchase at DrinkLMNT.com/SIMON Find your favourite LMNT flavour, or share with a friend. And if you don’t like it? Full refund, no questions asked. Momentous My go-to supplement brand for protein and creatine is Momentous. Use code LIVINGPROOF for up to 35% off your first order at livemomentous.com. Eight Sleep Upgrade your sleep with the Pod 5 Ultra by Eight Sleep. Clinically validated to deliver up to 1 extra hour of quality sleep per night through temperature control and biometric tracking. Use code THEPROOF for $350 off at eightsleep.com/theproof. Try it risk-free for 30 days, with worldwide shipping. BetterHelp This is a paid advertisement from BetterHelp. This World Mental Health Day, we’re celebrating the therapists who’ve helped millions of people take a step forward. If you’re ready to find the right therapist for you, BetterHelp can help you start that journey. Our listeners get 10% off their first month at BetterHelp.com/THEPROOF. WHOOP Whoop, the most advanced fitness and health wearable available. Your personalised fitness and health coach to recover faster, sleep better, and train smarter. Claim your first month free on join.whoop.com/simon. Simon Hill, MSc, BSc (Hons) Creator of theproof.com Host of The Proof with Simon Hill Author of The Proof is in the Plants Subscribe & Connect: YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Instagram: @simonhill Twitter: @theproof Facebook: The Proof with Simon Hill

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome back to The Proof. Today we continue our conversation with Dr. Raymond Townsend,
0:06.2	Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and one of the world's leading experts
0:11.3	on all things, blood pressure and hypertension. In part one, we unpacked why blood pressure
0:16.9	matters. Now we shift our attention to how to fix it. How much lowering your blood
0:22.3	pressure really reduces your risk of having a heart attack, stroke, or kidney failure,
0:28.2	what your personal target should be, and what the latest AHA and ACC guidelines recommend.
0:34.6	We'll cover the most effective lifestyle strategies from sodium
0:37.8	restriction and diet quality to exercise weight loss and drinking less alcohol
0:42.7	and the medications that save lives when lifestyle alone isn't enough. If you want a
0:48.6	clear evidence-based roadmap to protect your arteries, brain and kidneys for the
0:52.5	long run, this episode is for you. Please enjoy.
1:00.0	I recently ran my full labs through function health and I have to say the results were eye
1:06.4	opening. Turns out my APOB was higher than ideal, probably thanks to a little too much coconut
1:12.9	yogurt. I also found out I was slightly low in copper, something that I would have never
1:17.9	suspected without testing. On the flip side, my biological age came back 13.3 years younger than my
1:25.7	actual age, a calculation based on the work of aging researcher,
1:30.2	Dr. Morgan Levine. So all in all, I've got a few tweaks to make to optimize my lipids and
1:35.7	nutrient status, but overall my blood work says I'm doing pretty well. That's what I love about
1:41.2	function. You get access to over 160 biomarkers
1:45.5	covering everything from hormones and inflammation
1:49.0	to nutrients, toxins, cardiovascular risk, and more.
1:53.5	And all your results are housed
	...

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