How to lower blood pressure, improve heart health and reduce dementia risk | Prof. Tim Spector
from ZOE Science & Nutrition
by ZOE
Published: Thu Jun 26 2025
Show Notes
What if your blood pressure — even just a little too high — is quietly damaging your brain? What if it’s increasing your risk of a heart attack or stroke, without you ever feeling a thing?
In this episode, Professor Tim Spector reveals why blood pressure is one of the most overlooked – and most dangerous – health issues today. He explains why “normal for your age” might not be safe at all, why medication alone isn’t the full answer, and how small, daily changes could dramatically reduce your risk of serious disease.
Can your gut microbes raise your blood pressure? Can a banana be as powerful as a pill? Is beetroot juice really three times more effective than cutting salt?
You’ll also learn why 80% of the salt we eat isn’t from the shaker, how stress and sleep secretly push your pressure up, and what most doctors still miss when treating hypertension.
If you’ve ever been told your blood pressure’s “fine” — or never measured it at all — this episode might change the way you think about your future health.
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Timecodes
Introduction
What actually is high blood pressure?
Why everyone should own a blood pressure monitor
What your blood pressure reading really means
Stress and high blood pressure
The $20 gadget that can save your life
When to see a doctor
What causes high blood pressure
Salt and blood pressure
Why reducing salt didn’t work for Tim
Blood pressure medications
Why high blood pressure is so dangerous
How blood pressure quietly damages your brain
Is it too late to lower your blood pressure?
How your gut microbes affect blood pressure
Why potassium matters more than salt
How sleep, stress & saunas impact your blood pressure
The real source of excess salt in your diet
Should you switch to potassium salt?
Beetroot juice: better than salt restriction?
📚Books by our ZOE Scientists
Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati
Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector
Free resources from ZOE
Live Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & Nutrition
Gut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks
Studies referenced in today's episode:
Nonpharmacologic Interventions for Reducing Blood Pressure in Adults With Prehigh blood pressure to Established high blood pressure, Journal of the American Heart Association (2020)
Long-TermEffect of Intensive vs Standard Blood Pressure Control on Mild Cognitive Impairment and Probable Dementia in SPRINT, Neurology (2025)
Bloodpressure reduction and all-cause dementia in people with uncontrolled high blood pressure: an open-label, blinded-endpoint, cluster-randomized trial, Nature Medicine (2025)
highblood pressure Associated With Hearing Loss and Tinnitus Among Hypertensive Adults at a Tertiary Hospital in South Africa, Frontiers in Neurology (2022)
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Episode transcripts are available here.