Find a Furry Friend— Just 10 minutes spent with a pet can lower your blood pressure. In fact, if you have borderline hypertension, there's even a holdover effect: If you spend time with Fido or Fluffy before work, you may be less reactive to blood-pressure-raising stress on the job.

Snack on Celery— Crunching your way through four stalks a day could ease down your blood pressure. A component in celery (3-n-butyl phthalide) serves as a diuretic and vasodilator, and helps relax the muscles lining the blood vessels.

Open Sesame!— Loaded with unsaturated fatty acids and calcium, sesame oil may help you lower blood pressure and reduce your dose of calcium channel blockers. Try downing 2 tablespoons daily for two months, and then have your blood pressure rechecked. If your numbers go down, ask your doctor about cutting down your drug dosage, too.