New research suggests those who suffer from hypertension may in fact have better control over their condition if they are treated with less medication.

Scientists from the University of Western Ontario studied 2,104 people with high blood pressure and found the majority of recently-diagnosed patients might be better served starting with a half tablet of a single pill combination drug than the regular starting dose of a single drug.

Dr. Ross D. Feldman, a clinical scientist with the Robarts Research Institute at the university, explains the reason behind the study was the fact that in recent years hypertension management has become “more aggressive and complex, leading to hundreds of recommendations on how to manage high blood pressure,” and making the lives of patients and doctors unnecessarily complicated.

Those who would like to use fewer pills and more natural health resources have a variety of options to choose from.

In particular, regular physical exercise, nutritional supplements and a low-sodium diet have been recommended by health practitioners as reliable methods of lowering blood pressure.