How do you lower blood pressure through lifestyle choices?

I heard and read about drug companies promoting their products for hypertension and bribing/influencing panels to lower standards for what is considered high blood pressure. These drugs have extreme side effects for some people. The older and cheaper diuretics are more effective for most people and have fewer serious side effects, but physicians are over prescribing the newer drugs.

Hypertension is a side effect not a disease. For most people is the result of lifestyle choices. Many people can prevent hypertension through diet, exercise, stress reduction, and other lifestyle choices.

For some people, drugs are important. For most people, a lifestyle choice would be better. For most people, the side effects of newer drugs are more harmful than the benefits. In many cases, life expectancy when using these drugs is reduced, despite what the honorable Dr. Oz (corporate sellout) claims.

What are your recommendations for lowering blood pressure through lifestyle changes?
My claims are supported by the book:

"Selling Sickness: Pharma Industry Turning Us All Into Patients"

by Ray Moynihan, a health journalist, and Alan Cassels, a policy researcher
The DASH—Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension—diet was developed for a US government agency. Sadly, the US government has earned a reputation as being biased toward large corporations. I don’t trust a word of this study, especially the support of the dairy industry lobby. Dairy is not the best source of calcium. In addition, dairy in the US has genetically modified growth hormone and antibiotics.