High Blood Pressure Be Gone

Archive for the ‘Good Food = Lower Blood Pressure’ Category

Salt in moderation

The common wisdom these days regarding salt is that it’s bad for you. Period. Salt causes high blood pressure. Period. You must reduce or eliminate your salt intake. Period.

However, when you look a little deeper into the salt and high blood pressure link it’s not quite as black and white as commonly understood.

The fact is – no salt in your diet is unhealthy. We need a small amount of salt in our diet to maintain a balance. Moderation is the key, not an outright ban.

Of course it could be said that we don’t need to sprinkle salt on our foods because there’s more than enough salt contained in the modern diet. That’s true if your diet consists of eating at restaurants (where high levels of salt are contained in the preparation of meals) or you have a diet of mainly processed foods (cans, frozen goods, ready-made meals etc.).

Naturally harvested sea salt is the best for blood pressure

If your diet essentially consists of basic natural foods prepared at home then you’ll have to add some salt yourself. This is where you want to put your store-bought table salt (sodium chloride) away and pull out some naturally harvested sea salt. The finest is harvested in a centuries old traditional manner on the shores of Brittany France.This is nutritious salt at its best.

Nutritious salt? I kid you not. Naturally harvested sea salt is rich with minerals and trace elements that help keep your body and cardiovascular system in balance. Sure it costs more. But given the amount we use in a year the extra cost can counted in cents, not dollars.

And it tastes better.

Potassium and salt

To maintain healthy blood pressure levels you need a balance of both salt and potassium in your blood. Many people with high blood pressure have been tested and found deficient in potassium. A lack of potassium can cause your blood pressure to rise.

There are two things that can cause a lack of potassium – too much salt intake and not enough potassium intake. Too much salt can eliminate the potassium that you need. Moderate salt intake (say, under 3 grams a day) keeps the balance right. To ensure your diet has sufficient potassium  eat potassium-rich foods daily … such as bananas, avocados and orange juice.

There is no need for self-denial and abstinence to achieve healthy blood pressure naturally. Moderation is the key.

North Americans can buy naturally harvested sea salt  (Sel de Guerande) at www.amazon.com/sel-de-guerande

Here in the UK the London Fine Foods Group will deliver it direct to your door.

Enjoy.

Oatmeal makes a comeback

Oatmeal used to be a standard breakfast dish back in the ‘good ol’ days’ but has now been largely replaced by sugary cereals. From a health perspective this has been a big mistake. A bowl of oatmeal every morning is a great way to start the day. And it especially helpful in restoring balance to your cardio-vascular system and lowering your blood pressure.

Of course the are other ways to eat oatmeal than in porridge. You can add oats to your cooking – bread, meatloaf, deserts – use your imagination.

Mind you, oats never had a reputation of fine dining.

In 1755 Samuel Johnson described oats as “A grain which, in England, is generally given to horses, but which in Scotland supports the people”.

The Scot’s reply? “That’s why England has such good horses and Scotland has such fine men!”

Get Natural!  by Kevin Riley

Oatmeal gets FDA approval

In 1996 oatmeal was the first food that was granted by the FDA the right to make a specific health claim. The US Food and Drug Administration approved the health claim “Diets low in saturated fats and cholesterol that provide 3g or more per day in soluble fiber from oat bran, oatmeal, or whole oat flour may reduce the risk of heart disease.”

Overall, this wonder food reduces cholesterol, lowers blood pressure, and reduces the risk of heart problems. Study after study has shown this to be true.

How oatmeal works to lower blood pressure

There are a number of things in oats that contribute to your cardio-vascular health but it is thought that the water soluble fiber beta-gluten provides the most benefits. This gel slows down rates of digestion of other foods and helps keep your blood sugars down as well as keeping your insulin levels normal – resulting in lower blood pressure.

Oats also lowers cholesterol. In one test called The smart Heart Challenge hundreds of people ate one bowl of oatmeal a day and after a month. Afterwards 70% of the volunteers had lower cholesterol levels. The Journal of American Medical Association reported that the fiber beta-gluten found in oats is as effective in reducing cholesterol as statin drug treatment.

Eat oatmeal every day!

Need I say more? Give your cardio-vascular system a present, every morning, with a bowl of oatmeal. Here’s how i make it: One cup of water, one handful of oats, one big dollup of honey into a pot. Bring to a boil and then turn off the heat and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Add a chopped up banana and enjoy. There is no better way than to start your day.

Lowering your blood pressure naturally without the use of (or in addition to) prescription medications is fifty percent diet and fifty percent exercise.

Start lowering your blood pressure today

The good news is that there’s a way to lower your blood pressure naturally without taking medications and putting up with side effects.

But the catch is that it doesn’t come as a magic pill and takes some time and practice. It also requires a change in diet and lifestyle.

If you need to lower your blood pressure, and want to accomplish it without taking medications, I can give no better recommendation than Kevin Riley’s 12 week program  Get Natural! Following this program I managed to lower my blood pressure from 190+/120+ to 125/85 in less than 12 weeks.

Get Natural! is both easy to follow, fun to read, and it works.

Get Natural! comes as a free bonus as part of the BreathEasy slow breathing exercise program.

I would personally endorse the BreathEasy program too. I do a 15 minute slow breathing exercise most nights before bed. It’s very relaxing and even in the span of 15 minutes by blood pressure will drop 10 points or more.

You can check out some free samples of  BreathEasy audio tracks at this link:  www.highbloodpressurehq.com

These two programs have worked wonders for me.

Carrying on the theme of eating yourself to lower blood pressure, I should mention that I like to eat salad regularly – sometimes as a meal in its own right.

What’s different about the salads I make and how do they help keep my blood pressure down?

First of all I like to add a small tin of tuna to my salad. Not only does this ‘bulk it out’ and make it more of a meal but fish contains essential oils good for your  circulatory system. (Fish is one of the leanest source of protein and also contains omega-3 fatty acids, which have a positive effect on the blood system. In short, fish fights hypertension (and tastes great).

I buy the tuna in brine but drain it before drowning heaps of extra virgin olive oil, a decent wallop of apple cider vinegar, crushed garlics, and liberal sprinkles of cayenne pepper. This then forms a fantastic tasting salad dressing and every ingredient helps keep the blood pressure get down and stay down.

How so?

Garlic both prevents and cures atherosclerosis (hardening of your arteries). It not only slows the build up of dangerous plaque on the walls of your arteries it can even reverse the process.

Olive oil has a beneficial mix of polyphenols, tocopherols, and oleic acid … all good
allies in the fight against hypertension. Eating garlic can make your arteries young again. (Get the cold-pressed extra virgin stuff as it contains the most benefits – and tastes better).

Both cayenne pepper and apple cider vinegar have been long noted for their beneficial properties to cure all sorts of ailments – including hypertension. As a strong tonic for for high blood pressure some people will drink a glass of water everyday with a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and cayenne pepper added. (I’m not quite ready for that one!)

Make sure you have some celery, tomatoes and onions in your salad. Both these vegetables  provide a boost to your blood system and help lower your blood pressure.

There’s a flavonoid in celery called apigenin that dilates blood vessels and lowers blood pressure. Celery also contains a unique chemical called 3-n-butyl phthalide which has been singled out as the main compound that lowers blood pressure.

Tomatoes contain an antioxidant is called lycopene which helps in the prevention of heart disease and some types of cancer – as well as lower blood pressure.

Onions contain a flavonoid called quercetin – a strong antioxidant. Quercetin lowers blood pressure, slow heart rate, and improves the inner lining of arteries.

So there you have it. Here’s a run down of all the blood pressure lowering foods I ad to every salad I eat:

fish, garlic, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, cayenne pepper, onions, tomatoes, and celery.

Of course I add other things like lettuce, peppers, olives, cucumber, etc., and they all taste great and are good for you … but its the upper list that will actively work to lower your blood pressure and keep it low.

Got any great blood pressure lowering recipes? Send them this way!

Good eating folks.

It has been documented that the French nation enjoy better health all around and lower rates of high blood pressure and coronary disease than most other nations. This is partly due to diet and their habit of drinking red wine on a daily basis.

Red wine contains an antioxidant called resveratrol. Like other antioxidants resveratrol helps prevent hardening of the arteries and your blood platelets from clumping together.

Blood platelets are those things that enables your blood to clot – which is important if you cut yourself. But clots forming inside your circulatory system is not healthy and is the prime cause of strokes.

In other words red wine helps keep your blood system in good health and your blood pressure down.

In case you wondered, resveratrol isn’t just found in red wine. It comes from the skin of the grapes. You can get resveratrol simply from drinking grape juice but resveratrol isn’t water soluble. The alcohol in in wine extracts the resveratrol more efficiently and assists the absorption of it into your body.

So have a glass or two every day! Get the darker red wine for maximum resveratrol content. Say a merlot, cabernet, zinfandel, shiraz, or pinot noir.

I have to admit that before learning of the beneficial qualities of red wine I was not a big drinker of wine. Now I buy a bottle or two a week and have learned a few lessons on buying wine.

First, don’t be fooled by price alone. Expensive wine is not necessarily the best wine and cheap red wine is not necessarily the worst. On the contrary, some of the cheaper red wines seem to have the most pleasant taste.

On a  TV program this spring wine tasting experts had to taste and rank various popular red wines on the market – blind (they weren’t allowed to see what brand of wine they were tasting). They all agreed on the best tasting wine. And it turned out to be one of the cheapest! So much for price as an indication of quality!

To get a great tasting red wine I would suggest you experiment with various types. Make a list of what you drink – the good, bad and ugly – so you know what to pick and what to avoid.

If red wine really isn’t “your cup of tea”, you can get resveratrol supplements. They have become very popular lately in the USA as part of an anti-aging and weight-loss system being highlighted on TV shows like Oprah.

For UK-based people,

In the USA,

Good morning. And a very good morning it is.

Mornings play  an important part of my diet that has helped me to lower my blood pressure and keep it low.

Here’s how it goes:

I start with a glass of water as soon as I rise from bed. I prefer the carbonated water available in bottles from the store. But that’s just the kid in me. As far as I am aware carbonated water has no greater health benefits than still water.

After my first glass is consumed I pour myself another but with this one I add a squirt (25 – 30 drops) of Hawthorn tincture. It adds a subtle and refreshing taste to the water but it’s not the taste I’m after. Hawthorn flowers and berries act as a vacillator. They relax and widen blood vessels in the most pleasant manner.  One shot in the morning for me is plenty although for bad cases of high blood pressure some three shots a day is recommended.  (I make my own Hawthorn tincture as Hawthorn grows strong and potent up here on the Welsh mountainsides – but I’ll leave the details for another post if anyone is interested.)

So after my two glasses of water I’ll sometimes move to a cup of freshly brewed coffee. Not the decaffeinated variety but coffee straight from the bean – as nature intended. I say ’sometimes’ because I used to drink coffee every morning as a rule – and lots of it. Now it’s a matter of choice – not habit or compulsion.

Later in the morning as hunger begins to rise its head I prepare a bowl of oatmeal.  As far as I am concerned, oats are the best health food anywhere – not just for high blood pressure but for all around good health. This traditional staple of the Scots.

A study in Chicago found that – in a group of people on hypertension drugs – eating
oat cereal daily for 12 weeks reduced … or eliminated their need for blood-pressure
medication. Dr Joseph Keenan noted that a diet containing soluble fiber-rich oat
cereals … greatly improved control of the patients’ hypertension.

Why is oatmeal so effective in reducing hypertension?

In a nutshell, oatmeal (or even better, oat bran) contains beta-glucan which helps to moderate our blood sugar  and insulin levels. It keeps your body in balance avoiding blood sugar spikes and avoids insulin insensitivity enabling your body to better store magnesium, which aids in the relaxing and expansion of you blood vessels. The results is lower blood pressure. I’m not a trained biologist but that’s how it was explained to me.

With my bowl of oatmeal I take some vitamin supplements currently composing of one multi-vitamin pill (containing magnesium among other things), one vitamin C pill, and one Calcium pill.  I also take some cod liver oil (rich in Omege-3) in gelatin capsules,  some Ginkgo and Ginseng for general well-being as well as lowering blood pressure.

The outcome of this morning diet is another enjoyable day with improved blood pressure and general well-being – better prepared to deal with all the muck that life sometimes throws at you.

This works for me. what Works for you?

There is no single answer for the question – what causes high blood pressure and high pulse rate. In the majority of cases it remain unknown and is put down to genetics. It certainly seems to run in families.

Regardless of causes you can reduce your blood pressure permanently through diet and exercise. (I speak from direct experience – not something I read somewhere.)

You may have heard of the DASH diet standing for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. It’s a simple overview but worth a look. I uploaded a copy and you should be able to download a pdf copy (Adobe Reader) by clicking here. (It’s written  and published by a government department so don’t expect it to be too racy or entertaining.)

So here are some of my favorite foods good for high blood pressure:

• bananas (full of potassium)
• apples
• extra virgin olive oil
• apple cider vinegar
• oatmeal and oat bran
• red wine (a glass a day)
• dark chocolate (min 70% cocoa)
• whole grain cereals
• nuts
• chamomile tea
• salads

The list could of course go on but the list above include things I eat regularly if not daily. Chamomile tea works on relaxing your nervous system (like slow breathing exercises) while other foods listed above have substances that directly affect your circulatory system in a positive way – repairing and expanding your artery walls and strengthening your heart.

To get the full picture foods, including their history, interesting facts, and how and why they work, I’d recommend Keven Riley’s Get Natural! Drop Your Blood Pressure. Of everything I have read so far on foods good for high blood pressure this guide has been the most informative and enjoyable to read.

From: hypnowil.wordpress.com

One of the most common high blood pressure causes is excessive salt consumption. Some people have high sensitivity to sodium (salt), and their blood pressure goes up when they use salt. When these people reduce their sodium intake their blood pressure tends to lower. According to many experts, taking in too much salt is common among Americans. It is estimated that we consume 10 to 15 times more salt than we need.

Diets of fast and processed foods contain particularly high amounts of sodium. To reduce your sodium intake levels read labels carefully to find out how much sodium is contained in food items and then avoid those with high sodium levels. Although this is only one of the high blood pressure causes for certain salt sensitive people, it can’t hurt to decrease your salt consumption, and may help prevent your risk of heart attack.

Be careful what drugs you put in your body. Certain drugs, such as amphetamines (stimulants), diet pills, and some pills used for cold and allergy symptoms, tend to raise blood pressure. Also, people that drink too much alcohol have a tendency to develop high blood pressure. For those that are sensitive to alcohol, drinking more than one to two drinks of alcohol per day tends to raise their blood pressure.

Simon Foster

There are also some nice things you can do to help lower your high blood pressure – like have a glass of red wine and 100 grams of dark chocolate everyday.

It’s not all about self-denial.

With regards to salt, yes, too much is not good. On the other hand, if you cut out all processed foods as I have, you have to be mindful to get enough salt.

And not all salt is the same. No no. Naturally harvested Celtic Sea salt from Brittany still contains all the nutrients and minerals nature intended. A much better substitute to common table salt most commonly used.

The bottom line is this: Lower your blood pressure by living a balanced happy life through moderation, not self-denial.

From: www.organicsandyou.com

FOODS THAT BALANCE BLOOD PRESSURE

Legumes: mung bean sprouts, soy bean sprouts, tofu, tempeh, peas, Adzuki Beans, Black Beans, Black-eyed peas, Broad Beans (Fava Beans), Butter Beans, Calico Beans, Cannellini Beans, Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans), Edamame
Great Northern Beans, Italian Beans, Kidney Beans, Lentils, Lima Beans, Mung Beans, Navy Beans, Pinto Beans, Soy Beans, including black soy beans, Split Peas, White Beans

Grains: (whole grains, ½ cup for all grains) sprouted wheat – hard red winter wheat, Amaranth, Barley, pearled, Buckwheat (kasha), Bulgar, Oats, whole kernel, Rice, brown, Rice, wild, Rye, whole kernel, Quinoa, Wheat, whole kernel, All Bran with Extra Fiber, Bran Buds, Fiber One, Kashi, Go Lean, Shredded Wheat, Shredded Wheat and Bran, Buckwheat Groats, Oat Bran, Old Fashioned Oatmeal, Steel-Cut Oats

Vegetables: (Pungent) radish, horseradish, hot peppers, onion family (garlic, onion, leek, scallion, shallot, chive), Leafy greens (cabbage, spinach, carrot greens, mint leaf, nasturtium leaf, dandelion greens, kale, wheat greens, barley greens, broccoli, parsley), asparagus, bell peper, rose hip, tomato, celery
Green seaweeds: Green rope, Green tuft, Dead man’s fingers, Encrusting codium, Bird guano alga, Sea lettuce, Stringy, hairy, ribbon Ulva, Green barrels, Brown seaweeds: Winged kelp, Bottlebrush seaweed, Seersucker, Three-ribbed kelp, Northern bladder chain, Flattened acid kelp, Witch’s hair, Green acid kelp, Geather Boa, Rockweed, Spiraling rockweed, Sea cauliflower, Perennial kelp, Twisted sea tubes, Bull kelp, Dwarf rockweed, Woody-stemmed kelp, Sea fungus, Sugar kelp, Stiff-stiped kelp, Sea cabbage, Split kelp, Wireweed, Soda straws, Studded sea balloons), Red Seaweeds (Turkish towel, Bleached burnett, Winged rib, Sea moss, Sea sac, Rusty rock, Sea tangle, Turkish washcloth, Tar spot, Iridescent seaweed, Coarse sea lace, Black pine, Flattened sea brush, Sea brush, Sea laural, Red ribbon, Sea comb, Bleachweed, Sea noodles, Red eyelet silk), chlorella, cucumber
Mushrooms: Honey Mushroom, Brown Stew Fungus, The Miller, Shaggy Ink Cap, Green Russula, Russula integra, Weeping Milk-Cap, Saffron Milk-Cap, Hedgehog Fungus, Man on Horseback, Wood Blewit, Chantarelle, Funnel Chantarelle, Horn of Plenty, Yellow-Crack Bolete, Slippery Jack, Brown Birch Bolete, King Bolete, Sheep Polypore, Pestle Puffball

Fruit: (citrus) Clementine, Kumquat, Minneola, Mandarin, Orange, Satsuma, Tangarine, Tangelo, Lemon, Rough Lemon, Lime, Leech Lime, Grapefruit, Pummelo, Sweety, Ugli, banana, persimmon

Nuts & Seeds: Almonds, hazlenuts (filbert), flax seed, chia seed, pumpkin seed (lightly roasted to remove surface E coli), poppy seed, walnut, sunflower sprouts

Animal products: fish: sardine, salmon, mackerel, Cold water fish (LAKE TROUT, RAINBOW TROUT, BROOK TROUT, BROWN TROUT, ARCTIC GRAYLING, ARCTIC CHAR, SPLAKE, etc.) raw honey, bee pollen

Herbs: hawthorn berry, dandelion root, burdock root, chaparral, peppermint (palpitations), cayenne pepper, ginger, rhubarb root (constipation), yarrow, chamomile, motherwort, valerian (Traditional Chinese herbs & American herbs)

FOODS TO AVOID (worsens high blood pressure)

Sugar, or foods with added sugars, Processed grains, or foods containing them (except as listed on the Grains List e.g. packaged cereals, even whole grain cereals, are usually processed, verify), Refined grains (which don’t say “whole” in front of each grain on the label) or foods containing them, “Wheat” or “wheat flour” without the word “whole” is usually a code word for “white” (includes white rice, “Flour” listed alone is always white flour), Potatoes, Cakes, cookies, muffins, etc. Crackers, unless whole grain, Cereals, unless whole grain and at least 8 grams of fiber per serving, Chips, Ice cream, Jams and Jellies, Maple Syrup, Regular Soda and other sweetened beverages, Juices, Oils except for extra virgin olive oil, nut oils, and canola oil, Mayonnaise, Creamy salad dressings, Butter, Magarine, Dairy products that are not fat-free, including cheese, cream cheese, milk, etc., Fatty meats such as bacon or sausage, Anything with hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats in it.

“The sages follow the laws of Nature and therefore their bodies are free from strange diseases. They do not lose any of their natural functions and their spirit of life is never exhausted.” — Inner Classic

Mark Hammer C.M.H.,  Master Herbalist - Longevity Mountain    5/09

Simon Foster

That’s a huge list of foods to help lower blood pressure. Kinda boggles the brain!

My favorites from your list (that I eat regularly) include: oatmeal, oat bran, spinach, lavabread (locally harvested dark green/black seaweed in South Wales), bananas, mackerel, sardines, and hawthorn flowers/berries freshly picked locally (in my back yard).

With regards to your list ‘Foods to Avoid’ I would suggest that these should be eaten in moderation or healthy substitutes found.

High blood pressure is a sign of you body getting out of balance from too much this, or not enough of that – not from accidentally eating the wrong thing one day.

From:  biggest-loser.net

It’s better that you stick to a 100% pure vegetarian diet if you want to live a long and healthy life in the surface of this happy planet. Health experts believe that a typical vegetarian diet contains more potassium, complex carbohydrates, polyunsaturated fat, fiber, calcium, magnesium, vitamin C and vitamin A, all of which mostly have a favorable influence on bringing down a person’s high blood pressure. Eating food with lots of fiber in it it’s going to do you better than you could ever think.
Celery, garlic, onion, tomato, broccoli, carrot and saffron are all medical miracles. They do much more than we can imagine when it comes to taking good care of our heart and blood. So if you can do all that, you most certainly are going to have a nice time while you are at it. Yes, it is a bit difficult in the beginning, but as time passes you will get used to your new best friends, fruits and vegetables. When it comes to sticking to fruits and vegetables, the best part is you get a lot of different varieties, after all isn’t variety the spice of life?

Simon Foster

I’m not sure if it fits into the ‘vegetarian vision’ but fish makes a great addition to a lowering blood pressure diet. It’s fully of essential fatty acids and omega 3 which are good helpers in get your circulatory system back in balance.

I’d agree that most of us tend to eat too much salt which increases hypertension. On the other hand if we eat only unprocessed foods without adding any salt we can suffer from a lack of salt. A measure of salt in our diet is needed to maintain optimum health.

Simon Foster

Eating too much salt increases blood pressure. We should all aim to eat less.

Up to 3/4 of the salt we ingest is already in prepared foods we purchase at the store. Processed meats and canned good in particular.

You can virtually eliminate salt in your diet by cooking with basic unprocessed foods – meat, vegetables, fruits, grains, etc.

But don’t do it!

Salt is a vital element that helps regulating water retention around cells. A study has shown that those with the lowest amount of salt intake had a 20% higher risk of suffering heart attack or stroke.

Everything in moderation. Around 6 grams of salt a day is considered a healthy intake.

But not all salt is the same.

White table salt most of us were brought up on  has been highly refined and processed removing all the nutrition and leaving us with sodium chloride.

Sea salt harvested in the age-old traditional method maintains all the natural nutrients your body will love you for.

In the words of Kevin Riley:

Celtic sea salt has gained fame in the culinary world … treasured as one of the finest condiments. You should be using this wonderful salt in your kitchen … and on your table. It is unlike other salts … much more than just sodium and chloride – it is rich with minerals and trace elements.

This natural sea salt is harvested from acres and acres of preserved pristine marshes … off the northwest coast of France. The salt flats are large pans of grey clay, into which the seawaters of the Atlantic are channeled. There the sun and wind evaporate the water … leaving a mineral-rich salty brine.

The salt crystals that form … pick up a light grey color from the clay mud. The clayionizes the salt – making it richer in healthy electrolytes. Celtic sea salt is carefully harvested using ancient Celtic methods. Only wooden rakes are used to gather the salt by hand … no metal ever touches the precious salt.

The final product is a nutritious unrefined sea salt … with a pleasing light grey color … slightly moist … and delicious. This wonderful salt can be used in all your cooking – it tastes fantastic sprinkled on garden-fresh tomatoes.
Enjoy the healthy salt that was collected by the early Celts … and keep your body’s electrolytes in balance.

- Get Natural! Drop Your Blood Pressure

The most well known Celtic Sea salt is Sel de Guerande harvested on the northern shores of Brittany.

Their website is in French, English, and German, as well as the local tongue, Breton. You can order Sel de Guerande on line there but only through French. When I tried it wouldn’t accept my UK credit card for some reason. I guess my French languages skills aren’t adequate.

Nevertheless I found another website that that sells the Celtic Sea Salt (and at a better price too)  from London however. If you interested in trying out a bag check out the London Fine Foods Group.