Posts Tagged ‘exercises’

Physical exercise is so important for your general state of well being as well as your blood pressure. There are really no substitutes for getting out there and getting your muscles moving, your heart pumping and your blood flowing through veins.

The lack of physical exercise we get in this post-industrial world where machines do all the ‘work’ is a principle cause of our general poor health – obesity, and high blood pressure high up on the list.

It is better to do some exercise everyday than a lot of exercise now and then. Set up a regular schedule – at least a half an hour a day – where you get off your sofa and move.

Your exercise regime should reflect you current state of health. Don’t overdo it at first. Start with small steps and work your way up. Even a walk around the block once a day is a good start.

I prefer to incorporate activities into my daily exercise so I get things done and feel a sense of achievement – as well as helping keep my blood pressure within acceptable ranges.

Last year I used to walk up the hill behind my house once a day to enjoy breath-taking views of the Bristol channel and the coast of Devonshire. The walk up was strenuous and really got my system working. My walk back down was relaxing in comparison and allowed my system to recuperate.

This year I’ve been concentrating on my backyard – getting all the brambles and ferns out with a pickax as well as building a drystone wall to keep the sheep out of my garden. I relegate one hour a day to this activity and it’s amazing how much I’ve achieved in such a short time.

Another sense of satisfaction is when I take my blood pressure. It is often below 120/80 these days. When you consider I was measuring 190+/115+ just a year ago, and prescription medications didn’t help, I’ve come along way.

Of course exercise alone is not enough to reduce blood pressure. Diet and relaxation are also essential components of natural blood pressure reduction.

Diet includes supplements. Because the interest in reducing blood pressure has increased over the past few years a number of companies have been working hard to make available  natural herbs and remedies that can help you get your BP down. Of course, not everybody needs them but for some stubborn blood pressure problems a natural boost in getting it down is just the ticket.

Beware however of getting conned by slick salesmen selling snake oil. Outrageous claims is often an indication of a con.

One natural supplement I have been getting positive feed back on is Alistrol. They have combined in a one-a-day pill four of the most powerful anti-hypertensive herbs.  One fellow who has been taking it for over a month now has reported a 20 point drop in his blood systolic blood pressure. It’s hard to argue with numbers.

If you’ve got “stubborn blood pressure” you might want to check it out. Click the link below:

ALISTROL Lower Blood Pressure Naturally

Although Alistrol will help you significantly lower your blood pressure I wouldn’t consider it as a substitute for a healthy lifestyle including good diet and exercise .  combined together and you should achieve a healthy balance.

All the best,

Simon Foster

High hopes for a quick-fix

When I was first diagnosed with high blood pressure (160/110) I realized I had to make some changes. I had read somewhere that garlic was helpful to lower blood pressure and too much salt raised it.  So I reduced my salt consumption and ate garlic everyday hoping that would fix it.

It didn’t. My blood pressure remained high and later on went up to 190+.

You see, we all want a simple, quick fix to our problems. But the fact is that when it comes to high blood pressure it’s not quite so straightforward.

Here are your options …

Lower blood pressure with diet.

For example, I was asked the other day,  “Does cayenne pepper reduce blood pressure?”  Yes, cayenne has been shown to be beneficial to your heart and circulatory system. And yes, cayenne can help reduce your blood pressure. But no, simply taking a dose of cayenne everyday probably isn’t going to be the answer to your blood pressure problems.

The same could be said for other beneficial foods and  such as garlic, celery, oatmeal, bananas, apples, tomatoes, onions, dark chocolate, you-name-it. All these foods can assist in reducing your blood pressure and getting your body back in balance. But they can’t do it by themselves.

Mind you,  I’m talking about seriously high blood pressure here. Sure, any one of these foods eaten daily might help reduce your blood pressure a few points. But is that going to be much consolation to someone banging in at 175+ systolic?

Medications – quick, but no fix

If you think prescription medication is the simple fix for high blood pressure, think again. The pharmaceutical industry has yet to produce a drug that cures high blood pressure.

Sure, there are pills that can lower your blood pressure – if you continue to take them day after day. But it’s not a real cure because your blood pressure will shoot back up if you stop taking them regularly. Add to that all the unpleasant side effects many of us suffer from taking these drugs and you can see why alternative methods of  lowering your blood pressure naturally are better.

Additionally, when you consider the statistic that more people die of heart disease while on anti-hypertension medications than those who aren’t on them, you realise that these medications don’t offer the protection that we might have hoped for.

How to lower blood pressure naturally

If you have high blood pressure and want to lower it without medications (or make a gradual shift from medications to natural cures), here’s the skinny: you have to move to a healthier diet and compliment it with exercises.

Simply reducing salt consumption and eating a clove of garlic a day won’t cut it.

But don’t despair.  Reducing your blood pressure naturally isn’t rocket science. Anyone can do it.

And no, you’re not going to have to give up everything pleasurable in life and live like a monk.

The truth is, once you start shifting to a healthy blood pressure lifestyle you’ll find yourself enjoying life more, not less. Remember, good health is the underpinning of real  happiness and pleasure.

In a nutshell, you can lower your blood pressure naturally by:

• lowering your stress levels through meditation, Yoga, etc. (I prefer to use slow breathing exercises).
• get your heart beating and blood flowing through physical exercise such as walking, jogging, sking, etc. (I climb the hill behind my house regularly).
• eat less “bad” foods such as table salt, trans-fats, etc.
• eat more “good” foods such as vegetables, olive oil, fruit, etc.

That’s basically it. Using these techniques I have managed to lower my dangerously high blood pressure of 195 over 120 range in March (2009) to  125 over 85 range in the course of 4 to 5 months.

Help is at hand

I got guidance from  Kevin Riley’s excellent 12 week program for lowering high blood pressure. It comes in a thoroughly enjoyable book called  Get Natural!. Combined with doing the  BreathEasy slow breathing exercises my blood pressure began to drop week by week.

If you want to lower your blood pressure quickly and naturally you can get both these programs through this link – www.highbloodpressurehq.com (Last time I checked Get Natural! was offered as a free bonus with the BreathEasy audio program).

Ypu can try out out some BreathEasy audio samples if you’re skeptical like I was.

But I got to say, using these two programs  worked wonders for me. I feel better – physically and mentally. No more high blood pressure worries.

BreathEasy is the closest thing to a “quick fix” for high blood pressure you’re going to get. You blood pressure will drop even after doing a 15 minute slow breathing exercise.

Of course for a permanent cure to high blood pressure time and commitment is needed – along with a more comprehensive lifestyle change. But for the here and now, you cant any better than BreathEasy exercises.

Here’s to your future good health!

Take care,

Simon Foster

By the way, if taking 15 minutes a day to do a slow breathing exercise isn’t ‘your thing’ you can download Kevin Riley’s Get Natural! direct from his website through this link:  www.naturalbloodpressure.com

Anytime I browse the web for high blood pressure articles I come across a boat load of conformist scaremongering.

It’s as if a party line on high blood pressure had been handed out and everyone is preaching from the same sermon.

The pharmaceutical bosses must be smiling themselves to sleep every night. Sales are good – and increasing.

Here’s an example I came across a few minutes ago form www.naturalproductssolution.com/devastating-effects-of-high-blood-pressure

Devastating Effects of High Blood Pressure

High Blood Pressure also called hypertension, is elevated pressure of the blood in the arteries. Blood pressure is the measurement of force applied to artery walls High blood pressure has to be taken seriously. It is a serious disease, the cause of which is more or less unknown. What we do know is that left untreated, high blood pressure over time can lead to serious heart disease and other vascular troubles, even death. Health professionals think that there are some genetic factors but as yet they cannot pin down the range of specific genes involved that cause high blood pressure. Studies suggest that people suffering from chronic high blood pressure may come from autonomic nervous system that controls heart rate, blood pressure and the blood vessels.

Detrimental effects of high blood pressure

It is the reason why high blood pressure has been called the “silent killer”. High blood pressure has detrimental effects on many organs like kidneys, eyes, and heart. High blood pressure is the primary cause of death in over 120,000 cases last year and contributes to 75% of all strokes and heart attacks and even more in African Americans. Research suggests that people with mild high blood pressure have three times more likely to have a heart attack as people with normal blood pressure and ten times the normal risk of stroke depending on the severity of the blood pressure. High blood pressure can also cause mental problems such as memory lost .

Fortunately, controlling blood pressure with the proper treatment can reduce or prevent those health complications. Healthy life style is a must for anyone with blood pressure (120/80mm Hg) and above in order to prevent serious complications of that disease.

My response:

High Blood Pressure is not a disease – it’s a condition brought on when a body gets out of balance.

High Blood pressure doesn’t “kill people”. It’s not a ‘thing’ – it’s a measurement. Of course extremely high blood pressure is sign that your circulatory system is approaching collapse. So heed its warnings.

120/80 is the now established ideal blood pressure rating – not a number that everyone can or should try to achieve (no more than everyone should try to force their feet into the ideal sized shoe.)

Anyone can reduce their blood pressure to a safe level (under 140/105) through exercise and diet.

Forcing it down with medications (and possibly suffering undesirable side effects) is not very wise … especially considering that statistically more deaths occur from heart disease and stroke while people are on these medications than those who do no on them.

Unfortunately the medical establishment as a whole has caught on and continue to push pills left right and center.

The answer? Lower your blood pressure naturally. Get your body back in balance through diet and exercise. Get healthy again. If I can do it anyone can.

From: www.lsblog.org

An international scientific study involving researchers from the University of Glasgow has identified eight common genetic differences which may increase the risk of high blood pressure.

The University researchers, led by Professor Anna Dominiczak and Professor John Connell, contributed to the global study of genes in high blood pressure through participation in the Medical Research Council’s British Genetics of Hypertension study.

High blood pressure – or hypertension – affects at least eighteen million people in the UK and is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Although lifestyle factors such as smoking and diet can raise blood pressure, it also runs in families suggesting a genetic link.

The genes identified by the researchers are thought to influence blood pressure in different ways: for example, through the production of chemicals, known as steroids, which affect how the kidneys process salt; or how the blood vessels regulate blood pressure.

Although the effect of each of the new gene variants is small, when combined their influence could significantly raise a person’s risk of stroke or heart attack.

The role of steroid hormones in controlling hypertension is one of the key areas studied within the British Heart Foundation Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre at the University.

Prof Connell, a senior researcher and Professor of Endocrinology, whose research group has a particular interest in steroids and blood pressure, said: “This latest study increases understanding of the underlying causes of high blood pressure, why some people are more susceptible to it than others and opens up further avenues for research into potential treatments.

“It is important to stress that environmental factors also play a big part so diet, smoking and weight control all important methods of controlling high blood pressure.”

In the new study, scientists looked at the human genome for genetic variations affecting blood pressure. They compared 2.5 million genetic variants from more than 34,000 people with measurements of their blood pressure. They found eight genetic differences linked to changes in blood pressure.

The study, published in Nature Genetics, involved over 150 scientists from 93 centres in Europe and the USA with funding from a variety of sources including the Medical Research Council, the British Heart Foundation and the Wellcome Trust.

Source
Nexxus, Scotland

Simon Foster

The link between genetics and high blood pressure is very convincing and goes a way to explain why some people (such as myself) suffer from extreme high blood pressure while living an otherwise healthy lifestyle.

Some people are simply programmed to have high blood pressure.

This doesn’t mean that it’s OK and isn’t a health risk.

It does mean that we are going to have to work a little harder lowering our blood pressure.

It means we are going to have to do more than simply change our diet and exercise each day.

It means we have to re-program our bodies to function with lower and safer levels of blood pressure.

I have discovered that this re-programming is entirely possible without recourse to prescription drugs and their undesirable side-effects.

From: www.quickestwaytoloseweight.org/controlling-your-high-blood-pressure-by-monitoring-your-pulse-rates/

There are many ways to get the blood pressure nowadays. There are the coin-operated machines in stores, battery-operated gadgets or the conventional type known as sphygmomanometer.

To get the blood pressure using the sphygmomanometer, wrap the cuff or band around the arm to stop the flow of blood. Place a stethoscope to an artery below the band then slowly release the band. When the blood begins to flow, the systolic pressure or high number comes through. The beats will stop to pave the way for the diastolic pressure or low number and the sound becomes steady.

To operate, the band is pumped then pressure is released from a mercury sensing device. This is commonly seen in most doctor’s office. In like manner, there are already new electronic devices that can sense sensitive and objective sounds, hence, the stethoscope is no longer needed.

It is important to take blood pressure and pulse rates daily by yourself, by others or by a doctor. In some cases, some patient’s tend to be on edge when a doctor takes his blood pressure, causing an artificial rise in pressure.This is termed as white-coat hypertension.

Controlling your high blood pressure by monitoring your pulse rates in a diary will help monitor the wear and tear the body is receiving. As such, proper control in weight and intakes of sugar and cholesterol rich foods should be avoided.

Response:

It’s a good idea to be able to monitor your own blood
pressure. Measurements in at the doctor’s office are often artificial due to “white-coat syndrome”.

Even though I feel perfectly calm inside my BP is 20 to 30 points higher at the doctors than when I get back in the comfort of my home.

Here in the UK we have very a very accurate digital BP monitors that memorize up to 60+ BP readings and can play them back to you. The cost is well under £15 (say $20) so it’s a worthwhile investment if you suffer from high BP like I do.

If you’re from the UK you can get a good deal on a blood pressure monitor at www.amazon.co.uk/bloodpressuremonitors

Simon Foster

I live in Wales a mountainous country with plenty of hiking opportunities.

This morning I took a hike up the mountain on the other side of the valley and ejoyed the sun and blustry wind. I have been hiking up on the mountains a frew times a week over the past couple of months.

Two things to note:

1. I don’t find it as tiring as a did, say, a month ago. My heart and lungs are adjusting to my new climbing hobby.
2. After getting back home and taking a 20 minute rest (I live part way up a steep slope on the other side of the valley (Cwm Garw), I monitored my blood pressure expecting it to be high after such exertion. To my pleasant surprise my blood pressure quite low (for me).

It would seem that exercising my heart and lungs is contributing to lowering my bloob pressure. OK, maybe that’s not shocking groundbreaking news, but I had always considered myself quite fit previously. Maybe not!

Continued hikes are now on the agenda. Another piece of the jigsaw.

I have been diagnosed with blood pressure 195/120. That’s not good. 120/85 is considered “normal”.

So the two questions are:

1. Why is my blood pressure so high?
2. And how do I get it back down?

Neither of these questions have simple staightforward answers or solutions.

The best answer I can come up with for question 1 is ‘genetics’. What else could it be? I am not obese. I’m not a chain smoking alcholic. I live a reasonable stress-free life. My diet has been, not great perhaps, but not terrible either. So it must be genetics – and possibly built up but hidden emotion stress – I sometimes wonder.

The solution? Now that’s really the sixty-four thousand dollar question. One thing is for sure – those professing to know the cure have very different and even conflicting opinions.

But I’ve reduced it to three approaches:

1. Change / addition to diet (possibly including ingesting prescription drugs).
2. Physical exercises.
3. Mental exercises.

All ‘remedies’ I’ve accessed and tried so far can be summed up with one or more of these approaches.

Apart from the ACE inhibitor my doctor prescribed, (that after 1 month showed zero results), I’ve downloaded and are using to other alternative approaches.

One is a comprehensive book on hypertension with a lot of information on useful foods and potions to lower blood pressure. Hence I would say it falls into solution category 1. You can check it out from this link- www.bloodpressurenormalized.com. It’s a little over-hyped and that initially put me off but in fact its got tons of good info to use.

The other approach I’m experimenting with is three exercises that can be performed with the assistance of  audio tracks. They’re simple enough to perform and don’t take up too much time.

My final conclusion as to they are working or  just a waste of time is out. But first indications are that they may be valid. After doing an ‘emotional release’ exercise the other day I monitored my blood pressure and it had dropped to 150 / 95 – the lowest it’s been for many months.

But is it sustainable? Or just a temporary relief? The verdict is out at the moment. The link for this website is here: www.highbloodpressure.ws

It would be great to hear from other high blood pressure sufferers if they have tried either of the aids and what the results were – positive and/or negative.

I’d also like to hear of other kinds of treatments successes. I hopes someone will read this someday.

Now I’m rambling.

My next post I’ll share details of the things I’m trying and the results – real and percieved.

Take care,

Simon