High Blood Pressure Be Gone

Posts Tagged ‘high blood pressure’

Don’t let the title fool you. High blood pressure is no laughing matter. But laughing could help.

Dealing with hypertension can be a tricky business because there is usually no single clearly identifiable cause. It can be a mixture of things such as diet, lack of exercise, genetics, and … attitude.

It’s been well known that stress can cause our blood pressure to rise. Arguing with your partner probably isn’t good for your BP. Get stuck in traffic jams when you’re late for an appointment probably doesn’t help either. The list could go on but you get the point.

Our mental attitude can effect our blood pressure. The problem is we can’t just consciously lower our blood pressure or the rate of our heartbeat -  like we can alter our breathing patterns, for example.

The good news is that we can alter our unconscious blood pressure regulator by indirect methods. Breatheasy slow breathing exercises, and Christian Goodman’s 3 exercises to lower blood pressure are examples of stress reducing exercises that can have a positive effect on our BP.

Another is laughter. Get sense of humour. Watch some good comedies on TV or the local theater. Get a good joke book. Have a laugh. De-stress. Try to look at things from the from the lighter side. All these things can help reduce your blood pressure and give your poor old heart a break.

To kick-start the process, here’s one of my favourate jokes.

…..

Husband and Wife

Husband has lately got into healthy eating and organics and yells at the wife who is going out the door to buy some vegetables at the local grocery store – “Make sure it’s organic!”

At the store the wife asks the young clerk (who’s new on the job) “Are these organic?” pointing at the array of fresh vegetables on display.

Unsure, the clerk responds “What do you mean by organic?”

Losing her patience the wife responds sharply “LOOK, I’M BUYING THESE VEGETABLES FOR MY HUSBAND … AND I NEED TO KNOW  …  HAVE THEY BEEN SPRAYED WITH POISON?!?”

“Oh, no mam”, answers the clerk, “you have to do that yourself.”

….

That’s a bit of Welsh sense of humour I heard from Roy Noble on Radio Wales. He has a chat show Monday to Friday 2 pm to 4 pm GMT (that’s  9 am to 11 am Eastern USA). You can tune in here: BBC Radio Wales, sit back and relax. Listening to Roy Noble could lower your blood pressure.

After five months of stopping medications and starting on alternative natural remedies to reduce blood pressure I started to get blood pressure reading below the 120/80 ideal!

For example, yesterday I came in from working on the roof of my house and decided just for interest to take a reading. I clocked in at 153/98 with a heart rate of 84. Had I lost all the ground I had been struggling to attain? Not at all. That night before bed I took a reading again and was back down to a respectable 128/87 with a heart rate of 68.

You see, blood pressure levels change – up, down, round-about, and back again – in the course a day depending on what your doing, thinking, or have eaten. This is why it can be a big mistake to conclude you a chronic sufferer of high blood pressure / hypertension from one reading or an occasional visit to the doctor’s office.

Add to this the fact that many people’s blood pressure level increases just stepping into a doctor’s office. It’s called white coat syndrome. I think I have it even though inwardly I feel reasonably calm at the doctor’s. But how else can I account that my highest blood pressure readings ever have been at the doctor’s?

How many people have been falsely diagnosed with one or two high blood pressure readings and put on medications for life when there was no need?

What this means is that if your worried about your blood pressure levels:

1. Get your own monitor and take readings at different times.
2. Judge your blood pressure level according to ranges.

Remember, blood pressure readings are not as accurate tire pressure gauges. If you take two readings one after the other they will very rarely be the same (though they should be close). Don’t get too obsessed by exact numbers when it comes to blood pressure. Look for ranges.

Which is why the current blood pressure industry mantra of 120/80, 120/80, 120/80 … is just plain silly.

It has been speculated that it is largely driven by international pharmaceutical industries who have a large stake in the hypertension medications field. This is not just another conspiracy theory. Rather it is the outcome of a “confluence of interests”.

Look for a healthy range of blood pressure readings. Where you draw the line between ‘OK’ and ‘not OK’ readings is really up to you.

A reasonable approach that works for me is this: When relaxed, blood pressure readings below 130/90 is good; readings below 140/105 is OK; readings over 140/105 is not OK – time for action.

Mind you I have discovered that high blood pressure ‘runs in the family’ for me which means I have to take extra diligence to keep me in a healthy range. Others, not genetically prone to higher blood pressure, may wish to lower their ‘OK’ ranges.

Blood pressure ranges are a bit like shoe sizes. It not natural that everyone has identical blood pressure readings – or should be medicated in an attempt achieve an ideal reading at all times.

Given the fact that undesirable side effects with many of these medications have been well documented, there’s every reason to look for alternatives if you suffer from high blood pressure.

That’s exactly the situation I found myself in back in April this year (2009). After two months of being prescribed an ACE inhibitor (Rampril) I had developed a persistant nagging cough that would wake me up often in the night. Meanwhile my blood pressure reading refused to budge from 190+ / 120+ readings.

After five months of following of exploring alternatives to medication I now enjoy blood pressure reading in an OK range – sometimes even below the ideal of 120/80.

I’ve tried a number of alternative blood pressure cures offered on the internet but the ones I’ve used the most and come back to is Kevin Riley’s guidebook Get Natural! Drop Your Blood Pressure, and David O’Hara’s BreathEasy program.

I have a 15 minute BreathEasy session most every night before bed and my blood pressure regularly drops to the 120/80 range and my heart rate below 70. Even though I have completed Kevin Riley’s 12 week program to lower blood pressure I often re-read parts. It’s a wealth of information and an enjoyable read (which is more than you can say for most ‘health guides’ on the Internet).

So if you need to get handle on your blood pressure first off check out the new DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension). I uploaded a copy to the server so you should be able to get a copy by right-clicking HERE and selecting ’save link as’ or save target as’, depending on your operating system/browser. It’s a good overview of food to help lower blood pressure.

Mind you, it’s produced by a government department (U.S. Department of Health and Social Services) so don’t expect it to be a great read. Worth checking out though.

If you’re really serious about lowering your blood pressure without medication then you might want to consider what has worked for me so far:

• Get your own blood pressure monitor
• Download BreathEasy and take 15 minutes off a day to reduce hypertension
• download Get Natural! Drop Your Blood Pressure and start the 12 week program

After 12 weeks of Get Natural! and BreathEasy you should be feeling a lot better and your blood pressure readings should be down quite a lot.

The last time I checked the BreathEasy program was offering Kevin Riley’s Get Natural! as a free bonus. Grab yourself a bargain while it lasts.

That’s what’s worked for me.

You can check out all my review of alternative approaches to lowering blood pressure without drugs here: Alternative Cures Review

Best wishes and let us know how you’re getting along with these or any other natural cures for high blood pressure.

Life, we’re all in it together.

Hypertension Medications

Let me state right from the beginning – I’m not in favor of taking prescription medications for the control of high blood pressure (if it can be avoided).

The are a number of reasons for my anti-medication stance one of which is my personality. I’m a long-distance single-handed sailor and I value and guard my independence fiercely. Being tied to a prescription and regular doctor appointments really doesn’t suit me psychologically. If there was an alternative I would use it.

The good news is that there is an alternative to prescription medications and that’s what this post is about.

Medication Side Effects

Another reason I’m not in favor of medications is the side effects.

For a list of hypertension medications side effects click here

Most all hypertension medications have side effects. Some of them may be minor, but they can all reduce your quality of life.

My only experience of hypertension medications was Rampril, ACE Inhibitor prescribed here in the UK.

Soon after taking Rampril daily I developed a dry and persistent cough.

And I mean persistent. All day and all night long.

It got to the point where I kept a glass of water by my bed so I could relieve the tickle in my throat that would wake me up several times a night.

Two months of this slow torture and my blood pressure was still measuring 195/130 at the doctor’s and 175/120 at home.

The third, and possibly most important reason I have chosen to reduce my blood pressure naturally rather than going down the medication route is that medications don’t actually cure hypertension.

Let me explain.

All hypertension medication prescribed by doctors are meant to lower your blood pressure. A prescription that works for one person may not work so well for another. Several medications may sometimes have to be tried for each patient to see what works best for him or her. Occasionally combinations are used for best results.

Of course sometimes the medication that best lowers your blood pressure also produces the worst side effects and other treatments must be sought.

There is one thing that all hypertension medications have in common:

You have to keep taking them day after day for the rest of your life to keep your blood pressure within acceptable limits. If you stop taking them your blood pressure can shoot right back up to former levels.

In short, you have not cured your hypertension – you are merely controlling it.

The conditions that gave rise to your elevated blood pressure are still there, waiting to raise you blood pressure back up to dangerous levels the minute they’re released from their chemical bondage.

Add to that fact the statistic that more people die of stroke and heart attack while on high blood pressure medications than those who are not on them and the pharmaceutical approach to hypertension seems even less attractive.

(That’s not to say that hypertension medications cause stroke and heart attack. But that statistic does seem to suggest that these drugs do not offer the protection against these diseases one might have hoped.)

Alternative Approaches to Lowering Blood Pressure

For all these reasons I chose the alternative route to lowering high blood pressure.

Out went the medication, in came natural alternative methods for reducing blood pressure.

Four months later and my blood pressure was down to the 135/95 range the cough was just a distant bad memory.

Now, almost nine months after starting alternative approaches to lowering blood pressure my readings are sometimes below 120/80. I wouldn’t have believed it last Spring but the ‘proof is in the pudding’ as they say.

The good news for you is that if I can do it – anyone can!

For a review of all the alternative high blood pressure cures I’ve used click here.

According to the medical establishment, the “experts”, the cause of 90% of high blood pressure is unknown. But the fact is that the causes of high blood pressure are well known. (There are also a number of methods to treat high blood pressure without drugs.)

What the medical establishment is actually saying when it states the causes are ‘unknown’ is that for the vast majority of people with high blood pressure, a single identifiable cause for their condition can’t be proved beyond doubt.

If we look at the actual statistics and our own personal experiences then the major causes of hypertension isn’t that hard to figure out.

The following are the five main causes of high blood pressure.

High blood pressure caused by Modern Diet

That frozen take-home meal may taste great, not to mention fast and convenient. It might also be slowly killing us. I’m talking about highly processed foods full of saturated fats, trans-fats, salt, etc. Over time all these unnecessary additives clog up our system and increase our blood pressure. These days we are literally eating ourselves to death.

The good news is that there are all sorts of delicious alternatives. Better yet, by switching to a healthy and tasty diet we can reverse the effects of of diet caused high blood pressure back to healthy pressure.

If you want to switch to a healthy blood pressure lowering diet you cant’ do any better than following Kevin Riley’s excellent guide Get Natural! Drop Your Blood Pressure

High blood pressure caused by Lack of Exercise

Modern lifestyles and and endless stream of entertainment on the TV and the Internet doesn’t encourage an active lifestyle. Which is a pity because there’s nothing our heart and blood circulatory system loves more than a daily workout.

High blood pressure caused by Stress

Stress is not always as easy to detect as you make think. Even after you have left the office and have left yet another bumper to bumper commute behind you, stress can hang on and infiltrate many other areas of your life. Some people are more prone to stress than others. Some stress may be good for you. But too much for too long can lead to hypertension.

Thankfully, if your prone to stress build up there are ways to relief it and see it off – and lower your blood pressure as a consequence. I take 15 minutes off a day to do slow breathing exercises with the help of BreathEasy. It keeps me in a calmer disposition and my blood pressure in a healthy range. Christian Goodman also offers stress busting exercises for hypertension.

High blood pressure caused by Genetics

High blood pressure tends to run in families. If your parents suffer from high blood pressure the likelihood of you developing it are greater. Some people are simply more to get high blood pressure simply due to their genetic structure.

That doesn’t mean that there’s nothing you can do about though. If you have high blood pressure ‘in the genes’ it just means that you have to work a little harder at achieving and maintaining a healthy range.

High blood pressure caused by  Age

Yep, its a fact that as we get older our blood circulatory system ages with us. Veins tend to constrict and harden (aka. atherosclerosis). The flow is decreased and the pressure decreases.

The medical establishment used to take this into account when determining acceptable blood pressure. It used to be systolic 100 plus your age was considered OK.

Now there’s nothing we can do about getting older. It happens to all of us, rich or poor, celebrity or hermit. But there is a number of things we can do to arrest the ravages of time pumping up our blood pressure.

Know the cause – know the cure

These are the five main causes causes of high blood pressure. The first three causes (diet, lack of exercise, stress) are a symptom of 21st century lifestyle while the other two causes (genetics and aging) are inescapable parts of being human.

Hypertension (the medical term for high blood pressure) caused by the first three causes are easier to cure. We simply have to change or diet, start exercising and de-stressing. There are guides to help us accomplish this. For a comprehensive guide that covers all causes and natural cures see The High Blood Pressure Remedy Report.

Hypertension caused by aging can also be countered by adopting a healthy lifestyle. The effects of aging on your circulatory system be put of indefinitely through good diet and exercise. Naturally based antioxidants like Resveratrol and Acai Berry now being made available  can slow or even, to a degree, reverse the process of aging, according to tests.

Hypertension due to genetics can’t be ‘cured’ but it can be countered. Having a genetic propensity towards high blood pressure doesn’t mean you are doomed. It simply means  that you have to work  harder at maintaining a healthy blood pressure.

What were the causes of my dangerously high blood pressure? All five of them!

But thanks to following guides to reducing blood pressure naturally I now enjoy healthy blood pressure and a brighter future.

And if I can do it anyone can!

It has been well documented that the French nation enjoys better cardio-vaschlar health than many other nations in the developed world – despite their fondness of culinary treats that may not deserve the label of ‘health food’.

This ‘French Paradox’ and has largely been explained by their habit of drinking good red wine everyday with their main meal. Having visited and spent time with a family in France in the past I can personally vouch that it’s true. (By the way, if you ever find yourself dining around a French table, don’t mix your red wine with water as they do in Portugal, or you risk social disapproval and mild condemnation!)

So how does red wine help keep your blood pressure down and your heart healthy? Red wine conntains resveratrol, a powerful antioxidant that keeps your arteries healthy and working as they were intended. Resveratrol provides a number of benefits including:

• protects your arteries against oxygen free radicals
• helps prevent atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries)
• prevents your platelets from clumping together (reduces risk of blood clotting)
• inhibits angiotensin II (which can increase blood pressure if your body  produces too much)
• improves the function of blood pressure lining

All in all, resveratrol has shown to help keep your heart and circulatory system healthy and your blood pressure down where it should be.

Resveratrol comes from the skin of red grapes but getting it via red wine is better because the alcohol in wine extracts and dissolves the resveratrol making it easier for your body to absorb. In short, you’d have to eat a basket full of grapes to get the same benefits of a glass or two of good red wine.

But what if you don’t like red wine or react badly to it? (Some people get headaches from drinking red wine.) The good news that there are other ways to get the benefits of resveratrol including buying resveratrol extracts.

But what has really taken the spotlight lately as the new superfood is Acai berries.  Pronounced ah-sigh-ee, these berries harvested from the Amazon have been featured on US news channels, BBC, and the celebrity circuit (Oprah Winfrey and co.). They have been promoted as the new super-supplement  to assist in weight loss and to retard the aging process.

What’s the big deal with acai berries? They are chock full of resveratrol. The French must be feeling so smug!

According to reports, one dose of Acai berry contains up to 30 times the amount in reveratrol as a glass of wine.

What are Superfoods – Acai Berry and more

Superfoods are those foods that do such things as lower cholesterol and blood pressure. In other words, they have several benefits to them that other foods don’t have. The Acai Berry is one of those foods. It provides energy, helps you to lose weight faster, lowers cholesterol, lowers blood pressure, and helps to prevent several serious diseases like heart disease. However, Acai Berry is not the only superfood, but is part of a family of superfoods. There are several that you can take advantage of.

Superfoods

So not only do you have the amazing Acai Berry, but you also have antioxidants in blueberries as well as potassium and vitamin C. Blueberries have been shown to lower the incidence of heart disease. They are also anti-inflammatory.

Here are other superfoods you may wish to know about:

• Fish is a superfood in that it contains Omega 3 fatty acids and a number of vitamins and minerals. Omega 3s reduce inflammation and blood clotting. You can also reduce heart attack.

• Bananas provide you with energy and consists of antioxidants that can help prevent cancer and heart disease.

• Kiwis are amongst the 5 most nutritious fruits in the world. They have fiber, potassium, Vitamin A, and Vitamin E. It is also full of antioxidants that fight against disease.

These are all great superfoods. Between Acai Berry, blueberries, fish, bananas, and kiwis, you can have a very healthy diet.

Get started

If you’re not eating healthy now, start with something such as an Acai Berry capsule. PureAcaiBerry.com has such a capsule that contains 1500mg of Acai Berry that is immediately vacuum sealed and not tampered with. That way you get the most out of this superfood without having to locate it and prepare it. Throw in the other superfoods and you are in business.

Visit www.PureAcaiBerry.com to experience the best of Acai Berry!

So Acai Berry can:

• lower your blood pressure
• reduce your cholesterol levels
• lose weight
• feel younger and full of energy

If you are suffering a combination of being overweight and high blood pressure, a few months of taking Acai Berry could be a very sound choice.

For lowering blood pressure it’s the antioxidant resveratrol in Acai berry that has the most benefits. And onn a cost analysis it’s cheaper to get resveratrol through Acai berry than than red wine.

When you consider that Acai Berry contains up to 30 times the amount of resveratrol as red wine then Acai Berry wins hands down on red wine in every way. (But I still like my glass of wine! )

You can also get Acai berry capsules through Amazon in the UK and US

To your good health,

Simon

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

Acupuncture is an ancient and respected form of treatment of a variety of aliments. Practiced for thousands of years in the east is still a controversial but accepted form of treatment here in the West.

A poll of American doctors in 2005 showed that 59% believe acupuncture was at least somewhat effective. As of 2004, nearly 50% of Americans who were enrolled in employer health insurance plans were covered for acupuncture treatments. – wikipedia

Acupuncture involves the insertion of needles into specific nervepoints below the skin. Acupressure works on the same principles as acupuncture except pressure is applied through massage with fingers rather than the insertion of needles.

Below is a list of the main acupuncture / acupressure points believed to “improve your blood pressure” as cited on  www.damazen.com the website of a Dharma-Zen Tai Chi studio in Calgary Alberta.

Yongquan

Located on the mid-line of the sole of the foot, 2/3 of the way forward from the back of the heel. First warm up your hands by rubbing them briskly together. Then use your right hand to rub your left foot. One rub is from heel to toe then back again to the heel. In total rub your foot thirty six times, then switch. After rubbing both your feet, use a thumb to press your foot’s Yongquan point. With medium force and speed, rub in a tiny circle thirty six times. Then stimulate your other foot’s Yngquan point in the same manner.

Baihui

A‘cross-road’ point on the vertex, belonging to the Du Mai channel. It is located at the top of the head, in line with the ears. Hold 5 fingers of each hand into a point, tap at Baihui lightly, alternating hands (left, right, left, right) for three minutes. Once in the morning and again at night.

Fengchi

These points (left & right) are found at the base of your skull where it meets with your spine. They’re commonly used for treatment of the common cold, the flu, headaches, neck pain, regulating blood pressure and blood circulation. Lace your fingers together, thumbs pointing up. Swing your hands to the back of your head so your thumbs rest just below your skull in the little hollows beside the central muscles along your spine. With medium force and speed, rub in tiny circles thirty six times

Well there you have it according to Dharma-Zen Tai Chi. I’ve never used acupuncture myself although I have massaged the Fendchi points cited above to ward off headaches – with good results. There is certainly more to manipulating the nervous system than meets the eye.

Has anyone used acupuncture or acupressure to help regulate their blood pressure? Has it worked? Share the wealth.

I can state that certain diets and exercises can lower blood pressure back to healthy levels without the need of medications. I’m living proof of that fact. For more information on what works see my Alternative Cures Reviews.

Is there a relationship between blood pressure and sex?

According to the authors of ‘Low Pressure Sex‘ there is. They make the connection from two different perspectives. They claim you can

“… radically increase your sex drive and sexual performance … by lowering your blood pressure”

Authors Frank Mangano and Jon Benson go on to argue that a side effect of many blood pressure drugs is to dampen your sex drive.They also argue that high blood pressure itself can be a block to sexual ardor.

In short, their program is designed to get you off blood pressure medications, lower your blood pressure, and heighten your libido.

Sounds good … or is it just hype wrapped around the old standard “sex sells”? Well there does seem to be a connection between sex and blood pressure – at least for men.

Viagra, the infamous pill to increase erectile strength and duration was first designed as a drug to lower blood pressure. It was only after test subjects began to report erections as a side effect that it was re-branded and marketed as a sexual stimulant.

The bottom line is that to achieve an erection you must have adequate blood flow to the penis. High blood pressure, it is argued, impedes blood flow and makes erections harder to achieve if not impossible. That’s the bottom line as I understand it.

In Low Pressure Sex Mangano and Benson go further and claim that high blood pressure can destroy sexual urges in women too – although it’s not clear on what that premise is based.

I’ve only recently come across this program so can’t endorse or dismiss it from personal experience but does lowering your blood pressure result in better sex? I’d have to say yes, my sex life is better since lowering my blood pressure through natural means. Not that I went from a complete flop to a rock hard sex machine. I didn’t get any younger. But perhaps an increase in stamina and pleasure.

Mind you, in Mangano’s program Low Pressure Sex program includes two books and an audio tape:

• Low Pressure Sex
• Revolutionary Sex
• Natural “Blue Pill” audio

By the way, my girlfriend thinks I should get get this program and ‘try it out’. But I can’t help thinking there’s an element of self-interest in her suggestion.

If you have used Mangano’s Low Pressure Sex please leave a thumbs up or down review in the comment section. There’s nothing better than hearing from a person who’s ‘been there, done that’.

What are high blood pressure causes? As they say, that’s the 64 thousand dollar question.  According to medical science, the causes of the vast majority of high blood pressure cases remains ‘unknown’.

That doesn’t mean that they don’t have a clue. Not at all. it just means they can’t prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was this of that that causes a person to develop high blood pressure. Indeed, the causes of high blood pressure is neither that simple nor evident. (It’s a lot more than simply eating too much salt )

But anyway you look at it is always comes back to this: genetics. The indisputable fact is that some people have high blood pressure ‘in the family’, other don’t. (I firmly belong to the former group).

Here’s an example from my life, today:

My girlfriend is a heavy smoker (although she’d probably deny that ), she gets easily stressed; can be very high strung at times; her diet is far from exemplary from a healthy blood pressure perspective. In short, her lifestyle has all the ingredients of a high blood pressure victim.

But the fact is, her blood pressure is usually too low and she can even suffer from dizzy spells sometimes as it can dip below 90/60. High blood pressure simply isn’t in her genes and there is probably nothing she could do to get it.

Me, on the other hand, non-smoking, OK diet, and comparatively relaxed and calm disposition was banging in at 195/120 last winter (before I got it down through natural methods of diet and exercise i discuss in this blog.)

So what gives? The fact is, my girlfriend’s family doesn’t have a history of blood pressure whereas mine does. I am genetically predisposed to develop high blood pressure whereas she is not. It doesn’t seem fair but that’s just the way it is.

Mind you, I am not saying that if you are genetically predisposed to get high blood pressure there is nothing you can do about it. I’m living proof that you can lower your blood pressure regardless, without even going on medications. Being genetically predisposed towards hypertension means you have to exercise greater diligence and expend further effort to ensure your blood pressure levels remain within a healthy range.

I also don’t mean to imply that genetics is the only cause of high blood pressure. If you are a chain-smoker, live on the couch, and are obese through a diet of processed foods and heavy salt consumption then it is highly likely that you have high blood pressure and the causes of your high blood pressure are due to your lifestyle.

Yes, a poor lifestyle can lead to hypertension and a healthy lifestyle can lead to lowering blood pressure levels.

Genetics plays its role in determining how hard you have to work at maintaining a healthy blood pressure level. I have to work hard at it. My girlfriend can get away with all sorts of transgressions.

If you’re like me, take heart. You don’t have to suffer high blood pressure or the depressing side effects of many blood pressure medications. I’m living proof that a change in diet and exercise can bring your body back in balance, regardless of the causes of high blood pressure.

P.S. In case your wondering exactly how I’ve done it I must give most of the credit to Kevin Riley’s 12 week program called Get Natural!. following the Get Natural! program and taking 15 minutes off a day to do slow breathing exercises with the BreathEasy audio tapes is pretty much all that I need to get a dangerously high blood pressure of 190+ / 120+ back down to the 120-130 / 80-90 range. Tidy! (as we say here in Wales). You can check out and get both programs from this website: www.highbloodpressurehq.com

P.P.S. Being in the ‘high blood pressure circuit’ with this blog I’ve been getting solicitations from vendors of a device called RESPeRATE. (Why all the capitalized letter I have no idea – must have been thought up by some marketing bigwig.)

Has anyone tried them?

They seem to be based on the same slow breathing exercise principle as BreathEasy (see link above) but with more of a technical approach. And not cheap!

Here’s some of sales info from UK pharmacy websites:

From Boots -

How does Resperate help to lower blood pressure?

Resperate guides your breathing from the typical range of 14 to 19 breaths per minute down to what is called the “therapeutic zone” of just under 10 breaths per minute. This enables the muscles surrounding the small blood vessels in your body to dilate, and relax. Blood flows more freely and pressure lowers.

Resperate should be used for just 15 minutes, 3 to 4 times per week. Within 3 to 4 weeks of use, a significant all-day reduction in blood pressure can be achieved.

Resperate contents:

• Resperate device & breathing sensor
• Headphones
• user manuals
• 4 x AA batteries

Price £199.99 at www.boots.com/en/Resperate_873109/

From ChemistDirect -

How RESPeRATE lowers your blood pressure:

RESPeRATE’s breathing sensor automatically analyzes your individual breathing pattern and creates a personalized melody composed of two distinct inhale and exhale guiding tones.

Simply listen to the melody through the headphones, and your body’s natural tendency to follow external rhythms will enable you to easily synchronize your breathing to the tones.

By gradually prolonging the exhalation tone to slow your breathing, RESPeRATE leads you to the therapeutic zone of less than 10 breaths per minute.

Within a few minutes, the muscles surrounding the small blood vessels in your body relax, blood flows more freely, and your blood pressure is significantly reduced.

While your breathing returns to normal after each session with RESPeRATE, the beneficial impact on your blood pressure accumulates. Within 3 to 4 weeks, you’ll see a significant, lasting reduction in your blood pressure.

What results can you expect?

More than 10 clinical trials1-9 have demonstrated the effectiveness of RESPeRATE in significantly lowering blood pressure. RESPeRATE can lower blood pressure by up to 36 points systolic and 20 points diastolic (top 10% reductions), with average reductions of 14/8 points.10

Lower your blood pressure with RESPeRATE. With regular use, you’ll get a significant, lasting reduction in blood pressure.

Price: £159.00 at www.chemistdirect.co.uk/resperate–free-omron-mx2_1_152128

Like I said, not cheap, but if it works I suppose it’s well worth it. After all, what’s the value of your health?

If anyone has tried one of the RESPeRATE devices please let us know in the comments section what you think of it.

Hope you’ve enjoyed my blurb on high blood pressure causes. Let me know what you think. All comments welcome.

Take care,
Simon Foster

Last week was a milestone for me. After five months of giving up medications and embarking on alternative natural cures to reduce blood pressure I started to get blood pressure reading below the 120/80 ideal. Made it!

Mind you, I usually only take readings at night before bed when I’m at the most relaxed. Blood pressure readings during a busy day are usually higher.

For example, yesterday I came in from working on the roof of my house and decided just for interest to take a reading. I clocked in at 160/101 with a heart rate of 84. Had I lost all the ground I had been struggling to attain? Not at all. That night before bed I took a reading again and was back down to a respectable 128/87 with a heart rate of 68.

You see, blood pressure changes – up, down, round-about, and back again – in the course a day depending on what your doing, thinking, or have eaten. This is why it can be a big mistake to conclude you a chronic sufferer of high blood pressure / hypertension from one reading or an occasional visit to the doctor’s office.

Add to this the fact that many people’s blood pressure increases just stepping into a doctor’s office. It’s called white coat syndrome. I think I have it even though inwardly I feel reasonably calm at the doctor’s. But how else can I account that my highest blood pressure readings ever have been at the doctor’s?

Which makes you wonder … how many people have been falsely diagnosed with one or two high blood pressure readings and put on medications for life when there was no need?

What this means is that if your worried about your blood pressure levels:

1. Get your own monitor and take readings at different times.
2. Judge your blood pressure level according to ranges.

Remember, blood pressure readings are not as accurate tire pressure gauges. If you take two readings one after the other they will very rarely be the same (though they should be close). Don’t get too obsessed by exact numbers when it comes to blood pressure. Look for ranges.

Which is why the current blood pressure industry mantra of 120/80, 120/80, 120/80 … is just plain silly.

It has been speculated that it is largely driven by international pharmaceutical industries  who have a large stake in the hypertension medications field. This is not just another conspiracy theory. Rather it is the outcome of a “confluence of interests”.

Look for a healthy range of blood pressure readings. Where you draw the line between ‘OK’ and ‘not OK’ readings is really up to you.

A reasonable approach that works for me is this: When relaxed, blood pressure readings below 130/90 is good; readings below 140/105 is OK; readings over 140/105 is not OK – time for action.

Mind you I have discovered that high blood pressure ‘runs in the family’ for me which means I have to take extra diligence to keep me in a healthy range. Others, not genetically prone to higher blood pressure, may wish to lower their ‘OK’ ranges.

Blood pressure ranges are a bit like shoe sizes. It not natural that everyone has identical blood pressure readings – or should be medicated in an attempt achieve an ideal reading at all times.

Given the fact that undesirable side effects with many of these medications have been well documented, there’s every reason to look for alternatives if you suffer from high blood pressure.

That’s exactly the situation I found myself in back in April this year (2009). After two months of being prescribed an ACE inhibitor (Rampril) I had developed a persistant nagging cough that would wake me up often in the night. Meanwhile my blood pressure reading refused to budge from  190+ / 120+ readings.

After five months of following of exploring alternatives to medication I now enjoy blood pressure reading in an OK range – sometimes even below the ideal of 120/80.

I’ve tried a number of alternative blood pressure cures offered on the internet but the ones I’ve used the most and come back to is Kevin Riley’s guidebook Get Natural! Drop Your Blood Pressure, and David O’Hara’s BreathEasy program.

I have a 15 minute BreathEasy session most every night before bed and my blood pressure regularly drops to the 120/80 range and my heart rate below 70. Even though I have completed Kevin Riley’s 12 week program to lower blood pressure I often re-read parts. It’s a wealth of information and an enjoyable read (which is more than you can say for most ‘health guides’ on the Internet).

So if you need to get handle on your blood pressure first off check out the new DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension). I uploaded a copy to the server so you should be able to get a copy by right-clicking HERE and selecting ’save link as’ or save target as’, depending on your operating system/browser. It’s a good overview of food to help lower blood pressure.

Mind you, it’s produced by a government department (U.S. Department of Health and Social Services) so don’t expect it to be a great read. Worth checking out though.

If you’re really serious about lowering your blood pressure without medication then you might want to consider what has worked for me so far:

• Get your own blood pressure monitor
• Download the BreathEasy audio program and take 15 minutes off a day to reduce your hypertension
• download Get Natural! Drop Your Blood Pressure and start the 12 week program

After 12 weeks of Get Natural! and BreathEasy you should be feeling a lot better and your blood pressure readings should be down quite a lot.

The last time I checked the BreathEasy program was offering Kevin Riley’s Get Natural! Drop Your Blood Pressure as a free bonus. Grab yourself a bargain while it lasts.

That’s what’s worked for me.

You can check out all my reviews of alternative approaches to lowering blood pressure without drugs here: Alternative Cures Review

Best wishes and let us know how you’re getting along with these or any other natural cures for high blood pressure.

Life, we’re all in it together.