The Pressure’s On: Preventing High Blood Pressure

Posted By Dr. Axe On December 2, 2009 @ 7:00 am In Heart Disease | 5 Comments

The “epidemics” associated with life in America are most often the result of the western diet and lifestyle. One of the precursors to a host of other epidemic conditions is hypertension or high blood pressure. Hypertension, as high blood pressure is also known, affects 30% of the American population and is a preventable condition. 

The Western lifestyle—diet, low physical activity levels and stress—contributes to a wide variety of chronic diseases and conditions in Americans. These conditions collectively afflict 65% of the adult population in the U.S., while they are rare in cultures that have been isolated from exposure to a western lifestyle.

In fact, as traditional societies begin to adopt western foods and lifestyles, their incidences of chronic conditions such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, obesity and osteoporosis ^[1] rose dramatically.

An example of this is found in the Canadian Inuit of Nunavik, Quebec. In September of 2009, Dr. Marie-Ludivine Chateau-Degat told the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress that the recent reach of Western foods has severely impacted the health of the natives. The traditional Inuit diet had consisted of fish, seafood, caribou, wild fowl and other marine mammal meat before 1992. The consumption of such a diet included physical labor and activity, the pooling of communal resources, social activities centered around the collective good and social ties, and a diet rich in unprocessed foods, sea salt and other nutrients.

By 2004, store-bought foods had mostly replaced the native diet. 95% of the sodium the Intuits’ now ingest comes from processed foods in the form of highly processed, iodized salt. The majority of carbohydrates they ingest come in the form of sugary drinks. Intake of dietary fiber and essential vitamins and minerals has plummeted, while hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and obesity have soared in the population.

Blood pressure

Most Americans don’t even realize they have high blood pressure until serious problems arise.

Blood pressure is a combination of systolic and diastolic pressure. Systolic pressure represents blood force or pressure while the heart is beating and diastolic pressure stands for blood pressure when the heart is at rest.

Systolic pressure is always the first or top measurement in a blood pressure reading. In a reading of 140/90, 140 represents systolic pressure and 90 represents diastolic pressure. 

In prehypertension, systolic numbers range from 120-139 and diastolic numbers range from 80-89. 

Stage 1 hypertension numbers vary from 140-159 for systolic values and 90-99 in diastolic numbers. 

With Stage 2 hypertension, systolic readings are 160 or higher and diastolic readings measure 100 or higher. 

Although both numbers are significant, after about age 50, the systolic number is most important. Only 10% of high blood pressure cases are due to secondary or identifiable causes such as medications or conditions and diseases of other organs.

Avoid These Like the Plague

High fructose corn syrup ^[2]? If you eat any packaged foods or sodas, most likely you do, and you’re also more likely to develop hypertension (among other problems) because of it. Americans consume 30% more sugar than they did just 20 years ago and 4 times as much as they did 100 years ago, before the advent of highly processed foods. The obesity rates then were less than 5%, while today 64.5% of American adults are overweight and 30.5% are obese.

Researchers studied 4,528 adults that had no prior history of hypertension.  Those who ingested more than 74 grams of added sugar (about the amount in 2 ½ sugary drinks) daily, led to 28%, 36% and 87% increased risk in high blood pressure readings over time. The percentages correspond to blood pressure readings of 135/85, 140/90 and 160/100.

Another study has looked at American sodium intake. Highly refined salt exists in large amounts in processed foods. The study predicted that reducing sodium intake could eliminate 11 million cases of high blood pressure and save the U.S. $32 billion annually.

Research estimates that more than 77% of America’s sodium intake comes in the form of processed foods rather than salt added to foods while cooking or eating at home. Fast food, another fixture of the western lifestyle, is loaded with sodium. Replace all processed and refined salt with natural sea salt.

Helpful Foods

Potassium: is a compound that seems to protect people from the development of hypertension. Supplements of potassium don’t work well according to research, but foods that contain them do.

Spinach: Spinach is rich in magnesium and folate which can help prevent high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

Sunflower Seeds: Rich in potassium, magnesium and healthy plant fats, sunflower seeds can help reduce cholesterol levels, opening up blood vessels and promoting healthy blood pressure.

Bananas: Bananas contain loads of potassium and fiber ^[3].

Healthy Fats: Oily, cold-water fish provides  omega-3 fatty acids, a healthy balancing technique to the overload of omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids that are overly prevalent in processed foods, fast and convenient foods and much of the western diet.

Garlic: Research on the health benefits of garlic is finding more and more miraculous effects. Among them, garlic seems to help thin the blood, prevent the blockage in blood vessels, and so lower blood pressure.

Tomatoes: Tomatoes are loaded with calcium, potassium, vitamins A, C and E and lycopene. Compounds in tomatoes can lower cholesterol buildup in blood vessels and combat the development of hypertension in a variety of ways. Lycopene, one of the tomato’s most useful compounds, is activated by heat, so add tomatoes to your next chili or stew.

Broccoli: Broccoli has been found to have a whole host of beneficial health effects including high amounts of potassium and chromium that help regulate blood sugar levels and weight, both related to high blood pressure.

Melon: Melon is rich in potassium. Cantaloupe and watermelon are especially rich sources.

Lifestyle Aids

Regular exercise ^[4] and diet ^[5] play a large role in the development (or not) of hypertension. One of the most detrimental components of the western lifestyle is stress.Managing stress ^[6] includes relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, yoga, journaling or art therapy.

You can raise your blood pressure to alarming levels just by thinking or stressing about events. Imagined events have as much physiological effect as real ones. This is the basis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the improvement of performance in businessmen and Olympic athletic gains with visualization.

The western lifestyle might include career and lifestyle choices that incite chronic disease but that doesn’t mean that you have to proscribe to them. Going against a cultural current takes strength, but the failure of our cultural norm has contributed to the splintering of its route and the availability of alternate paths.

The fight for a culture’s health depends less on science that focuses on finding magical cures in drugs, and more on making fundamental shifts in food production, availability, our connections to food, our work life and stress factors, and re-prioritizing values. The best preventative measure? A healthy lifestyle. It’s common sense, really. With this article and the others on this site, you are now equipped to truly maximize your health.

Dr. Axe's Action Steps

1. Stop the trips to the fast food drive-thru! Eliminate processed foods and sodas that are laden with sugar, high fructose corn syrup, refined salt and unhealthy fats.
2. Eat a wide variety of foods, focusing especially on adding more vegetables to your diet.
3. Supplement with 1 Tbsp. of cod liver oil or 1 salmon oil capsule daily and I-2 cloves of garlic daily.
4. Learn how to recognize and manage stress in your life. Consider making a vision board with your goals. Include pictures and strategies for achieving them.

Studies confirm chiropractic treatment prevents heart attacks and lowers blood pressure

Reducing blood pressure

Recognizing signs and symptoms

A Natural Approach for High Blood Pressure

By Dr. B.J. Hardick

One in four American adults suffers from high blood pressure and nearly one third don’t even know they have it.  High blood pressure is a leading contributor to Heart Disease which will unfortunately cause the death of 50% of Americans.  The medical approach calls for drug therapy including Diuretics, Beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, and Vasodilators or Calcium-channel blockers.  Although these drugs may lower blood pressure for a short period of time, they do not address the true cause of the problem, and the drugs’ toxic effects and side-effects may be more damaging than the high blood pressure itself.

What Causes High Blood Pressure?

When arteries in the body become constricted, due to the hyperactivity of their smooth muscle, or due to inflammation or the build up of plaque, there is less of a channel through which blood can travel en route to the systems of the body which needs the vital nutrients and oxygen it gets via the vascular system.  Naturally, when these channels are reduced in size, but the body’s organs continue to require nutrients and oxygen, the body raises its blood pressure, in order to maintain adequate levels of blood flow to the systems of the body that would otherwise become starved.  The body’s blood pressure is foremost controlled in the brainstem at the medulla oblongata.  This area of the brainstem, in coordination with other smooth muscles of the body, will drive the elevation of blood pressure – demonstrating the body’s most natural response to lack of nutrient and oxygen flow to organs.

Traditional, allopathic treatments

Certainly, if blood pressure remains elevated, and its causes remain unaddressed, deterioration of the cardiovascular system, and ultimately a heart attack, can become likely.  Unfortunately, instead of addressing the true cause of high blood pressure, the most common medical treatments of today only address the symptoms.  However, their success rates are questionable at best.

Beta-blockers – these drugs block nor epinephrine and epinephrine (adrenaline) from binding to receptors on the nerves, thereby causing a reduction of the heart rate and blood pressure by the dilation of blood vessels.  However, in 2006 revelations in the United Kingdom, associating the use of certain beta-blockers with an increased risk of diabetes (which in turn, can lead to heart disease), led the National Institute for Clinical Excellence to advise against their primary application in the treatment of blood pressure.

ACE inhibitors – angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors reduce constriction of the arteries.  Calcium-channel blockers promote dilation of the arteries.  On their own, or used in combination, the relaxation of the arteries forcefully lowers the body’s blood pressure – but negates the body’s natural demands for nutrient and blood flow to vital tissues and organs.  While these drugs may be effective in the time of a crisis, their permanent interference with the body’s natural mechanism raises concern.

Diuretics – these “water pills” encourage the body to expel excess water, which, in turn, reduces blood pressure.  Unfortunately, these drugs are also linked to an increase in diabetes.  Even worse, they do not rid the body of unhealthy inflammation or plaque – just water – leaving the cause of the problem unaddressed.

It comes as no surprise that when patients do not take their medications, their blood pressure rises again.  While this would cause some to think that high blood pressure is a permanent condition that needs to be medicated for life, others would realize that in effect the true cause has yet to be addressed.

Sugar: a True Cause of Arterial Inflammation

Sugar – not salt – creates an inflammatory response in the body.  While heart patients are typically advised to reduce their intake of salt in order to reduce fluid retention in the body, very little is advised about sugar.  While reducing fluid retention may lower blood pressure in the short term, the elimination of arterial inflammation is more vital in the healing of this condition.

Along with sugar, damaged fats and toxins are also major dietary contributors to arterial inflammation.  The complete elimination of these elements in the Maximized Living Advanced Nutrition Plan has been shown to effectively reduced blood pressure without the help of medication or other natural treatments.

Fitness and Blood Flow

The Mayo Clinic has called exercise a “drug-free approach to lowering high blood pressure.”  Regular cardiovascular activity, such as surge training, promotes healthy blood flow and delivery of oxygen to the cells of the body, and has been shown to reduce average blood pressure by 5 to 10 points, over time.

Peace of Mind

Although our bodies are designed to deal with stress in rare “fight or flight” situations, our high-paced, stressful lifestyles cause the continual release of cortisol and adrenaline, leading to higher blood pressure.  To offset this abnormal hormone pattern, examine your stressors, and work to limit them through daily relaxation techniques, meditation, quiet music, prayer, and rest.  Daily exercise, walks, breathing exercises and hobbies will not only contribute to your physical fitness, but your maximized mind will improve your cardiovascular function as well.

The Nervous System – and the Role of Chiropractic Care in the Reduction of Blood Pressure

According to the Journal of Human Hypertension, March 2, 2007, Chiropractic adjustments were more effective in lowering blood pressure than two medications combined.  George Bakris, M.D. director of the University of Chicago hypertension center, said, “Not only does it work, we saw no side effects and no problems.”

This was an 8 week study, where 25 patients with early-stage high blood pressure were specifically adjusted and had significantly lowered their blood pressure compared to 25 similar patients who received “sham” adjustments.

X-rays showed that the procedure realigned the Atlas vertebra - the ring-shaped bone at the very top of the spine - with the spine in the treated patients, but not in the sham-treated patients.

Compared to the sham-treated patients, those who received specific Chiropractic adjustments saw an average 14mm Hg greater drop in systolic blood pressure, and an average of 8mm Hg greater drop in diastolic blood pressure.  None of the patients took blood pressure medicine during the 8 week study.

Dr. Bakris reported, “When the statistician brought me the data, I actually didn’t believe it. It was way too good to be true.”  The statistician said, “I didn’t believe it either, but we checked for everything and there it was.”  The researchers suggested that injury to the neck earlier in life can affect blood flow in the arteries at the base of the skull.  Spinal subluxation at the level of the Atlas is also known to interfere with the activity of the Medulla Oblongata – the brainstem control center for blood pressure.  Specific adjustments of such misalignments naturally re-set the brainstem activity to normal balance, ensuring that the body can recognize conditions of high blood pressure, and correct them through its own mechanisms, naturally.

All 5 Essentials

The application of all 5 Essentials of Maximized Living will not only address the true causes of interference in the body which lead to high blood pressure, but will forever keep your lifestyle in harmony with eternal principles that will sustain great health long-term.

Can a person really reduce their numbers with foods that lower blood pressure? From foodsthatheal.com

Yes. High blood pressure is a condition that often responds to what you eat. Organizations such as the Mayo Clinic and the Harvard School of Public Health point out that diet changes can definitely reduce blood pressure.

What are the foods that lower blood pressure? A wide variety of vegetables, fruits, garlic, oils and even dark chocolate have been shown by science to reduce blood pressure. Read on to see a complete rundown of foods that lower blood pressure. 

Pomegranate Juice

A 2004 study published in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition illustrated the effectiveness of pomegranate juice in lowering blood pressure. In this research project, patients with severe cartoid artery blockages drank an ounce of pomegranate juice daily for a year and experienced a 20 percent drop in their blood pressure readings. They also had a 30 percent decrease in the amount of plaque in their arteries.

Blood pressure reducers - foods that contain potassium

Research presented in November 2008 at the American Society of Nephrology meeting concluded that low potassium levels are directly linked to higher blood pressure. Some 3,300 participants in a Dallas Heart Study provided urine samples during the project and researchers discovered the lower the potassium level in the urine, the higher the blood pressure. In January 2009, the Archives of Internal Medicine found that the most effective way to battle high blood pressure is to boost potassium intake while limiting sodium intake. This multiple-year research project tracked almost 3,000 participants, who completed questionnaires and provided urine samples. The researchers found that participants with the highest sodium and lowest potassium levels were 50 percent more likely to have high blood pressure than participants with lower sodium and higher potassium readings.

If you're looking for a natural way to lower blood pressure, add potassium-rich foods to your diet, and minimize processed and canned foods, which contain large amounts of sodium. Some experts say you should rinse off canned foods with water to eliminate much of the sodium used in canning.

Foods that lower blood pressure

Potassium-rich fruits: The top 10

• Papaya (medium size) - 781 milligrams (mg) of potassium
• Guava (1 cup) - 688 mg

• Fresh figs (8 oz) - 526 mg
• Cantaloupe (1 cup) - 494 mg
• Banana (1 medium) - 422 mg
• Prunes (1/4 cup) - 316 mg
• Kiwi (1 fruit) - 252 mg
• Strawberries (1 cup) - 239
• Orange (1 medium) - 237 mg
• Raspberries (1 cup) - 187 mg

Vegetables that contain significant potassium

• Swiss chard (1 cup, boiled) - 960 mg of potassium
• Lima beans (1 cup, cooked) - 955
• Yam (1 cup, cooked) - 911
• Winter squash (1 cup, baked) - 895 mg
• Avocado (1 cup, sliced) - 874 mg

• Spinach (1 cup, boiled) - 838 mg
• Pinto beans (1 cup, cooked) - 800 mg
• Lentils (1 cup, cooked) - 730 mg
• Kidney beans (1 cup, cooked) - 713 mg
• Beets (1 cup, boiled) - 518 mg
• Baked potato (with skin) - 510 mg
• Broccoli (1 cup, steamed ) - 505 mg
• Green peas (1 cup, boiled) - 433 mg
• Tomato (1 cup, raw) - 399 mg
• Carrots (1 cup, raw) - 394 mg
• Green beans (1 cup, boiled) - 373 mg

Protein sources of potassium

• Halibut (4 oz. baked/broiled) - 653 mg of potassium
• Snapper (4 oz. baked/broiled) - 592 mg
• Cod (4 oz. baked/broiled) - 586 mg
• Yogurt (1 cup, lowfat) - 572 mg
• Cow's milk (1 cup, 2%) - 376 mg
• Goat's milk (1 cup) - 498 mg

On this page, we've outlined foods that lower blood pressure. Visit our page on cholesterol-lowering foods.

More foods that lower blood pressure

Spinach - This leafy vegetable contains a number of compounds that lower blood pressure: magnesium, potassium (which helps the body get rid of excess sodium) and nitrates. A study published in 2006 in the New England Journal of Medicine detailed a research project in which 17 healthy adults were given a nitrate supplement equivalent to the nitrate found in 5 to 8 ounces of spinach for three days. After 3 days, the participants' diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number in a blood pressure reading) dropped 3.7mm Hg. Other foods that contain nitrates are beets, cabbage, broccoli and carrots.

An animal study found when rats that were bred to have high blood pressure were given a spinach compound called peptides, their blood pressure dropped within 2 to 4 hours. The rats were given a human equivalent of a entree-sized spinach salad of a serving of steamed spinach.

Garlic - In 2008, researchers from Australia released findings from their study showing that garlic supplements reduced high blood pressure as much as prescriptions called beta blockers. In this study, participants were provided garlic supplements ranging from 600mg to 900mg daily for 12 to 23 weeks. Individuals who started the study with high blood pressure experienced significant reductions: on average their systolic (top) number dropped 8.4mm Hg and their diastolic (bottom) reading fell by 7.3mm Hg. The amount of supplement provided to study participants is similar to one clove of garlic.

One highly effective supplement with garlic and potassium has received rave reviews from users, who report their blood pressure readings dropped in a matter of weeks.

Dark Chocolate - Of all the items on this list of foods that lower blood pressure, one little square of dark chocolate is probably the easiest food to work into your routine. There have been several studies linking dark chocolate to lower blood pressure. In 2007, a German study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that eating a small amount of dark chocolate (about the size of a chocolate kiss) daily lowered the systolic (top) number by 2.9mm Hg and the diastolic (bottom) number by 1.9mm Hg. The key to dark chocolate's effect is flavanols that naturally exist in the cocoa bean. Milk chocolate or white chocolate does not create a blood pressure-lowering effect. If you are going to try the dark chocolate method, look for 60 to 70 percent cocoa content.

One extremely healthy organic dark chocolate is available from natural health expert, Dr. Mercola, and comes in 3 flavors.

Articles related to Foods that Lower Blood Pressure:

• Natural ways to lower blood pressure
• Blood pressure numbers: What do they mean?
• Which foods can help fight arthritis
• 10 cancer-fighting fruits

Additional foods that lower blood pressure

Extra Virgin Olive Oil - Greek researchers in 2004 released a report that found the regular use of olive oil in the Mediterranean diet is largely responsible for the diet's ability to reduce blood pressure. In addition, a 2000 article in the Archives of Internal Medicine outlined an Italian study that discovered people on high blood pressure medicine could reduce their prescription dose by about half if they consumed 3 to 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil daily.

One method I use to boost my intake of olive oil is to put the oil in a container in the refrigerator, where it will harden and have a consistency similar to margarine. I can then substitute olive oil when I would normally use butter or margarine.

Besides being on our list of foods that lower blood pressure, olive oil is also an arthritis fighting food.

Omega 3 fatty acids - According to the Harvard School of Public Health, omega 3 fats lower blood pressure and improve blood vessel function. A study reported in Circulation examined 31 clinical trials and found that fish oil reduced blood pressure readings by 3.0mm Hg for systolic pressure (top number) and 1.5mm Hg for diastolic pressure (bottom number). Goods sources of omega 3 fats are wild-caught salmon, halibut, snapper, cod, shrimp and scallops. An excellent plant source of omega 3 fatty acids is ground flax seeds.

Omega 3 fatty acids are not only on this list of foods that lower blood pressure, they also have been shown to lower cholesterol.

Apples, onions, foods with quercetin - A small 2007 study from the University of Utah found that individuals with high blood pressure experienced significant reductions in their blood pressure readings after receiving a 730 mg quercetin supplement for 28 days. On average, their systolic (top) number dropped 7mm Hg and their diastolic (bottom) number fell 5mm HG. Foods that are high in the flavanoid quercetin include apples, onions, red grapes, berries and broccoli.

Celery - Last but not least in our review of foods that lower blood pressure is celery. This vegetable has been used by traditional Chinese medicine for centuries and science is showing celery does indeed lower blood pressure. Celery contains phthalides, which can help relax muscles around the arteries. When researchers injected a phthalide derived from celery into rats with hypertension, they found the animals' blood pressure readings dropped 12 to 14 percent.

What are the Benefits of Chiropractic?

According to the findings of 45 recent chiropractic research studies, 5 chiropractic case studies, and 23 review articles, chiropractic adjustment is proven to greatly enhance the health of the human body.

The review found consistent results, proving that chiropractic adjustment has been proven to do the following:

• Improve blood pressure in normal and hypertensive people
• Reduce the ill effects of asthma.
• Increase T-cell numbers (strengthening the immune system) in HIV patients
• Relive symptoms of inflammation in osteoarthritis
• Enhance immune function in certain white blood cells in flu patients
• Improve intestinal and urinary functions

Chiropractors have known for years that human body function on all levels improves under chiropractic care. When the body functions at its highest level possible, an increase in overall expression of health and well being naturally follows. And that’s all the reason you need to make chiropractic adjustments a part of your lifestyle.  Thank you for being a part of BFC and helping up improve the world by improving people's health!

[Source: Chiropractic Research Journal, 1999]