High Blood Pressure -- Hearts Working too hard

[Guest guest]

" JoAnn Guest " <jguest

Wed Oct 9, 2002 3:03 pm

High Blood Pressure -- Hearts Working too hard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hypertension is generally defined as a blood pressure greater than

140/90. The first number (systolic) is the force that blood exerts

on

the artery walls when the heart is pumping. The second number

(diastolic) is the residual force that remains when the heart

relaxes

between beats. Any blood pressure reading below —say, a borderline

138/88—is safer, but you should still try getting it down closer to

what's considered normal 120/80.

The problem is my opinion is that doctors are too quick to treat

this

condition with synthetic drugs. About half the people diagnosed have

mildly high blood pressure. There's plenty of evidence that for

them,

diet and lifestyle changes, including exercise, stress management

and

self-monitoring with a home blood pressure device, work just as well

as

drugs with no side effects.

 

Diet and lifestyle modifications all tend to provide a sense of

control

that in itself may be beneficial. But don't expect the

pharmaceutical

industry to encourage the natural way. It would cut into their $2.5

billion-a-year for antihypertensive medication.

 

Green Pharmacy for High Blood Pressure:

 

Eating hearty vegetable soups on a regular basis can do more than

help

normalize blood pressure and prevent heart disease. It can also help

prevent cancer, obesity, diabetes and constipation. Vegetable soup

is so

good for health that I don't even call it minestrone anymore, but

rather

Medistrone.

What would you put in your Medistrone Soup? You can use just about

any

vegetables, especially the ones mentioned in this chapter.

There are also any number of herbs that can help control blood

pressure,

but you don't have to put those in a soup. They make rather nice

teas.

 

CELERY:

Celery has long been recommended in traditional for

lowering high blood pressure, and experimental evidence bears this

out.

In one study, injecting laboratory animals with celery extract

significantly lowered their blood pressure. In humans, eating as few

as

four celery stalks has done the same.

 

GARLIC:

This wonder herb not only helps normalize blood pressure, it also

reduces cholesterol. In a scientifically rigorous study, people with

high blood pressure were given about one clove of garlic a day for

12

weeks. Afterward they exhibited significantly lower diastolic blood

pressure and cholesterol levels.

" We now know that garlic can reduce hypertension, even in quantities

as

small as a half-ounce per week, " says Varro Tyler, Ph.D., dean and

professor emeritus of pharmacognosy, (natural product pharmacy) at

Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

If you cook with garlic and use it in your salads, getting that much

should be a snap!

If you haven't yet developed a taste for it, take it in capsule form.

With so many health benefits associated with this herb, I'd

recommend

finding many ways to enjoy it in your food.

 

HAWTHORN:

Hawthorn berry extract can widen (dilate) blood vessels, especially

the

coronary arteries, according to a report published in the Lawrence

Review of Natural Products, a respected newsletter. Hawthorne has

been

used as a heart tonic for centuries.

If you'd like to try it, make a tea with one teaspoon of dried herb

per

cup of boiling water and drink up to two cups a day.

 

KUDZU:

Chinese studies suggest that this vine helps normalize blood

pressure.

In one study, a tea containing about eight teaspoons of kudzu root

was

given daily to 52 people for two to eight weeks. In 17 people, blood

pressure declined markedly. Thirty others showed some benefit.

Kudzu contains a chemical (puerarin) that has decreased blood

pressure

by 15 percent in laboratory animals. With 100 times the antioxidant

activity of vitamin E, puerarin also helps prevent heart disease and

cancer. (Antioxidants are substances that neutralize cell-damaging

oxygen molecules known as free radicals.)

 

SAFFRON:

This expensive herb contains a blood pressure lowering chemical

called

" crocetin " . Some authorities even speculate that the low incidence

of

heart disease in Spain is due to that nation's high saffron

consumption.

You can use saffron in your cooking or make a tea with it.

 

VALERIAN:

Earlier in this chapter I mentioned that gamma-amino butyric acid

helps

control blood pressure. Well, this herb valerian contains a chemical

called valerenic acid that inhibits an enzyme that breaks down GABA.

So

ingesting something containing valerenic acid would, in effect,

ensure

higher levels of GABA and lower blood pressure.

Valerian is also a tranquilizer/sedative, which also helps reduce

blood

pressure.

 

BROCCOLI:

This vegetable has at least six chemicals that reduce blood pressure.

 

CARROT:

According to my database, carrots contain eight compounds that lower

blood pressure.

 

PURSLANE:

And other foods containing magnesium. Magnesium deficiency has been

implicated in high blood pressure. Many Americans are deficient in

this

mineral and don't know it. A 1994 Gallup poll showed that about 72

percent of those surveyed reported inadequate magnesium intake.

To get magnesium, turn to leafy greens, legumes and whole grains.

Purslane, poppy seeds, and string beans are the best dietary

sources,

according to my database. Nutritionists suggest that a daily

supplement

of 400 mgs of magnesium may also help, but I generally recommend

getting

nutrients from foods if at all possible.

 

ORGANIC TOMATOES:

These fruits are genetically engineered so please make it a point to

purchase the non-gmo varieties!

A typical minestrone has a tomato base. That's also perfect for

Medistrone Soup, because tomatoes are high in gamma-amino butyric

acid

(GABA), a compound that can help bring down blood pressure.

According to

my database, tomatoes also contain six other compounds that do the

same

thing.

 

ASSORTED SPICES:

As for spices that you can add to your Medistrone, fennel contains

at

least ten compounds that lower blood pressure, oregano has seven,

and

black pepper, basil and tarragon each have six.

 

James A. Dukes, Ph.D.

In " The Green Pharmacy "

 

 

 

JoAnn Guest

jogu-

Friendsforhea-

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Hypertension.html

theaimcompanies

" Health is not a Medical Issue "

[Guest guest]

JoAnn Guest wrote:

 

> " JoAnn Guest " <jguest

> Wed Oct 9, 2002 3:03 pm

> High Blood Pressure -- Hearts Working too hard.

>

>

>

> Hypertension is generally defined as a blood pressure greater than

> 140/90. The first number (systolic) is the force that blood exerts

> on

> the artery walls when the heart is pumping. The second number

> (diastolic) is the residual force that remains when the heart

> relaxes

> between beats. Any blood pressure reading below —say, a borderline

> 138/88—is safer, but you should still try getting it down closer to

> what's considered normal 120/80.

 

I would like it if you/someone can clear up something for me regarding high/low

blood

pressure. We can measure it, but what is meant by high blood pressure? Is it

that the

heart is working harder than it should be and so causes the blood to put a

higher pressure

on our blood vessels than it should? If so, does it mean that by taking all or

any of

these nutrients we are causing our heart to not pump as forcefully and so reduce

the

pressure it puts on the blood vessels? And the reverse for low blood pressure?

Morton

[Guest guest]

Yes the heart is working a lot harder than it should which can cause a heart

attack or stroke - just as over exertion can cause the same thing because you

are making the heart work harder. Lowering your bp naturally is the only

sure way of knowing that you are doing yourself some good - take those bp

meds and you know that in the long term you are doing more harm than good.

Your bp is excellent for your age and if you continue to take the correct

foods, no processed or fatty foods, then you will have no problems with hbp.

For most, the damage is done from birth to age 50 when they suddenly find

they have health problems. I will get the exact medical version of what hbp

is from my sister tonight (she is a nurse) and will be able to explain it

better.

 

marianne

 

 

> I would like it if you/someone can clear up something for me regarding

> high/low blood

> pressure. We can measure it, but what is meant by high blood pressure? Is

> it that the

> heart is working harder than it should be and so causes the blood to put a

> higher pressure

> on our blood vessels than it should? If so, does it mean that by taking

> all or any of

> these nutrients we are causing our heart to not pump as forcefully and so

> reduce the

> pressure it puts on the blood vessels? And the reverse for low blood

> pressure?

>