High blood pressure is a sign, not a disease

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High blood pressure is a sign, not a disease; beware the side effects of

artificially lowering blood pressure

 

 

Provided by Essential Fats on 12/27/2003

by E. Siguel, MD PhD

 

 

 

 

 

 

Washington DC (healthnewsreview) For most people, high blood pressure is a sign

that the circulatory system (blood pipes) are partially obstructed and

inelastic, and that the heart must pump blood at a higher pressure to reach the

far corners of the body. Thus, high blood pressure is not a disease or something

wrong, but rather a way for the body to compensate for a defective circulatory

system. If you have an old house with twisted and partially obstructed pipes,

the water may be slowed enough to prevent it from reaching the far corners of

your lawn. To compensate, you could increase the incoming water pressure and

speed up the water. The higher water pressure is not a defect (its not a bad

solution, as long as your pipes dont burst!). However, the need to increase the

water pressure to get enough water for your house means there is probably a

problem with your pipes. Instead of turning up the water pressure, which can

press on the brittle pipes and break them, it would be better to

have the pipes cleaned or replaced so that regular water pressure will suffice

to water your lawn.

Similarly, the heart pumps harder and increases the blood pressure when the

circulatory system is defective. Reducing high blood pressure with drugs or

treatments without correcting the underlying problem means that the circulatory

system does not have enough pressure to send blood to the far corners of the

body. Over time, portions of the brain, kidneys, toes, and parts far away from

the main arteries begin to die because they lack food and oxygen.

Usually, drugs treat something wrong. For example, AIDS drugs attempt to

suppress the AIDS virus. For insulin dependent diabetics (Type I), insulin drugs

replace the insulin that the pancreas is supposed to make. Cancers are diseased

cells that must be killed ASAP using drugs or radiation or surgery or other

therapy. In contrast to these and many other conditions that respond well to

drug therapy, high blood pressure is usually not a disease but a sign of

something wrong with the circulation. High blood pressure increases the risk of

a vessel breaking and causing a stroke or other trouble

When the vessels are under high blood pressure all the time, they are likely to

break. A broken vessel in the brain causes a stroke that damages the brain. An

artery under high pressure may break inside the body (causing internal

bleeding), and can damage the heart, the kidney, and other organs.

When the pressure is very high, it must be reduced as soon as possible to

prevent breaking an artery. Thus, drugs can be an appropriate treatment until

other approaches (weight loss, diet) take effect. Otherwise, in most cases,

blood pressure can be reduced slowly with appropriate diet and exercise.

Treatments that lower blood pressure without correcting the circulation problem

may have undesirable side effects

There are many treatments for high blood pressure. It is fairly easy to identify

those that seek to correct the reason why the body is pumping blood at high

pressure, and those that merely seek to stop the body from pumping blood at high

pressure.

Weight loss and special diets seek to reduce the stress of the circulatory

system, and clean up the arteries. When the body is smaller (slimmer) and/or the

arteries are more elastic and clean, and the blood is more fluid (does not stick

too much), then the blood flows better and the heart does not need to increase

its pressure for the blood to reach everywhere. These treatments are effective

because they correct the reason for high blood pressure and make it easier for

the body to feed itself. They have practically no side effects, and are likely

to improve brain and heart function.

Treatments such as acupuncture or drugs usually lower blood pressure by either

changing the way the heart works, or by changing how the blood vessels respond

(for example, dilating the vessels). Dilating the vessels is no substitute for

cleaning the vessels, although it may be a temporary solution. Dilating the

vessels can be risky if a vessel breaks.

There are some people that have a disease that causes high blood pressure, such

as a tumor or unusual genetic factors. In those individuals, blood pressure may

need to be treated with drugs.

Moral (healthnewsreview).

We do have an effective treatment for high blood pressure: be slim (eat less,

exercise more) and eat a mixture of lean protein and essential fats. There are

now several dietary approaches that have shown excellent results to lower high

blood pressure, abnormal lipids and reduce the risk of heart disease. Visit

essentialfats.com for details.

A nutrient dense diet includes plenty of protein and essential fats and

minimizes intake of processed carbohydrates and processed fat. A multivitamin

with minerals (100% RDA) taken 3-5 times per week will provide adequate levels

of nutrients for most patients. Some patients need additional supplements, to be

recommended by their health care provider. References (essentialfats.com).

Siguel E. Essential Fatty Acids in Health and Disease. 1994. Essentialfats, P.O.

Box 10187, Gaithersburg MD 20898. This material is merely an opinion; it is not

advice and should not be used for any purpose other than entertainment. By

reading or using the information contained in or implied by this article, you

agree that the content provider shall not be liable for any content errors, or

for any actions taken in reliance thereon. This information likely contains

material errors. Use of this information is subject to the disclaimer and the

terms and conditions at essentialfats.com. FREE educational essentialfats

bookmarks by mail with summary reminders of nutrition and health. Makes a great

gift! Send a self addressed stamped envelope with 37c stamp for 1 oz (up to 7

bookmarks); 60c for 2 oz (up to 14 bookmarks) to PO Box 10187, Gaithersburg MD

20898. Write a note indicating how many bookmarks you want. Quantities limited;

offer subject to availability. © 2002 Edward Siguel. All

rights reserved.

 

 

Copyright 1999 Edward N. Siguel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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