What is the best natural cure for high blood pressure?

[dsentell]

We have some brilliant people on board here, and I need your help . . .

My 70 year old mother has never been on prescribed medication. Recently, her doctor diagnosed high blood pressure, though only minimally high, and put her on a prescription medication. Then apparently seizing the opportunity, put her on a second medication which would be "therapeutic for her heart."

I am not at all happy about this as she has always been the picture of health, and as I do not believe in taking prescription medications (except as a last resort). My feelings are particularly strong after watching my pharmaceutically overdosed father pass away on April 20 . . .

I have finally convinced my mother to try a natural cure. But what should I suggest? I would love some ideas that I could research further.

Thanks for any suggestions . . .

[yongrel]

Leeches.

[acptulsa]

Leeches.

Funny, they always raise my blood pressure.

[amy31416]

The one thing off the top of my head that can naturally help hypertension is garlic, which is also very good for the heart with no side-effects. If she doesn't like it in her food, there are supplements out there.

Since hypertension can damage the heart, look into CoEnzyme Q10. It's expensive. Also very minimal side-effects.

Monitor her BP daily, there are good sphygmomanometers out there for home use. Before trying anything, even herbal stuff, talk to her doctor about it. My mom's doc said that CoQ10 does nothing, but mom feels better when she takes it. Placebo effect? I don't know--but if you google it, there's some decent research on it. Make sure you really read up on it before trying, to make sure there won't be any drug interactions.

P.S. Make sure you talk to her doctor first. Go to her next appointment with her and tell the doc about your concerns and ask about the supplements you think may help.

[acptulsa]

The one thing off the top of my head that can naturally help hypertension is garlic, which is also very good for the heart with no side-effects. If she doesn't like it in her food, there are supplements out there.

Since hypertension can damage the heart, look into CoEnzyme Q10. It's expensive. Also very minimal side-effects.

Monitor her BP daily, there are good sphygmomanometers out there for home use. Before trying anything, even herbal stuff, talk to her doctor about it. My mom's doc said that CoQ10 does nothing, but mom feels better when she takes it. Placebo effect? I don't know--but if you google it, there's some decent research on it. Make sure you really read up on it before trying, to make sure there won't be any drug interactions.

P.S. Make sure you talk to her doctor first. Go to her next appointment with her and tell the doc about your concerns and ask about the supplements you think may help.

Thought you said all my posts were substantive and thoughtful and all yours were frivolous. I think we're backwards.

Nice job. I like garlic. Got mints?

[Kludge]

Cut out George, and you have a decent thread on this HERE

[Cinderella]

what kind of meds did he put her on?? most people when they enter old age suffer from systolic HTN meaning only the top number is high but the bottom one if fine...the bottom number is the one u really want to be concerned with...what are her readings?? i suggest a NO ADDED SALT DIET!! thats number one...exersize is very helpful...meditation....garlic and fish oil are good too....

[amy31416]

Thought you said all my posts were substantive and thoughtful and all yours were frivolous. I think we're backwards.

Nice job. I like garlic. Got mints?

Eh, you don't need mints as long as the other people around you also have an equivalent amount of garlic.

Well, I'd say that 75% of my posts are frivolous and about 50% of yours are.

Take this one for instance.

[tod evans]

best bet for hypertension isn`t what you eat differently, it`s how a body uses what it consumes..
if your ma isn`t bedridden suggest more exersize......
i ain`t a doctor but i`m bettin` that after 70 yrs she`s got some pretty healthy eating habbits so try introducing cardiovascular fittness as an activity instead of a diet.

[Brown Sapper]

I have mildly high blood pressure and I use fish oil as a alternative. That and exercising usally keeps my pressure in check. If I could only get away from the salt that would be great.

[maggiebott]

Have to agree with above on this one. Walking is well known to lower bloodpressure and most of us are too sedentary.

What people walk with the fastest pace in the world? Ireland

[dsentell]

Thanks everyone!

She hasn't eaten salt for years -- no longer even owns a salt shaker! She is quite active, has a large vegetable garden and loves working outdoors in the yard and on her flower gardens.

Fish oil, garlic and CoQ10 seem to be good prospects to research. Don't really think I could convince her of the leeches!

She has a doctor's appointment next week. I am going with her, but don't know how that will turn out. See, she uses the same doc as my dad did -- this guy loves prescriptions and had my dad on about a dozen . . . .

[Mckarnin]

http://www.westonaprice.org/askdocto...dpressure.html

At 70 and never having been on prescription medication..I personally would try lifestyle changes. Has there been a particularly large surge in her blood pressure lately or has it been a strady progression over the years and she just passed into what is considered "high"? Also, just in the last few years they have changed the definition to categorize people as pre-hypertensive who would have been considered fine several years ago. If this definition change is what has them wanting to medicate your mother I would also be wary.

You say your father passed away on April 20th...if that was this year the stress associated with his failing health and death could certainly be a big part of your mother's blood pressure changes. Also, if she was caring for him and perhaps neglecting her usual routines as his health deteriorated that could be it. If either of these scenarios are the case than I would have her ask the doctor for a few months to recover from her loss before even considering pharmaceutical treatment.


So, lifestyle...

~Regular exercise--whatever she is comfortable with...walking, swimming.
~Fish Oil--Omega-3 fat can be great for high BP and the heart. You need to get a high-quality brand though. One that has been tested for mercury and PCB contamination. Nordic Naturals and Carlson are two good brands.
~Reduce vegetable oils (soy, canola, corn) and replace with organic butter, palm oil, coconut oil, natural lard (olive and sesame oil are good in low heat or no heat applications).
~Reduce/eliminate soda, refined carbohydrates and sugar.

Honestly though, if she is a healthy weight and has always enjoyed good health and a strong immune system then this BP issue may be a temporary one.

We have some brilliant people on board here, and I need your help . . .

My 70 year old mother has never been on prescribed medication. Recently, her doctor diagnosed high blood pressure, though only minimally high, and put her on a prescription medication. Then apparently seizing the opportunity, put her on a second medication which would be "therapeutic for her heart."

I am not at all happy about this as she has always been the picture of health, and as I do not believe in taking prescription medications (except as a last resort). My feelings are particularly strong after watching my pharmaceutically overdosed father pass away on April 20 . . .

I have finally convinced my mother to try a natural cure. But what should I suggest? I would love some ideas that I could research further.

Thanks for any suggestions . . .

[Mckarnin]

OK, I just see that you say she has no salt shaker...when did your mom give up salt? Excessive salt is not good at all but a lack of good salt in the diet can make blood pressure problems worse. She should have some good sea salt in her diet on a regular basis...

Now if she doesn't salt food but she eats pickles and catsup and sauerkraut and food at restaurants she probably gets a decent amount of salt anyways. If not she needs to salt some. This is a good brand: http://www.celticseasalt.com/Celtic_...br_Ligh_C8.cfm

Thanks everyone!

She hasn't eaten salt for years -- no longer even owns a salt shaker! She is quite active, has a large vegetable garden and loves working outdoors in the yard and on her flower gardens.

Fish oil, garlic and CoQ10 seem to be good prospects to research. Don't really think I could convince her of the leeches!

She has a doctor's appointment next week. I am going with her, but don't know how that will turn out. See, she uses the same doc as my dad did -- this guy loves prescriptions and had my dad on about a dozen . . . .

[dsentell]

[QUOTE=Mckarnin;1429115]http://www.westonaprice.org/askdocto...dpressure.html

If this definition change is what has them wanting to medicate your mother I would also be wary.



Thanks, Mckarnin for your ideas and link!

Personally, I suspect the definition change is it. Unfortunately, I don't even know what her reading(s) was, but I will be checking on that this evening . . .

She was diagnosed about Christmas time, my father was having some problems then, though they did not become really bad until April. Yes, he just passed away a few days ago.

Problem is that since a doctor has told her she needs to be on medication, no one is likely to get that out of her head. At this point, I don't think she will be happy unless she is taking some kind of pill . . .

[amy31416]

Thanks everyone!

She hasn't eaten salt for years -- no longer even owns a salt shaker! She is quite active, has a large vegetable garden and loves working outdoors in the yard and on her flower gardens.

Fish oil, garlic and CoQ10 seem to be good prospects to research. Don't really think I could convince her of the leeches!

She has a doctor's appointment next week. I am going with her, but don't know how that will turn out. See, she uses the same doc as my dad did -- this guy loves prescriptions and had my dad on about a dozen . . . .

I don't know if you see your mother every day or not, but here's my other suggestion:

Excel spreadsheet. I know this sounds weird, and possibly anal. But I track and trend things like blood pressure, cholesterol and other stats. All you have to do is this: Each day, take her blood pressure with one of those home BP electronic things, they're pretty cheap. Record the date, systolic and diastolic measurements and make a note about anything different (i.e. started taking garlic supplements, started CoQ10, started a pharmaceutical BP med, along with time of day, dosage amount or any out of the ordinary activity or stress in her life.)

Just record all that onto a piece of paper if you don't have excel and you can, if you like, send me or someone else who's savvy with excel the data and I can easily turn it into a trend chart. Then you can see whether it's trending down, up staying the same and possibly what has had an effect for better or worse on her hypertension.

This method could be particularly effective with your mom because she's not on a lot of pharmaceuticals. And I have to admit, I love that stuff, which makes me a dork extraordinnaire, I know. I used to use this great software called Minitab that could analyze the hell out of data using all kinds of high-falutin statistics.

Oh, I could go on. But I won't for your sake

[dsentell]

Celtic Sea salt is my favorite! I use that brand all the time.

I told her a couple of weeks ago, what I had read on some sea salt website, "the only thing worse than too much salt in your diet, is not enough salt in your diet".

I'll have to take over some Celtic -- don't know if she will use it, especially since it is almost impossible to use in a shaker . . .

[TER]

prayer/meditation

[Kotin]

Garlic helps

[Mckarnin]

Celtic Sea salt is my favorite! I use that brand all the time.

I told her a couple of weeks ago, what I had read on some sea salt website, "the only thing worse than too much salt in your diet, is not enough salt in your diet".

I'll have to take over some Celtic -- don't know if she will use it, especially since it is almost impossible to use in a shaker . . .

Unless she has arthritis give her a sea salt grinder...or buy the pale white kind that is pre-ground into a fine powder.

[dsentell]

I know this sounds weird, and possibly anal. But I track and trend things like blood pressure, cholesterol and other stats.

What a neat idea! If you are weird, so is my mother (and my dad was as well).

I do see her most every day, so this would be no problem.

She has one of those home blood pressure things and I haven't seen anything, but would bet that she has a list of blood pressure readings.

This would be a great way to monitor changes.

SEE, I KNEW YOU GUYS WERE GENIUSES!

[Mckarnin]

One more thing. Since she may have been nervous about her own health due to your father's recent death she could have had a little white coat high BP going on. Most Drs can give you a BP monitor that you wear for 24 hours or so that monitors your BP constantly and gives you a better idea of the reading rather than one in office reading.

[tmosley]

~Reduce vegetable oils (soy, canola, corn) and replace with organic butter, palm oil, coconut oil, natural lard (olive and sesame oil are good in low heat or no heat applications).

Saturated fat lowers blood pressure? I always thought that those types of foods INCREASED your chances of developing heart disease.

[tod evans]

Saturated fat lowers blood pressure? I always thought that those types of foods INCREASED your chances of developing heart disease.

i`m one of the folks who believe that if a "fat" occurs naturally then the human body is more likely to be able to process it.
i`d much rather put lard or suet in my body than a partially hydrogenated anything....same goes for butter vs "spreads" that have a chemical make-up i can`t pronounce....

[Mckarnin]

Saturated fat lowers blood pressure? I always thought that those types of foods INCREASED your chances of developing heart disease.

According to my health methodology/what humans have eaten for thousands of years....


Trans Fat=Terrible

Monounsaturated fats like Corn, Soy, Olive, Canola, etc... get oxidized and bad for you as soon as you heat them more than a little and many of them put even more Omega-6 in our diets when what most American's diets are desperate for is Omega-3's.

Saturated fats like butter, lard (not the processed stuff), coconut oil, etc...are good for cooking and fine for health.



A lot of studies done in the last 40 years or so have grouped trans fats with saturated fats in testing so saturated fats are sharing the bad rap with trans fats when, in reality trans fats, saturated fats and monounsaturated fats should be tested separately and it should be specified whether they are heated or not and if so how hot.




I know it goes against the status quo but that's my opinion...for more resources:

http://www.westonaprice.org/
www.mercola.com

[tmosley]

Saturated fat is saturated fat, no matter what the source. If you are eating lard then you might as well pig out on bacon. The only difference with reference to heart disease will be cholesterol content.

If you agree with that statement, then ok. If not, watch out because you may be more likely to get heart disease than you think.

That said, I LOVE coconut oil. It's the best for making curries, I don't care how bad it is for me.

Also, as to the original question of the thread, you can also have them try alfalfa sprouts, which act as a natural diuretic (like a water pill). Diuretics are the best treatment for high blood pressure because they don't have any side effects (except that you urinate more), where the more powerful MAOIs and such have rather nasty side effects.

[Mckarnin]

I eat lard from healthy pigs raised without hormones or antibiotics and I pig out on natural, uncured bacon from pigs raised the same way. We'll see how my heart is doing in 30 years....my weight is great as is my muscle tone and immune system.

Katharine

Saturated fat is saturated fat, no matter what the source. If you are eating lard then you might as well pig out on bacon. The only difference with reference to heart disease will be cholesterol content.

If you agree with that statement, then ok. If not, watch out because you may be more likely to get heart disease than you think.

That said, I LOVE coconut oil. It's the best for making curries, I don't care how bad it is for me.

Also, as to the original question of the thread, you can also have them try alfalfa sprouts, which act as a natural diuretic (like a water pill). Diuretics are the best treatment for high blood pressure because they don't have any side effects (except that you urinate more), where the more powerful MAOIs and such have rather nasty side effects.

[amy31416]

For high-temp cooking, such as stir fries and sautees, use ghee or peanut oil. Olive oil for medium temp cooking. I use sesame oil, walnut oil and some other various oils in salads, for finishing a soup after it's done cooking or on sandwiches, things like that.

Always keep oils, especially the more delicate ones in the refrigerator, they last longer and it takes longer for them to break down. The only exception to this for me is extra-virgin olive oil, I use it fast enough that it doesn't go bad when in the cabinet--plus it solidifies in the refrigerator, which is annoying.

Here's a good source on different oils, their different purposes and properties: http://www.clovegarden.com/ingred/oils.html

[sratiug]

Also, as to the original question of the thread, you can also have them try alfalfa sprouts, which act as a natural diuretic (like a water pill). Diuretics are the best treatment for high blood pressure because they don't have any side effects (except that you urinate more), where the more powerful MAOIs and such have rather nasty side effects.

Except that dehydration is a main cause of high blood pressure. If you have enough cellular potassium your body's cells will be hydrated, allowing normal blood pressure. Lack of cellular potassium causes cell dehydration and build up of acids, forcing the body to increase extra-cellular pressure to cope, and your blood pressure goes up. Blood potassium levels are easy to check but cellular potassium is what's important and usually not tested.

One type of blood pressure medication is just a potassium compound, and I think the American Heart Association says eating a high potassium diet is the most effective treatment for high blood pressure, along with exercise.

All the electrolytes are inter-related. Calcium speeds the heart, mgnesium slows it down. Calcium supplements can deplete your magnesium levels, causing cramps, racing heart beat and suicidal depression.

Potassium is needed at a 4 to 1 or more ratio to sodium, which is about 20 times less prevalent in natural foods. So the body hoards sodium naturally and depletes potassium when too much sodium is present. Salt 300 years or so ago was potassium salt. Now it is sodium, but you can buy Morton Lite salt that is a mixture of potassium chloride and sodium chloride. They have another version that has no sodium. If you mix the two you can get about a 4 to 1 ratio.

SOLO sea salt from England has reduced sodium levels (natural sea salt is mostly all sodium chloride) and added magnesium and potassium salts for what they say is an ideal balance. They say there is not enough magnesium and potassium in food because of depleted soils. Here is their link. http://www.soloseasalt.com/what-is-solo.asp

Remember, one high sodium can of soup, tv dinner, or whatever can give you close to 1000 milligrams of sodium meaning you'd have to eat 4 grams of potassium to compensate. That's about 15 baked potatoes, or 5 bananas worth.

Potassium deficiency is also considered by many to be the major cause of arthritis, by causing dehydration of the tissues.

[american.swan]

I would suggest a couple of things.

1. less meat, not no meat.
2. more vegetables and fruits, not only vegetables and fruits
2a don't forget nuts
3. Water! Try finding a book called "The Body's many cries for water"
4. Water will also help asthma and even help with mood.
5. A lot of water will flush out salts and minerals so a pinch of sea salt is needed to replace the stuff washed out.