I met a very interesting person at the bookstore the other morning. You know, I can never have enough books. He has begun his journey of healing and asked about high blood pressure. This blog post is for him.
Remember that our bodies are self-healing. All the little aches, twinges, problems that we have are all signs from our body that something is out of whack. So, what is our body trying to tell us with high blood pressure? There are several things to consider. We’ll take them one by one.
How is your current lifestyle? High stress? Challenging relationships? Lots of frustration? Low exercise? Stress and trauma as we discussed in an earlier blog this month put our bodies into the “fight or flight” response. This changes the way our bodies handle everything. I’ll link the post below for those that want a refresher on the details – the post is directed towards women, because it has to do with hormone levels, but the part describing the fight or flight response is universal.
Recommended reading: https://www.naturaljoyhealing.com/metabolic-crisis
Stress is the fasting aging factor we have in our lives. It is time to disconnect and take time to relax. Find ways to destress – walking, exercising, dancing, whatever it is that helps you relax. If you don’t know what that is, it is time to find it! Destressing will help lower your blood pressure naturally.
How active are you? Are you a couch potato? Sit at the computer all day? Inactive people have a 30 – 50% greater risk of developing high blood pressure. Even by setting an alarm to walk for 10 minutes each hour dramatically reduces your chance of developing high blood pressure, heart disease, and chronic illness.
What are you eating? The two foods that raise your blood pressure the most are WHITE salt (not real salt) and meat. If you eat meat at every meal, that could very well be your issue. Your body doesn’t really require any more than 3 – 4 ounces 1 – 2 times per week. That doesn’t mean you need to cut out meat – not at all – just that our bodies don’t really need as much as we feed it. Cut back to once a day and see if that helps. Remember that every change you make, you will need to do consecutively for four weeks before you will see a significant change.
What are you drinking? Coffee? Alcohol? Little water? Are you regularly dehydrated? We have talked about how important it is to stay properly hydrated. Especially as you begin to age, if you are chronically dehydrated you WILL have arthritis. But being dehydrated means that you typically have elevated sodium levels, and your body will respond with vasopressin, which helps your body to control water levels in your body by restricting blood vessels, which elevates your blood pressure. Coffee, while a wonderful thing – is a drug that dehydrates you. Any benefit you get from drinking a cup of coffee is blown away by the fact that it dehydrates your body causing more issues.
Ok. So we have discussed several things that are easily remedied with a few lifestyle changes and some dietary changes. What about the vitamins and minerals your food provides you? If you aren’t getting enough of certain vitamins and minerals, you may be at risk of high blood pressure. Let’s look at the most likely culprits. Remember, if you are getting enough of each vitamin or mineral in your diet, there is no need to supplement. It just means you are getting enough, and to not consider that particular vitamin or mineral to be an issue.
Magnesium, Zinc & D3. These three work together with some amazing benefits. I take Magwell every day two hours before bedtime. Magnesium is known for helping you sleep through the night, but there are some other benefits. For people with high blood pressure, magnesium may help reduce blood pressure because it increases the production of nitric oxide, which is a signaling molecule that helps relax blood vessels. Zinc reduces the amount of calcium in the muscles causing them to relax thereby increasing blood flow and reducing blood pressure. D3 reduces systolic blood pressure if you are deficient in vitamin D.
Recommended reading: https://www.fda.gov/food/cfsan-constituent-updates/fda-announces-qualified-health-claim-magnesium-and-reduced-risk-high-blood-pressure
More recommended reading: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/could-zinc-help-control-blood-pressure
Potassium. Well known for lowering blood pressure, it promotes lower blood pressure by promoting the excretion of sodium from the body and therefore relaxing blood vessels. We will hit on the best foods to eat shortly.
Vitamin C. When taken in significant amounts (300 – 1,00 mg per day) it has been shown to significantly reduce blood pressure.
Omega 3. While this isn’t a vitamin or a mineral, it is important to lowering blood pressure. I can’t speak enough about Omega 3. Ensure you get organic Omega 3 in at least a 950 mg dosage. They do so much more for you than just lower your blood pressure.
Now that you know all the culprits that may be causing your high blood pressure, how do you resolve them? What foods should you be eating, and which should you be removing from your diet?
Foods that help lower blood pressure include beets, garlic, probiotics, melatonin, green tea, ginger, broccoli, brussels sprouts, strawberries, citrus fruits, almonds, avocados, sunflower seeds, salmon, bananas, potatoes, spinach, grapefruit, tuna, blueberries, oatmeal, and beans.
Please note. WHITE salt is bad for everyone. It has none of the beneficial minerals that real salt does. Real salt has many different colors and looks “dirty” rather than pure white. This is due to the amount of trace minerals found in real salt. Please refer to my blog post on salt for more details.
Recommended reading: https://www.naturaljoyhealing.com/sugar-salt-fat-salt
Special note. Many supplements interact with blood pressure medication. If you want to reduce the medications you are on and replace them with holistic solutions, make sure you connect with your holistic practitioner to determine the safest way for you to proceed.
What about herbs? You know I am a huge fan. What herbs are beneficial in lowering blood pressure? Let’s take a look.
Please note. I am not a Naturopathic Practitioner and am unable to prescribe any solution. When considering the use of herbs make sure you do all your research and consult your practitioner before starting any regimen. There are many herbs that can negatively affect other medications and even some supplements. Do NOT self-medicate.
Cacao. Consuming 50 g of cocoa daily will typically lower blood pressure by 2 – 3 mm Hg. The flavanols in cacao are the true heroes for lowering blood pressure. Note that eating sweet milk chocolate, is not beneficial. You destroy all the good by consuming all the sugar associated with it. If you want to consume the chocolate, you will need to consume bitter chocolate.
Dandelion. While many people consider dandelions weeds, they are extremely healthy for the body. All portions are edible. To aid in lowering blood pressure steep dandelion flower tea. If you are using fresh flowers, 10 grams of the flowers to 200 ml of water and then bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer 12 – 15 minutes. Drink 2 – 3 times per day. Dandelion leaves are also beneficial to lowering blood pressure when mixed in a salad. If you are using fresh, please be sure that you haven’t sprayed your yard with herbicides or pesticides.
Evening Primrose. You will typically find this in an oil form. You need to look for capsules – 500 mg specifically. Consume twice per day for six weeks to see if it has a positive effect on your high blood pressure.
Gotu Kola. This herb has been used for centuries in China for many different conditions. It is recommended to take 500 mg twice per day for no more than 14 days at a time. There are some things to pay attention to regarding Gotu Kola: https://www.healthline.com/health/gotu-kola-benefits#alzheimers-disease
Hawthorn. It is suggested and studies show that 1,200 mg of hawthorn extract daily for 16 weeks have significantly lower blood pressure than those that do not take it, especially those with diabetes.
Kelp. Sea vegetables have sooooo many benefits. We all should be eating them regularly. If you aren’t a fan of the taste of seaweed, there are some amazing shakables that you use like salt to add flavor to your meals. Eating seaweed helps to eliminate fatty liver, reduces inflammation, eliminates glucose intolerance, and reduces cholesterol levels. With such great benefits, you might want to find a way to enjoy it!
Psyllium. Consuming 10.2 g psyllium per day could potentially lower blood pressure. It is widely known that it reduces triglycerides.
Yarrow. This lovely herb can be found in most yards. There are many different health benefits of yarrow. There is a slight benefit of consuming yarrow to reduce blood pressure. It is believed that if you take yarrow along with allopathic medications for high blood pressure, the yarrow aids in the effectiveness of the prescription medication.
Now you know WHAT to eat.. but what NOT to eat? Hmm.. that is a very good question and worth talking about.
Oils. Omega 3 is one of the best supplements other than Iodine that most people can take. If you don’t eat oily fish regularly, you need to be supplementing with Omega 3 – an ORGANIC version otherwise you aren’t getting any benefits. Other than Omega 3 there are only four oils you should be ingesting – Avocado Oil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, and animal fats, like butter and lard. All the other oils out there are horribly bad for you. Let me reiterate – THEY ARE CARCINOGENIC and should NEVER be ingested. Look at all the foods you purchase and ensure that you don’t buy anything with any other oils. Why? Beyond being carcinogenic – cancer-causing – they do nothing positive for your body. They are empty calories and are not good for your body at all. All these other types of oils increase your blood pressure, increase cholesterol, and are potentially damaging for your heart and increase the chances of diabetes.
Recommended reading: https://www.zeroacre.com/blog/seed-oils-to-avoid
Fatty Meat / Processed Meat. As stated earlier in this blog, your body really only needs 3 – 4 ounces 1 – 2 times per week. If you are eating fatty meat or processed meat (deli meat / cured meat) then you should be eating this only 1 – 2 times per MONTH. These foods are high white salt and the elevated amount of fat, isn’t good for the body in quantities.
Alcohol. Drinking a glass of wine with dinner is ok. Drinking a whiskey every once in a while is ok. Drinking alcohol every night is not ok. Drinking three or more drinks at one sitting spikes your blood pressure and over consuming on a regular basis, has lasting blood pressure issues.
Calcium supplements. No one should ever take calcium supplements. Not only do they increase your blood pressure, but they also contribute to all forms of arthritis. We have been trained to believe your body needs calcium for bones, but it is far more important to have magnesium and D3 for your bones than calcium. Most consumed calcium ends up attaching itself to joints causing arthritis.
Too much Fruit. If you are a lover of fruit like I am, you need to take care. Too much fruit creates an issue in the body potentially causing liver damage, inflammation, high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, and an increased risk of diabetes. 1 – 3 servings of fruit is plenty each day.
Our No-no foods. Sugar. Processed / boxed foods. Pre-prepared foods. White Salt. White flour. Caffeine. These foods are all bad for everyone. Besides having chemicals in them they are loaded with preservatives, artificial colors and artificial colors. They are ALL carcinogenic. Remove them from your diet as quickly as you are able.
Please reach out with questions or comments. I love to hear from you and your thoughts tend to create new blog posts! Thank you Tim, for the inspiration!
Blessings – E