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Not sure how "lazy" I am as I go to the gym 3-4 times a week for cardio and weights, practice yoga, ride my bike on errands daily and am normal weight. We eat a 90% vegetarian diet, little red meat or suger-y foods, and don't drink sodas and avoid HFCS. And I still need help in lowering my blood pressure, hence my question.
More meditation, perhaps? I live a low-stress simple life, but being of Hungarian background, I am quite emotional. And HBP runs in my immediate family. But I don't trust most prescribed BP meds because of the side effects. I had to quit the prescribed diuretic becasue of the extreme muscle and joint pain and insomnia. All that ended w/in two weeks of stopping the HCTZ.
I believe in herbal alternatives and not so much in prescriptions that often cause more side effects than are tolerable.
Still open to suggestions. Trying the hawthorm tea as the research seems to supports its effectiveness. Some studies say it is as effective as prescribed medications. Also taking more calcium and magnesium. Will be monitoring my BP at home over the months to see how it's going. Still taking a low dose of Losartan.
Well hubby's just went down for what appeared no reason. He has been off meds for about 2 years now. I do know weight loss and exercise helps a lot. Whether cutting back on salt really does is still up in the air. Yes, most professionals say it is a factor, but some recent studies are claiming unless you use a heck of a lot more than most of us do, it really has little influence on your pressure. Stress is a huge cause of high BP.
Yea I agree Stress is a big factor I need less stress in my life I have Depression and Anxiety also.
Qigong and Tai Chi are very helpful for blood pressure. I personally like the Chunyi Lin's Spring Forest Qigong program and Roger Jahnke's Qigong dvd. Learning directly from a teacher would be even better.
"In a review of 26 studies in English or Chinese published in Preventive Cardiology (Spring 2008), Dr. Yeh reported that in 85% of trials, tai chi lowered blood pressure — with improvements ranging from 3 to 32 mm Hg in systolic pressure and from 2 to 18 mm Hg in diastolic pressure."
Pomegranates are known to decrease blood pressure.
"They were given an ounce of pomegranate juice each day for a year. Not only did study participants' blood pressure lower by over 12 percent, but there was a 30 percent reduction in atherosclerotic plaque."
"current data suggest that long-term (at
least for 1 year) use of PJ has a beneficial effect on BP, improves
endothelial function, reduces arterial stiffness and
delays or reverses the progression of atherosclerosis"
Pycnogenol and grapeseed extract are also helpful.
"After 12 weeks of treatment, those who received the antioxidant supplement in addition to their medication were able to keep their blood pressure within normal levels with a 15-milligram dose of the drug compared with an average dose of 21.6 milligrams per day among those who took the placebo."
Garlic is well known for its beneficial effects on blood pressure but one has to take enough of it. Here is a study using the Kyolic aged garlic supplement.
"Mean systolic blood pressure was significantly reduced by 11.8±5.4 mm Hg in the garlic-2-capsule group over 12 weeks compared with placebo (P=0.006), and reached borderline significant reduction in the garlic-4-capsule group at 8 weeks (−7.4±4.1 mm Hg, P=0.07). "
Cayenne is also considered to be excellent for maintaining healthy blood pressure.
And I almost forgot about Natto! This fermented product is found in Japanese stores. I think it tastes terrible. Fortunately it is available as a supplement and I like the one made by Nutricology.
"One oft-cited 1987 study published in the Journal of Chronic Diseases reported that the number of people who experience drops in blood pressure after eating high-salt diets almost equals the number who experience blood pressure spikes; many stay exactly the same."
A friend and I are discussing this mag issue for BP issues and everything basically...she has been listening to health summits and on one summit, they were telling folks magnesium needs for the body are 5 times bodyweight. I'm taking close to 800 mg magnesium in various forms daily.
Last edited by jaminhealth; 05-21-2016 at 02:26 PM..
I have two friends who ended up with afib heart issue and they ignored magnesium for many years even thou they are both pretty alternative/holistic with their health but ignored magnesium...now both take pharma drugs but are working to get off them and taking major magnesium for starters and other supps to keep heart healthy.
Mag deficiency is huge in our population, our soils are deficient with magnesium.
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