Archive for the ‘Lower Blood Pressure’ Category

Weight Loss to Lower Blood Pressure Naturally

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

If you are carrying a few extra pounds, weight loss may be an excellent way to lower your blood pressure naturally. According to the Surgeon General, high blood pressure is twice as common in obese individuals when compared to those at a healthy weight. Research also shows that when overweight persons drop their weight by 10 pounds it can not only naturally lower their blood pressure but can cut their chances of becoming hypertensive by almost half. The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC7) estimates that by achieving a normal BMI you can expect to see a 5-20 point drop in systolic blood pressure.

Here are some great ways you can lose weight and maybe even lower your blood pressure naturally!

DASH Diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension)
Endorsed by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) , the DASH diet calls for a reduction in red meats, sodium, sweets and artificial sugars, and emphasizes fruits and vegetables as well as potassium, magnesium, calcium and a whole host of heart healthy foods. Simply following the DASH diet without weight loss has been proven to lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart failure; however, using the DASH diet to count calories can help your lose weight too- making it extra valuable in the fight against hypertension! The complete diet can be found here.

Aerobic Exercise
The JNC7 recommends at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking, be performed at least 4 times a week for an average drop in blood pressure of 4-9mmHg systolic . If you weigh 150 pounds, walking 2 miles in 30 minutes will burn roughly 175 calories.

Always get your physicians approval before beginning any exercise program!

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DASH Diet Lowers Blood Pressure Naturally and Reduces Women’s Risk of Heart Failure

Tuesday, May 26th, 2009

A major study reviewed the diets of over 36,000 women for 7 years and they discovered an apparent correlation between a diet designed to lower blood pressure and heart failure.

The women in the study were between 48 and 83 years old and at the beginning of the study did not have a history of heart failure, diabetes mellitus or myocardial infarction. Using food-frequency questionnaires, the researchers compared participant’s diets to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet guidelines. After adjusting for variables such as age and socioeconomic background, they discovered that the women whose diet most closely resembled the DASH diet had a significantly lower risk of heart failure.

When they compared the quarter of women whose diets were the furthest from the DASH guidelines, to the quarter whose diets were the closest to the DASH diet, they found that the 25% of women whose diets most resembled the DASH guidelines saw a 37% reduction in their risk of heart failure. Upon further analysis, the researchers found that the 10% of women whose diet was most like the DASH diet saw a full 50% decrease in their risk of heart failure.
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Common Virus Tied to High Blood Pressure

Thursday, May 21st, 2009

A common virus, usually devoid of symptoms, may play a role in hypertension according to a new study published in the peer-reviewed journal PLoS Pathogens.

The Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection infects between 50% and 80% of US adults by the time they are 40 years old and can cause serious illnesses, primarily in infants, although most people who have it never show any symptoms. However, researchers have found evidence that CMV causes an increase in rennin and angiotensin II, and when combined with a high cholesterol diet causes atherosclerotic plaque formation, which are all known to increase blood pressure.

“Increased expression of both renin and angiotensin II are important factors in hypertension in humans,” Dr. Crumpacker, one of the lead researchers. “What our study seems to indicate is that a persistent viral infection in the vessels’ endothelial cells is leading to increased expression of inflammatory cytokines, renin and angiotensin II, which are leading to increased blood pressure.”

The research indicates that antivirus treatments may be helpful in treating hypertension, although more research is needed.
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Green and Black Tea May Reduce Stroke Risk

Monday, May 18th, 2009

New research suggests that drinking at least three cups of either black or green tea made from the Camellia sinensis plant may significantly reduce the risk of ischemic stroke. Individuals with high blood pressure are prime candidates for ischemic stroke.

Researchers at UCLA conducted a meta-analysis in which they reviewed nine published studies involving almost 195,000 participants. The data indicated that there was a statistically significant decrease of 21% in stroke risk when participants drank three cups daily of black or green tea, and if the participant drank yet another 3 cups their risk of ischemic stroke decreased yet another 21%. A randomized clinical trial is the next step to confirming their findings.

While the exact reason for this relationship is unknown, researchers hypothesize that antioxidant epigallocatechin gallate or the amino acid theanine may be responsible for the decrease in risk. Theanine is a remarkable amino acid that may block the glutamate receptor in the brain, and since glutamate is known to be associated with stroke, this action could be contributing to the observed decrease in stroke risk.
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Exercising for a Healthy Heart and Lower Blood Pressure

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

New research shows that people in cardiac rehabilitation who are overweight benefit the most from long slow walks, not short brisk exercise as previously thought.

Seventy-four individuals enrolled in a cardiac rehabilitation program. They were all overweight, had coronary heart disease and were randomly assigned to either a standard rehab exercise program or a program designed to burn about four times as many calories. The standard rehabilitation exercise included 25-40 minutes of brisk walking, biking or rowing three days a week for a total of about 700-800 calories burned per week. The new regiment required 45-60 minutes of slower walking five days a week for a total of about 3,000-3,500 calories burned per week. After only five months, those on the new long walk exercise plan had greater improvement in their insulin sensitivity, cholesterol, blood pressure and cardio as well as respiratory fitness than those in the standard rehabilitation exercise program. They also found that those on the new exercise plan also lost an average of 18 pounds, 13 pounds of body fat and 2.7 inches from their waistline, whereas those on the standard plan only lost 8 pounds, 6 pounds of body fat and 2 inches from their waistline.

“However you lose weight is good for heart patients and should reduce their risk,” said the study’s lead researcher Dr. Philip A. Ades, a professor of medicine and director of cardiac rehabilitation and prevention at the University of Vermont College of Medicine, to HealthDay Reporter, “But don’t forget the exercise. It’s a big part of how to lose weight. Walking daily, walking far, really made a big difference in reducing cardiac risk.”

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Calcium May Help Lower Blood Pressure Naturally

Thursday, May 7th, 2009

Research indicates that calcium, the most abundant mineral in the human body, may play a crucial role in blood vessel dilatation and constriction. There is evidence which suggests calcium may inhibit the sympathetic nervous system and may improve the vascular smooth muscle membrane in cells, thereby possibly leading to lower blood pressure.

According a medical review published in the journal Hypertension, “More than 80 studies have reported lowered blood pressure after dietary calcium enrichment in experimental models of hypertension” (see http://hyper.ahajournals.org/cgi/reprint/23/4/513). The drop in blood pressure due to calcium varies significantly, with studies reporting blood pressure reductions of not even one full point to as much as 9% systolic, with calcium yeast leading to an almost 6 point diastolic drop.
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Correcting Misaligned Verebra May Lower Blood Pressure

Monday, April 27th, 2009

Research shows that hypertensive individuals with misaligned C-1 vertebra can significantly lower their blood pressure through a chiropractic adjustment.

Fifty stage 1 hypertension patients with misaligned C-1, or Atlas, vertebra were included in the study. As part of the study, half received real chiropractic adjustments while the others were given sham therapy. None of the participants were on anti-hypertensive medications during the trial. Blood pressure was measured both immediately following the chiropractic intervention and eight weeks later.

The results were quite impressive. Fixing the misaligned vertebra resulted in a about a 14/8mmHg decrease in blood pressure over the sham therapy, and the total drop from the chiropractic adjustment was around 17/10mmHg. The Researchers concluded that, “restoration of Atlas alignment is associated with marked and sustained reductions in BP similar to the use of two-drug combination therapy.”

The study was titled “Atlas vertebra realignment and achievement of arterial pressure goal in hypertensive patients: a pilot study” published in the Journal of Human Hypertension (2007) 21, 347–352. doi:10.1038/sj.jhh.1002133; published online 2 March 2007. For more information visit http://www.nature.com/jhh/journal/v21/n5/abs/1002133a.html.

Phytochemicals in Blueberries May Fight Cardiovascular Disease

Monday, April 20th, 2009

Obesity prone rats fed a low-fat diet high in blueberry enriched powder for 90 days were found to have less abdominal fat, lower triglycerides, lower cholesterol, lower body weight, lower total fat mass and improved insulin sensitivity when compared to similar rats receiving no blueberry powder. It is hypothesized that the high level of phytochemicals, a natural antioxidant, found in blueberries may be responsible for the health benefits. Similar antioxidants are also in pomegranates which have been shown to lower blood pressure naturally.
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Drink Sour Milk to Lower Blood Pressure Naturally?

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

Dairy intake has been shown to have an inverse relationship with hypertension and several studies show that fermented or sour milk may effectively lower blood pressure in humans.

There is a remarkable amount of support for dietary dairy intake to reduce your chances of becoming hypertensive, although there is little evidence that increasing your milk consumption will lower blood pressure. For instance,

• The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (over 10,000 participants) found that low milk consumption was associated a increased incidence of high blood pressure
• In middle-aged Puerto Rican men who drink no milk, hypertension rates were twice as high as in men who drank at least 1 liter per day.
• Lower milk consumption was shown to be a trend in American and Italian hypertensives
• Milk consumption has been tied to a lower rate of thrombotic stroke in men
• Dairy calcium has been associated with lower stroke risk than other forms of calcium in women

Fermented milk has been shown to lower blood pressure in hypertensive rats in at least 5 studies. In human subjects, there are a minimum of 9 studies that show that fermented milk lowers blood pressure. Two of the studies involved tablets containing tripeptides, 4 of the studies focused on milk with fermented tripeptides, and then there is one study focusing on fermented yogurt, one on fermented milk containing y-amniobutyric acid, and one on fermented milk containing whey protein. The duration of the studies varied from 4 to 21 weeks and included 17 to 94 subjects. The longest study (21 weeks) included 39 subjects and used fermented milk containing tripeptides saw an average drop in systolic blood pressure of 6.7 and 3.6 diastolic.

It is hypothesized that the primary mechanism by which fermented dairy products lower blood pressure is by acting as an ACE inhibitor. Several peptides in milk products are known to inhibit ACE, such as Ile-Prp-Pro and Val-Pro-Pro. Certain milk peptides are also known to have opioid-like characteristics.

While drinking fermented milk is not a recommended way to lower blood pressure, the DASH diet, which has proven to be quite effective in lowering blood pressure, does call for low-fat dairy products as part of a healthy diet.

For more information, please see “Milk Peptides and Blood Pressure” found in the 2007 issue of The Journal of Nutrition found at http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/137/3/825S.

Grapes may lower blood pressure naturally & improve cardiac health

Monday, April 13th, 2009

A study comparing the effect of regular table grapes (in powder form) to hydrazine in salt sensitive rats was led by Michigan State University in late 2008. Over an 18 week period the rats, prone to developing hypertension, were fed a high sodium diet. It was discovered that while both groups had lowered blood pressure, the rats that received the grape powder also had better heart function, fewer signs of heart muscle damage and reduced inflammation throughout their bodies. It is hypothesized that it could be the antioxidant phytochemicals or flavonoids in the grapes causing the health benefits. A human would have to eat nine servings of about 15 grapes a day to reach the human equivalent of the rat’s diet, but it is still unknown if the observed health benefits would also occur in humans.
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