Lower High Blood Pressure with a Combo Approach
The poor quality of the typical American diet has lead to rampant nutritional deficiencies related to hypertension, heart disease, atherosclerosis, heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, renal disease, diabetes, and obesity.
High blood pressure is due to a combination of genetics and your environment/lifestyle. Nutrients, including macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein, fat) and micronutrients (vitamins, minerals) play a central role when it comes to maintaining a healthy blood pressure as well as minimizing organ damage linked to high blood pressure. Balancing the nutrients in your diet for optimal nutrition dramatically impacts the prevention and treatment of high blood pressure. To effectively treat high blood pressure it is recommended you have a functional intracellular assessments.
What is a Functional Intracellular Assessment?
Lower Blood Pressure – Answers to 4 Frequently Asked Blood Pressure Questions
High blood pressure is a serious condition that requires treatment. Here are answers to five frequently asked questions you need to know.
What is high blood pressure?
Blood pressure equals the force pushing against your artery walls when your heart beats and when it rests. The systolic pressure is the force against artery walls when your heart beats (contracts), while the diastolic pressure is the pressure against your artery walls when the heart relaxes (between beats).
Heart Healthy Recipes
A subscriber to The Heart of Health submitted the following question.
Question: “My problem is that I don’t have recipes for nutritional meals. Exercising is hard for me as I am disabled. I have a thirteen inch rod fused to my spine for 34 years now. What can I do?”
Answer: Fortunately the internet provides access to a wealth of recipes that are heart healthy. Here are some site recommendations you may want to review.
www.sixoclockscramble.com
www.eatingwell.com
www.cookinglight.com
www.mayoclinic.com/health/healthy-recipes/RecipeIndex
Due to your disability I recommend you consult a physical therapist to learn activities and exercises you can safely complete.
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
How to Make Heart Healthy Changes into Lifelong Habits
http://www.hearthealthmadeeasy.com
Eating Heart Healthy on a Budget
Here are some 5 tips to eat right on a budget:
1. Skip the meat!
Eat vegetarian meals more often. Select beans, peanut butter, and eggs as your protein source. This will cause less of a drain on your pocketbook and a great choice to promote heart health!
2. Reduce portion sizes.
Micronutrient Lab Work and Comprehensive Lipid Profiles – International Options
A subscriber to The Heart of Health submitted the following question.
“Just came across your excellent article dated July 20, 2009 @ 08:00 about [coenzyme Q10 blood tests]. Your article mentions having tests, but I live in Ireland and there are no tests available. The Health Food shops just sell the product without any ref. to getting a test and as I would view it as a very important supplement I think it is this kind of ill-informed sales that leave the alternative therapies wide open to attack by the Medical Profession. Can you advise / recommend procedure for getting tests from here.”
The lab I have used and recommend for micronutrient testing and comprehensive lipid profiles is SpectraCell Laboratories. I contacted SpectraCell to see if they provide services outside the US. The answer is yes. Your physician may request a lab collection kit from SpectraCell and submit the blood draw . . . even from Ireland!
There are more lab facilities than Spectra Cell that complete comprehensive lipid profiles. SpectraCell is the one I am familiar with. Also, another lab work option is a VAP (vertical auto profile) test. Discuss with your physician.
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
How to Lower Cholesterol in 8 Simple Steps
http://www.lowercholesterolwithlisa.com
Dr. Houston Answers Your Top Heart Health Questions – Part 3
Here’s another four questions with answers from my interview with Dr. Mark Houston in February 2010.
Lisa Nelson RD: If someone has been on blood pressure medication for many years and they take steps to lose weight and improve their diet is it likely they’ll be able to discontinue their medication or will they be on medications for life?
Dr. Houston: About a 60% of patients that follow the guidelines in the book that I wrote on What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Hypertension can stop meds over 6-12 months if they do everything correct as outlined.
Lisa Nelson RD: If someone is newly diagnosed with high blood pressure, how much time should be allowed if the individual prefers to make diet and lifestyle changes to lower the blood pressure before turning to medication?
Dr. Houston: I recommend getting the blood pressure down soon with both meds and lifestyle changes to protect the arteries and reduce cardiovascular disease based on some recent studies. Later on, if blood pressure is controlled then you can taper the medications.
Lisa Nelson RD: Do any of the over-the-counter meds for high blood pressure and high cholesterol work – or are they just snake oil ads?
Dr. Houston: There are some good supplements that work for blood pressure and cholesterol, but most over the counter are not good. The best source is BIOTICS RESEARCH at 1-800-231-5777. For blood pressure use VASCULOSIRT. Also for blood pressure is CARDIOSIRT BP (this one will be out in the spring). These will reduce blood pressure well along with the lifestyle changes recommended in the book above. The best for cholesterols is LIPIDSIRT. It can be used with the new niacin and red yeast rice from BIOTICS if needed. This may decrease cholesterol with the combination by 40-50%.
Lisa Nelson RD: How effective do you feel the supplements l-arginine, coQ10, and omega 3 are at preventing cardiac problems?
Dr. Houston: I would use omega 3 fatty acids in almost everyone to reduce heart attack, stroke, blood pressure, improve triglycerides and improve memory. The best omega 3 fatty acid on the market is EFA-SIRT SUPREME from BIOTICS research at 1800-231-5777. The CoQ10 is excellent as well. Doses of about 100 to 200 mg of a good quality CoQ10 will lower systolic blood pressure about 15 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure about 10 mm Hg in 50% of patients. The CoQ10 is in both the VASCULOSIRT AND THE CARDIOSIRT BP from BIOTICS at 1-800-231-5777.
Part 1 – Top Heart Health Questions Answered By Dr. Houston
Part 2- Top Heart Health Questions Answered By Dr. Houston
There will be one final part to this Q&A. Sign-up for the e-course 7 Natural Ways to Lower Blood Pressure and you’ll also be notified when the final part is posted.
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
http://www.lowerbloodpressurewithlisa.com
