Green Pharmacy for High Blood Pressure

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Misty L. Trepke

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Green Pharmacy for High Blood Pressure

 

Hypertension or High Blood Pressure is generally defined as a blood

pressure greater than 140/90.

 

The first number (systolic) is the force that blood exerts on the

artery walls when the heart is pumping.

 

The second number (diastolic) is the residual force that remains

when the heart relaxes between beats.

 

Any blood pressure reading below a borderline 138/88 is safer, but

you should still try getting it down closer to what's considered

normal 120/80.

 

The problem is my opinion is that doctors are too quick to treat

this condition with synthetic drugs.

 

About half the people diagnosed have mildly high blood pressure.

 

There's plenty of evidence that for them, diet and lifestyle

changes, including exercise, stress management and self-monitoring

with a home blood pressure device, work just as well as drugs,

and with no side effects.

 

Diet and lifestyle modifications all tend to provide a sense of

control that in itself may be beneficial.

 

But don't expect the pharmaceutical industry to encourage the

natural way. It would cut into their $2.5 billion-a-year for

antihypertensive medication.

 

 

Green Pharmacy for High Blood Pressure:

 

Eating hearty vegetable soups on a regular basis can do more than

help normalize blood pressure and prevent heart disease.

It can also help prevent cancer, obesity, diabetes and constipation.

 

Vegetable soup is so good for health that I don't even call it

minestrone anymore, but rather Medistrone.

 

What would you put in your Medistrone Soup? You can use just about

any vegetables, especially the ones mentioned in this chapter.

 

There are also any number of herbs that can help control blood

pressure, but you don't have to put those in a soup. They make

rather nice teas.

 

CELERY:

Celery has long been recommended in traditional for

lowering high blood pressure, and experimental evidence bears this

out.

 

In one study, injecting laboratory animals with celery extract

significantly lowered their blood pressure. In humans, eating as few

as four celery stalks has done the same.

 

GARLIC:

 

This wonder herb not only helps normalize blood pressure, it also

reduces cholesterol.

 

In a scientifically rigorous study, people with high blood pressure

were given about one clove of garlic a day for 12 weeks. Afterward

they exhibited significantly lower diastolic blood pressure and

cholesterol levels.

 

" We now know that garlic can reduce hypertension, even in quantities

as small as a half-ounce per week, " says Varro Tyler, Ph.D., dean

and professor emeritus of pharmacognosy, (natural product pharmacy)

at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

 

If you cook with garlic and use it in your salads, getting that much

should be a snap! If you haven't yet developed a taste for it, take

it in capsule form.

 

With so many health benefits associated with this herb, I'd

recommend finding many ways to enjoy it in your food.

 

HAWTHORN:

 

Hawthorn berry extract can widen (dilate) blood vessels, especially

the coronary arteries, according to a report published in the

Lawrence Review of Natural Products, a respected newsletter.

 

Hawthorne has been used as a heart tonic for centuries.

 

If you'd like to try it, make a tea with one teaspoon of dried herb

per cup of boiling water and drink up to two cups a day.

 

KUDZU:

 

Chinese studies suggest that this vine helps normalize blood

pressure. In one study, a tea containing about eight teaspoons of

kudzu root was given daily to 52 people for two to eight weeks. In

17 people, blood pressure declined markedly. Thirty others showed

some benefit.

 

Kudzu contains a chemical (puerarin) that has decreased blood

pressure by 15 percent in laboratory animals.

 

With 100 times the antioxidant activity of vitamin E, puerarin also

helps prevent heart disease and cancer.

 

(Antioxidants are substances that neutralize cell-damaging oxygen

molecules known as free radicals.)

 

SAFFRON:

 

This expensive herb contains a blood pressure lowering chemical

called " crocetin " .

 

Some authorities even speculate that the low incidence of heart

disease in Spain is due to that nation's high saffron 'consumption'.

You can use saffron in your cooking or make a tea with it.

 

VALERIAN:

 

Earlier in this chapter I mentioned that gamma-amino butyric acid

helps control blood pressure.

 

Well, this herb valerian contains a chemical called valerenic acid

that inhibits an enzyme that breaks down GABA.

 

So ingesting something containing valerenic acid would, in effect,

ensure higher levels of GABA and lower blood pressure.

 

Valerian is also a tranquilizer/sedative, which also helps reduce

blood pressure.

 

BROCCOLI:

 

This vegetable has at least six chemicals that reduce blood

pressure.

 

CARROT:

 

According to my database, carrots contain eight compounds that lower

blood pressure.

 

ONION:

 

(Allium cepa). In one study, two to three tablespoons of onion

essential oil a day lowered blood pressure in 67 percent of people

with hypertension. Their systolic levels fell an average of 25

points and their diastolic readings fell 15 points. The bad news is

that you can't get this oil, and you wouldn't be able to eat enough

onions to get this much of an effect.

 

In my case, I'd have to ingest three times my body weight in onions.

But I do think that onions have enough going for them that you

should definitely add more of them to your diet to help lower blood

pressure.

 

 

PURSLANE:

and other foods containing magnesium.

 

Magnesium deficiency has been implicated in high blood pressure.

Many Americans are deficient in this mineral and don't know it.

 

A 1994 Gallup poll showed that about 72 percent of those surveyed

reported inadequate magnesium intake. To get magnesium, turn to

leafy greens, legumes and whole grains.

 

Purslane, poppy seeds, and string beans are the best dietary

sources, according to my database.

 

Nutritionists suggest that a daily supplement of 400 mgs of

magnesium twice daily may help.

 

ORGANIC TOMATOES:

These fruits are genetically engineered so please make it a point to

purchase non-gmo varieties!

 

A typical minestrone has a tomato base. That's also perfect for

Medistrone Soup, because tomatoes are high in gamma-amino butyric

acid (GABA), a compound that can help bring down blood pressure.

 

According to my database, tomatoes also contain six other compounds

that do the same thing.

 

 

ASSORTED SPICES:

 

As for spices that you can add to your Medistrone, fennel contains

at least ten compounds that lower blood pressure, oregano has seven,

and basil and tarragon each have six.

 

James A. Dukes, Ph.D.

In " The Green Pharmacy "

 

Pascal's Ribs

JoAnn Guest

Aug 12, 2002 11:44 PDT

 

Celery is a member of the umbelliferous family—along with carrots,

parsley and fennel—and is valued for its distinctive flavor and

crisp texture. Served in salads, as a relish, with meats and fish, a

flavoring or vegetable in soups stews and stuffings, celery is

exceptionally low in calories. Originally from the Mediterranean,

celery was cultivated from an indigenous wild celery.

 

A bunch of celery is known as a stalk, and the stalk is made up of

individual ribs. Four ribs of celery is about 94 percent water and

high in both potassium and sodium. According to James Duke (Handbook

of Medicinal Herbs), " clinically, celery juice has

proven 'hypotensive' in those taking 40 milliliters orally three

times a day. "

 

Dr. William Elliot (St. Luke's Medical Center, Chicago) has

investigated a component of celery oil (3-n-butyl phthalide)

which may be responsible for lowering systolic blood pressure.

 

In a 1992 abstract (clinical research) Elliot concluded that

phthalide directly relaxed vascular smooth muscle through a

mechanism which decreased circulating catecholamines

(amines that stimulate the nervous system).

 

In an earlier paper (1991), Elliot discussed how phthalide lowered

systolic blood pressure and its related effects on 'serum

cholesterol' and high density lipoprotein cholesterol.

 

Celery contains other compounds which are said to enhance the

activity of certain white blood cells. A Minneapolis study suggested

that the class of bioactive natural products occurring in edible

umbelliferous plants may be effective as chemo- preventive agents.

 

The best celery is light green in color. Dark green celery has more

nutrients but can be stringy. Limp celery should be avoided.

_________________

 

High blood pressure and low blood pressure are linked by a

malfunction in the body's ability to pump blood to the spots that

most need it, while also keeping necessary pressure in other parts.

 

High blood pressure may be the body's reaction to perceived danger;

sympathetic nervous system activity constricts peripheral arteries

in order to maintain circulation to the brain.

 

As a short-term response to actual danger, this pattern is not

harmful, but if the sympathetic nerves and the arteries they control

never relax, damage to the cardiovascular system and kidneys can

result, and heart attacks and strokes are likely.

 

Dietary modification is an effective way to manage high blood

pressure, which is by far the more common direction of the

imbalance.

 

A recent study at six major medical centers found that a low-fat

vegetarian diet rich in fruits and vegetables helped people lower

their blood pressure most.

 

People in the study ate 10 servings of organic fruits and vegetables

a day, which helped increase their intake of potassium, calcium and

magnesium, all of which " counteract " the blood-pressure-elevating

effect of sodium.

 

It's also important to exercise regularly and to begin practicing

relaxation techniques. Help your body let go of the fear and stress

that activates the sympathetic nervous system.

 

Get within five pounds of your ideal weight and decrease your intake

of refined salt, replacing it with sea salt.

 

It also helps to discontinue coffee and tobacco, and any other

" stimulant " drugs. Finally, take magnesium each day, as well as

vitamin C and E.

 

The biggest contributor to high blood pressure may be stress. Work

on giving your body a chance to take it easy.

===================================================================

Salt Addiction

 

It is in everything. Chicken soup, pickles, pork and beans, peanut

butter, bread, macaroni and cheese, ketchup, mustard and relish,

canned vegetables, pizza, hot dogs, salad dressings, not to mention

the endless list of junk foods, jam packed and stuffed to capacity

with salt.

 

Organic salt or sodium is an essential mineral and is naturally

present in fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds.

 

We need only a small amount of sodium, easily supplied by these

natural sources.

 

The sodium in fruits and vegetables is complexed with other organic

molecules, causing them to be " absorbed " slowly.

 

In contrast, refined table salt is " unbuffered " and enters quickly

through the stomach lining.

 

When a surplus of refined salt enters the bloodstream, the body is

forced to " store " the salt between the cells until the kidneys can

filter it. Salt then causes a " caustic " , burning effect on the

surrounding tissue. For protection, the cells release water into

the " intercellular fluid " to dilute the excess salt.

 

As the cells give up their water, they lose elasticity and shrink.

This, in turn, causes an imbalance of the cell's chemistry through a

" loss " of potassium.

 

Low potassium levels cause more sodium to " penetrate " the cell

walls.

 

When the sodium level of the cell rises, water then enters

to " dilute " it, causing the cell to " become swollen " .

 

The continuous disruption of the cell's fluid balance can, in time,

calcify, scar and destroy the muscles, valves and arteries of the

entire " coronary route " .

 

It may culminate in congestive heart failure.

 

In this way, salt becomes an accomplice to North America's most

voracious killer, cardiovascular disease!

 

In China, a traditional method of " suicide " was drinking water

saturated with table salt.

 

One ounce of refined salt causes the body to hold six pounds of

" excess " fluid.

 

Salt in large quantities can be lethal.

 

When you eat salty foods the body has to compensate to maintain

" homeostasis " .

 

If you eat salty foods for a long period of time,

as with caffeine, heroin and nicotine,

the body becomes dependent on salt to " maintain " balance.

 

Therefore reducing salt intake may create physical withdrawal.

 

http://www.freedom-you.com/addiction/salt%20addiction.htm

 

=====================================================================

 

David Edelberg, M.D. internist and medical director of the

American Holistic Center of Chicago, has suggested the following as

a nutritional therapy for lowering high blood pressure:

 

1) Cut back on refined sugar, refined salt and sodium in processed,

( boxed and canned foods), caffeine(decaf as well) and alcohol

2) Reduce or eliminate Dairy and red meat in the diet,

(substitute hormone/antibiotic free Organics such as Laura's Lean

Beef & Horizon Dairy)

3) 400 mgs of magnesium, two or three times each day

4) one tablespoon of Udo's oil once a day or more

5) 75 mgs of coenzyme Q10, three times each day

6) two hawthorn berry capsules, at least three times each day

 

My personal modifications to this list would be as follows -

 

You need more than just calcium and magnesium.

You should include a complete mineral formula which provides:

selenium, zinc, copper, chromium, iodine, boron, manganese, and

potassium.

 

It would be important to also include a complete " stress "

vitamin B-complex, vitamins A and D, and at least one gram (1,000

mgs) of vitamin C, two or three times each day.

 

The addition of sardines, alaskan salmon and other cold water fish

several times each week and Spectrum Norwegian fish oil capsules.

http://www.spectrumnaturals.com

 

Include high potassium fruits & vegetables in your diet along with

several baked or fresh garlic cloves each day.

Getwithin five pounds of your ideal weight and decrease your intake

of refined table salt, replacing it with HERBAMARE or 'minimal'

amounts of sea salt.

Sources of organic eggs, meat and Dairy:

http://www.laurasleanbeef.com

http://www.horizonorganic.com

http://www.stonyfield.com

_________________

 

JoAnn Guest

mrsjo-

DietaryTi-

www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Genes