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Adapted from Healthy blood pressure can be maintained with natural regimen.
"Since prescription drugs that lower blood pressure do have side effects - some of them risky and unpleasant - it is important to always begin with natural methods. If you are taking drugs for high blood pressure, your health care provider should be monitoring you regularly and should have a goal of getting you off the medication if possible. If you are already taking drugs to lower blood pressure, it is important not to take herbs that directly lower blood pressure such as hawthorn, without checking with your health care provider. Your blood pressure should be monitored while making the necessary reduction in your medication."
* Maintain a healthy weight.
* Got some moderate exercise at least 30 minutes every day or 45 minutes three to four times a week.
* Reduce stress - cut down your commitments, getting more sleep, regular exercise and make more time for recreation. Practice stress-reduction techniques (biofeedback, self-hypnosis, music yoga, meditation)
* Eat a low bad-fat, high good-fat, low sugar diet emphasizing fresh fruit and vegetables
* Eat more potassium-rich foods. Fresh celery (four stalks a day has been known to significantly reduce blood pressure-try drinking a carrot/celery juice mix daily), garlic, Onions, Cold water, deep sea fish (mackerel, sardines, salmon, herring for Omega - fatty acid), cook with unrefined coconut, palm, organic butter (instead of vegetable oils).
* Avoid refined, packaged and processed foods.
* Limit alcohol consumption to two drinks per day or less.
* Avoid coffee.
* Stop smoking.
* Avoid drugs that raise blood pressure. Avoid supplements containing ephedrine taken long term, which can cause hypertension
* Drink plenty of clean water (until the colour of your urine is pale yellow)
* Stevia instead of sugar. A 1-year double-blind study of 106 individuals given stevia extract found evidence of a significant reduction in blood pressure beginning at 3 months*. In the treated group, the average blood pressure at the beginning of the study was about 166/102. By the end of the study, this had fallen to 153/90. In contrast, no significant reductions were seen in the placebo group.
Chris Gupta
http://tinyurl.com/mp43e
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MAGNESIUM DEFICIENCY & SUDDEN DEATH
http://www.drgrisanti.com/magnesium.htm
Written and Researched by Ronald J. Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O.
An athletic 20 year man is playing basketball and suddenly collapses on the court and dies.
On a hot July day, a young and vibrant college football player suddenly makes a great tackle and never gets up.. only to be pronounced dead 5 minutes later.
High School track runner dies after finishing second in a race.
The sad truth is 1 out of 50,000 young adults will fall victim to Sudden Death.
Most sudden deaths have been linked to a thickened, enlarged heart called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), or by a condition that disturbs the rhythm of the heart called an arrhythmia.
When one sweats, a significant amount of magnesium is lost. Magnesium is the most under-recognized electrolyte disorder in the U.S. Dr. Mildred Seelig, one of the country's leading authorities on magnesium suggests that 80%-90% of the population is deficient is magnesium.
It is beyond the extent of this article why the public is being denied the truth of the seriousness of magnesium deficiency and sudden death. The amount of medical research could fill a book, but it is unfortunately being ignored.
According to Micheal A. Brodsky M.D., associate professor of medicine at the University of Medicine and the director of the Cardiac Arrhythmia Service at the University of California.. mineral imbalances interfere with the heart's normal nerve function.
While most athletes have been conditioned to drink a potassium rich drink after sweating.. very few have been educated on the dangers of a magnesium deficiency. Dr. Brodsky states that arrhythmia therapy should focus on replenishing two key minerals: potassium and magnesium.
Almost all physicians have known for some time just how vital potassium is for normal heartbeat. Magnesium is an entirely different story, however.
According to Carla Sueta M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine and cardiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine "apparently, many doctors still don't realize how important a role this mineral can play in some heart patients. In fact, most never check the magnesium level. She has shown through her research that magnesium reduced the incidence of several types of ventricular arrhythmia by 53 to 76 percent.
Magnesium deficiency can be induced by the very drugs meant to help heart problems. Some types of diuretics (water pills) cause the body to excrete both magnesium and potassium, as does digitalis. And magnesium deficiency is often at the bottom of what's called refractory potassium deficiency. The amount of magnesium in the body determines the amount of a particular enzyme that determines the amount of potassium in the body," he explains. So if you are magnesium-deficient, you may in turn be potassium-deficient, and no amount of potassium is going to correct this unless you are also getting enough magnesium.
The Best Test To Determine Your Level of Magnesium
Although most physicians rarely check this important mineral, the few that do usually rely on test called Serum Magnesium. Unfortunately, this test only measures approximately 1% of the magnesium in your body.. a poor test at best.
The "Gold Standard" and the most accurate test is the RBC Minerals or more commonly called Elemental Analysis in Packed Erythrocytes. This test examines the levels of eight minerals and seven toxic heavy metals. The erythrocyte is the red blood cell that floats in our serum to carry oxygen to our cells. The minerals this test analyzes from inside the red blood cell includes magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, potassium, selenium, vanadium and zinc. Another test which has proven to be extremely valuable in detecting magnesium deficiencies is called the Urine Magnesium Loading Test. In this test, the patient collects a 24-hour urine sample and the total magnesium is measured. The patient is then given a dose Magnesium Chloride 18% and another 24-hour urine specimen is collected. The magnesium is again measured. If the body retains more than a certain amount of magnesium, then it is concluded that the body is magnesium deficient.
Common Symptoms of Magnesium Deficiency
The most common symptoms include back and neck pain, muscle spasms, anxiety, panic disorders, Raynaud's spastic vessels, arrhythmia, fatigue, eye twitches, vertigo, migraines.
Best Sources of Magnesium
The best way of insuring enough magnesium is to eat a variety of whole foods, including whole grains, nuts, seeds and vegetables, preferably food grown on naturally composted soil. The green color of green vegetables is due to chlorophyll, which is a molecule that contains magnesium. Avoid refined processed foods, especially white sugar and white flour products, as most magnesium is removed from them.
Dr. Grisanti's Comments:
If you are suffering with a heart problem and have not had your magnesium checked, then I want to urge you to have your physician order the two tests listed above. Unless you have proof that your magnesium is within normal levels, I want you to realize that you are playing with your health!
References
1:Eisenberg MJ, Magnesium deficiency and sudden death (editorial), AM Heart J
1992 Aug; 124(2):544-9
2:Magnes Res 1994 Jun;7(2):145-53
3:Tzivoni, Dan, M.D. and Keren, Andre, M.D., "Suppression of Ventricular Arrhythmias by Magnesium", The American Journal of Cardiology, June 1, 1990;65:1397-1399.
4:Miner Electrolyte Metab 1993;19(4-5):323-36
5:Keller, Peter K. and Aronson, Ronald S., "The Role of Magnesium in Cardiac Arrhythmias", Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, May/June 1990;32(6):433-448.
6:Biochim Biophys Acta 1993 Oct 20;1182(3):329-32
7:Biochim Biophys Acta 1994 Jan 11;1225(2):158-64
8:"Practical Briefings: Clinical News You Can Put Into Your Practice Now.
Ventricular Arrhythmias and Magnesium", Patient Care, October 15, 1990;16-20
9:Magnes Res 1993 Jun;6(2):191-2
10:Hennekens (1987) Epidemiology Medicine, p.54-98
11:Schriftenr Ver Wasser Boden Lufthyg 1993;88:474-90
12:Am J Cardiol 1992 Oct 8;70(10):44C-49C
13:Fiziol Zh SSSR Im I M Sechenova 1992 Jul;78(7):71-7
© 2001 Ronald J. Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O
NOTICE: This information is provided for educational purposes.
Any medical procedures, dietary changes, or nutritional supplements discussed herein should only be undertaken on the advice of a qualified physician.
Ronald J. Grisanti, D.C., D.A.B.C.O
The Grisanti Center of Integrative Medicine 4200 East North Street, Suite 14 • Greenville, SC 29615
(864) 292-0226 • FAX: (864) 268-7022
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By Dr. James Howenstine, MD.
February 16, 2004
NewsWithViews.com
What Causes High Blood Pressure?
There is a lot of experimental and clinical evidence that high blood pressure originates in the kidney.. Animals experiments have shown that narrowing an artery to a kidney can produce high blood pressure and correction of this artery blockage permits the blood pressure to return to normal.. Humans born with or developing a narrowing of an artery to a kidney often develop high blood pressure and correcting this artery narrowing surgically frequently returns the blood pressure to normal.
Conventional therapy for hypertension involves the use of pharmaceutical drugs all of which have side effects which may occasionally be incapacitating. A recent admission by Dr. Allen Roses, vice-president of genetics for Glaxo Smith Kline, that "The vast majority of drugs - more than 90 % - only work in 30 to 50 % of the people." confirms what patients and physicians have learned about hypertension. Treating hypertension with drugs is a hit or mass proposition with frequent drug changes being a prerequisite for proper blood pressure control. Dr. Roses is currently working to develop methods to screen patients with genetic tests that will discover which drug is most likely to work in an individual patient.
Are There Natural Treatments That Work In Hypertension?
Fortunately there are many worthwhile substances that work, are safe, and are often less expensive than pharmaceutical drugs. One of the cornerstones of natural therapy for hypertension is magnesium, which can be given as oxide, aspartate, or a mixture of both. Magnesium relaxes the musculature in the walls of the arteries, permitting the artery to widen and the blood within the artery then exerts less pressure against the wall of the artery (Vasodilatation). This results in lower blood pressure until the effect of the magnesium wears off.
Because the action of magnesium is a physiologic effect of the magnesium ion on arterioles it will work for all persons. Some pharmaceutical drugs used in treatment of hypertension vary in effectiveness depending on age, sex, Afro-American, Oriental, and other subgroups ie. Afro-Americans often respond better to diuretic therapy than Caucasians.
The magnesium ion also acts as a stimulant to the gastrointestinal tract, which means that high magnesium doses may be associated with frequent bowel movements.
This action of magnesium in the body as a vasodilator has long been successfully used in obstetrics to lower the blood pressure in eclampsia.
Intravenous magnesium given during a heart attack improves the survival rate, probably by preventing extra ventricular heartbeats, which can lead to dangerous heart rhythms.
The maintenance dose for blood pressure control needs to be 1000 mg. or more daily. Most individuals in the United States have a dietary deficiency of magnesium so this therapy is a rational approach .Magnesium oxide and aspartate can be found in health food stores.
CoQ 10 For Hypertension
CoQ 10 is a essential nutrient which promotes longevity that is found in every cell of the body. This nutrient increases the energy output by the mitochondria of the cell so it is easy to understand why this substance could benefit many diverse medical conditions. Interest in the use of CoQ 10 for a wide variety of medical disorders was stimulated by the brilliant biochemist Dr. Karl Folkers. He first persuaded cardiologist Dr. Langsjoen at the Medical School of the University of Texas to try CoQ 10 for heart failure. Later Dr. Langsjoen stated that "The clinical experience with CoQ 10 in heart failure is nothing short of dramatic. It is reasonable to believe that the entire field of medicine should be re-evaluated in light of this growing knowledge".
One of the benefits of CoQ 10 is significant lowering of the blood pressure.
The daily doses needed varied between 180 mg. and 360 mg daily..
Coenzyme Q10 was given to 109 cardiology patients who had hypertension for at least one year. They were given an average dose of 225 mg. daily. Blood tests were taken to insure that the blood level of Co q10 was over 2.0 mcg/ml.
Fifty one per cent of these patients were able to discontinue between one and three of their usual blood pressure medicines by four and one half months into the study. The thickness of the heart muscle in the left side of the heart was found to exhibit a beneficial decrease and the main chamber of the heart (left ventricle) showed improved function in the 9.4% of patients who had an echocardiogram before and after the study.
Be sure your blood pressure is being monitored regularly, as only 90 % of patients respond to Co Q10. If there is no benefit in two months the therapy should be changed.
CoQ 10 has also been found useful in improving kidney function in patients with uremia, resolving inflammatory conditions in heart muscle (myocarditis and Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy which has recently been found to be caused by massive deposition of mercury in heart muscle.), as well as proving to be an effective therapy for cancer and many chronic degenerative neurologic disorders (multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease etc.).
Deficiency of CoQ 10 can be caused by the statin drugs used to treat high cholesterol values so all persons taking these drugs should also be taking CoQ 10 at doses of 100 to 200 g. daily...CoQ 10 is available in health food stores and can be obtained from naturalhealthteam.com and by calling 1-800-416-2806.
The Use Of Vitamin D To Correct Hypertension It has long been known that persons living near the equator have less of a problem with hypertension than persons living in other areas. Blood pressure readings tend to be higher in winter than summer when we are getting more sunlight. Ultraviolet light exposure has been shown to lower blood pressure[1] (http://www.newswithviews.com/Howenstine/james6.htm#_ftn1) in persons with mild hypertension.
Vitamin D produces its beneficial results in hypertension by acting on a gene[2] (http://www.newswithviews.com/Howenstine/james6.htm#_ftn2) that controls the output of a powerful substance called renin. Vitamin D slows down the activity of this gene so less renin gets produced. This decreased production of renin leads to less conversion by renin of angiotensin 1 into angiotensis 2 Angiotensin 2 causes constriction of blood vessels leading to hypertension. It also causes thickening of both heart muscle walls and blood vessel walls. The output of adrenaline rises and aldosterone production by the adrenal gland is increased. Aldosterone causes the kidneys to retain salt in the body which also contributes to high blood pressure. The decrease in renin output produced by Vitamin D slows all these undesirable effects.
The higher an individuals Vitamin D levels are the lower his blood pressure tends to be. Therapy with Vitamin D has been found to be effective in lowering plasma renin values, angiotensin 2 values and blood pressure.
Recent studies have shown that the recommended safe dosage of Vitamin D has been established at levels far below the actual safe dosage of Vitamin D. It is now believed that 10,000 units[3]
(http://www.newswithviews.com/Howenstine/james6.htm#_ftn3) daily is the upper level of safety. Excessive doses of vitamin D produce high blood calcium values (hypercalcemia) and symptoms of nausea, vomiting, weakness, fatigue and eventually kidney damage, bone softening and calcium deposits in tissues.. Regular monitoring of the serum calcium level should enable your physician to detect this problem early so the Vitamin D dose can be reduced.
At this time the correct dosage of Vitamin D to lower blood pressure has not been established so cautious increments in Vitamin D dosage are in order.until satisfactory blood pressure control appears. One could start with 1000 I.U.of Vitamin D and increase this dosage by 500 units monthly. This new approach to blood pressure control has the potential to be safer, quite effective, and much less expensive than pharmaceutical drugs.
The use of magnesium, CoQ 10 and Vitamin D should provide effective safe blood pressure control for most patients. Always remember that sunlight without sun screens or sunglasses is the cheapest most natural way to get your Vitamin D.
Douglas Laboratory offers 1000 I.U. tablets of Vitamin D #100 for $7.00 (Product formula 83007). Their phone number is 1-800-245-4440 or 1-888-368-4522..
For the few persons whose blood pressure is not ideally controlled by the above 3 therapies there are many other safe natural treatments that lower blood pressure.
Flax Oil
In a paper from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition vol. 44: Sept.1986 Dr. E. M. Berry reported that a 1% increase in dietary linolenic acid was associated with a healthy decrease in blood pressure. Linolenic acid is only one eighth the quantity of linoleic acid in the usual American diet but it has a disproportionately large effect on blood pressure, probably because of its beneficial influence on prostaglandin secretion by the kidney. The linolenic acid leads to the production of prostaglandins that lower blood pressure.
This linolenic acid can be obtained as 2 tablespoons of flax oil or 4 tablespoons of ground flaxseed taken daily. Fish oils capsules from deep sea fish taken 3 times daily will accomplish the same benefit.
Oat Meal
Persons with hypertension who ate 1 to 2 cups of oat meal daily for 8 weeks were able to reduce their blood pressure therapy by 50 %. They also had cholesterol decrease by 15 %, LDL decreased by 16 %, and the blood sugars and insulin levels decreased.. This benefit in blood sugar values is attributed to beta glucan which slows sugar absorbtion. Magnesium and arginine values also increased which can improve blood flow (arginine) and reduce blood pressure (magnesium).
Olive Leaf Extract
Olive leaf extract has enabled patients with hypertension to decrease or eliminate blood pressure medicines. The dose is 500 mg. three times daily.
The effect of olive leaf takes two weeks to develop and the blood pressure falls by 5 to 15 mm. Systolic and 5 to 8 mm. Diastolic. Olive leaf extract can be purchased from Nature's Distributors 800-624 7114.
Aroma Therapy With The Essential Oil Ylang Ylang For persons who hate taking pills aroma therapy with the essential oil ylang ylang might be just the answer. The fingers containing ylang ylang essential oil are rubbed together and the aroma is inhaled for 1 minute. This needs repeating depending on the extent and duration of the blood pressure drop.
This can be obtained from Health Horizons Clinic 800-771-0255 or 305-442-1233.
Blood Pressure Reduction Due To Dietary Changes Dr. John McDougall of the St. Helena Clinic has seen hundreds of patients with high blood pressure experience falls in their blood pressure after being started on a vegetarian diet.
This is well demonstrated by the example of Sam, who was on three drugs for hypertension when he entered the St. Helena Clinic. His blood pressure was
158/104 on admission. The following day it had fallen to 148/90. By the 9th day his blood pressure was 110/70 and he was off all medicine.
Intake of magnesium, calcium, and potassium from food may protect against the development of high blood pressure and may be very beneficial in lowering blood pressure in those who have elevated blood pressure. The foods that help are fresh fruit, vegetables and high fiber low fat foods (whole grains). These foods (fruit and vegetables) contain substantial amounts of potassium[4] (http://www.newswithviews.com/Howenstine/james6.htm#_ftn4) and are low in sodium. Diets high in sodium and deficient in potassium are known to cause hypertension.
Steady heavy intake of alcohol raises the blood pressure, and giving up alcohol or curtailing alcohol intake may be very helpful in lowering the blood pressure.
The Mediterranean diet should also help as it contains no processed food and increases the fruit and vegetable content compared to the standard U. S.
diet.
Exertion
Regular physical exertion lowers the blood pressure. The mechanism which accomplishes this may be improved oxygenation of the kidney, which could be associated with the release of blood pressure lowering prostaglandins.
Weight Loss
Physicians have long known that weight loss lowers blood pressure. Even slight weight loss brings improvement. If a patient is able to lose 20 to 25 pounds the blood pressure often returns to normal.
Footnotes:
[/URL]1. Krause R et al Ultraviolet B and blood pressure Lancet 1998, 352:709-710 (http://www.newswithviews.com/Howenstine/james6.htm#_ftnref1)2. Li YC et al
1,25 dihydroxy D3 is a negative endocrine regulator of the renin angiotensin system J Clin Invest 2002:1,229-238 3. Veith R Vitamin D supplementation, 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration and safety Am J Clin Nutrition 1999, 69:842-856 [URL="http://www.newswithviews.com/Howenstine/james6.htm#_ftnref4"]
(http://www.newswithviews.com/Howenstine/james6.htm#_ftnref3)4. Krishna GO et al Increased blood pressure during potassium depletion in normotensive men. N England J Medicine 1989 May 4;320(18):1177-82 C 2004 Dr. James Howenstine - All Rights Reserved
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Statins and Vitamin D Deficiency
In my book, Statin Drugs Side Effects and the misguided war on cholesterol, and on this website I have discussed the vital role of cholesterol in the human body. Our most important hormones depend upon adequate reserves of cholesterol for their production and nowhere is this more important than as the precursor substance for the synthesis of Vitamin D, know also as calcitrol.
Researchers in this field are sufficiently concerned from the results of their studies to pronounce that we are in the midst of an epidemic of vitamin D deficiency of immense proportion. Study after study of nursing home populations, of nursing mothers, of healthy male and female volunteers and of various children’s groups have consistently documented how relatively rare it is to have optimal levels of Vitamin D.
Some authorities support more liberal dietary supplementation of Vitamin D in our foodstuff. Others are urging that practical new approaches for vitamin D repletion in our country are urgently needed. This high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, even in those taking multivitamins, indicates that a critical review of vitamin D needs is a major priority.
A vitamin D precursor is synthesized in the skin from cholesterol in response to absorbing UVB rays. It then gets converted in the liver to an intermediate form. In the kidneys it joins with an important enzyme for conversion into its active hormonal form.
Many factors potentially interfere with the UVB conversion. People having darker skins are much more likely to have vitamin D deficiency. The aged skin of the elderly impairs cholesterol conversion as does the presence of obesity. Our present day emphasis on protecting our skin from the sun, using sun-screens and blockers, also cuts down on the ability of UVB to convert cholesterol to vitamin D. Last but not least, one needs UVB exposure.
Without any sun exposure you need about 4,000 units of vitamin D a day. In the absence of other supplements you would need 40 glasses of milk or ten multi-vitamins capsules daily to supply your vitamin D needs. Most of us make about 20,000 units of vitamin D after 20 minutes of summer sun due to UVB conversion of cholesterol. Numerous studies document that the majority of our society falls short of meeting either their dietary of UVB conversion needs for vitamin D.
Now consider the impact of statin drugs on a society already overburdened with an epidemic of vitamin D deficiency. Cholesterol must be available in our bodies in amounts sufficient to allow UVB conversion to vitamin D. We are all genetically blessed with a “natural level” of cholesterol. What is natural for one person may be completely inadequate for another. Into this heterogenous pool we dump statins indiscriminately in a misguided attempt to bring everyone’s natural level of cholesterol down to some artificially low level. Need I add that eight of the nine people making the 2004 cholesterol guidelines were subsidized one way or another by the statin drug manufacturer?
I cannot think of anything more likely to aggravate our already immense, vitamin D deficient state. There is little doubt that the availability of statins drugs these past two decades has made a major contribution to this problem.
Duane Graveline MD MPH
My book, "Statin Drugs Side Effects", is now
available from my website (www.spacedoc.net)
Duane Graveline MD MPH
4414 Cormorant Lane
Merritt Island FL 32953
321-453-7297
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Use FutureBiotics Pressur-Lo, 
A typical allopathic (hiding the symptoms but not addressing the cause) approach for heart problems is not to prescribe inexpensive minerals like magnesium, which has only good "side effects," but to use calcium channel blockers. Since magnesium and calcium compete for absorption, preventing calcium absorption will often increase the effects of the usual paltry amounts of magnesium in the diet. Calcium is still essential for circulation and heart health and, of course, for bones, teeth, joints, nerves and brain function, and many other body systems. In some studies, using calcium alone _reduced_ blood pressure, although magnesium and potassium are more effective. Some of this has to do with kidney function. See 
