Over 50 million people in the US have high blood pressure (HBP), or hypertension. Everyone knows that your risk of heart attacks and strokes increases dramatically with HBP. What is not as well known is that hypertension in most people can be reversed. That is not however what most physicians tell the newly diagnosed patient. Generally, the patient is given some medication, and told that they will be on this medication for the rest of their lives! For most of us, about 80% of us in fact, that is just not true!
And yet in one sense it is true. It’s true if you simply take the medication, and make no changes in your lifestyle. A high fat animal-based diet certainly contributes to hypertension. Keep n mind however, that the body makes a hormone that actually controls your blood pressure. It’s called nitric oxide, and its job is to dilate (open up) arteries, so that the pressure is reduced within the arteries.
In order to make nitric oxide, the body needs a raw material called L-arginine, which is a protein. There is very little L-arginine in meat, fish, chicken, dairy eggs, cheese etc. There is an abundant amount of L-arginine however in legumes, and seeds in general. Garbanzos, lentils, and red kidney beans are rich sources of this very important protein. When we eat these plant-based protein sources, we supply the body with plenty of L-arginine to make nitric oxide.
Another important way to reduce you blood pressure to normal is to walk 30 minutes twice a day. A few years ago, I attended a cardiovascular nurse’s symposium in Chicago with a colleague, and we listened to Dr. John Cooke a Metabolic Syndrome researcher at Stanford University. He showed some slides of what happens to the endothelium cells that line the arteries when we become physically active. These cells are the actual producers of nitric oxide. The first slide showed the cells in a jumbled disorganized state in a physically inactive person. The second slide showed the same person after physical activity commences, and what was obvious was a distinct order in the endothelium cells, which produced an abundance of nitric oxide.
Remember also that if you are hypertensive and have a heart attack, the amount of water that you drink daily can have a profound effect on any potential blood clots that could form. Water is a natural blood thinner, and since the real danger from most heart attacks is the blood clot which cuts off the blood supply to the heart muscle, adequate hydration could mean the difference between survival and death! You see, on average if 10 people have a heart attack, 5 will die. In fact, for some people, the first symptom of heart disease is sudden death!
To prevent a dangerous blood clot from killing the heart muscle in the event of a heart attack, you need to drink 2 glasses of water upon arising in the morning, two before lunch and two more before supper. This is such a simple way to protect yourself from a potentially fatal coronary event. It also prevents constipation, and a host of other problems that come from inadequate hydration.
Remember: hypertension can be reversed in most people. But it takes some simple changes lifestyle changes to be in health and not at the mercy of Big Pharma!
