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High Blood Pressure

Hypertension
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HYPERTENSION
”My doctor has recently declared that I have blood pressure that has to be treated and wants to put me on blood pressure pills (the reading was 150/100). Is there a way I can reduce my blood pressure without medication?”

You bet there is.

1) Switching to a good, near-vegetarian natural diet is a good place to start; there is no downside to eating right. More fiber, less sugar and fat, and more fruits, vegetables and grains are all great for the ticker. So are Dr. Jacobus Rinse’s supplement suggestions, which we will come to shortly.

2) Supplement your diet with lots of vitamin C and the mineral magnesium. Physicians investigated the effect of 600 mg/day of magnesium and 2 grams/day of vitamin C on a group of 56 non-insulin-dependent diabetics. The vitamin C improved control of blood sugar and fasting blood-sugar levels. It also lowered cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and reduced capillary fragility. The magnesium lowered blood pressure in the subjects.
(Eriksson J and Kohvakka A, Magnesium and ascorbic acid supplementation in diabetes mellitus. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, July/Aug 1995; 39(4) 217-223.)

3) Your BP will be significantly higher when you are anxious, and a false reading may result in unnecessary medication. Take your own blood pressure at home, or have a friend do it. You may find that you already have a partial cure for hypertension: avoid high-stress doctors’ office visits!

4) A daily program of stress reduction (such as meditation) has repeatedly been scientifically proven to effectively reduce high blood pressure without drugs. (Scroll down towards the bottom of this page for more on this.)

5) Weight loss almost always helps, too.
http://www.doctoryourself.com/weight_loss.html
http://www.doctoryourself.com/dieting.html

Let’s consider cardiovascular health in general:

DR. JACOBUS RINSE'S BREAKFAST WAS ALSO HIS MEDICINE:
HIS NUTRITIONAL PROTOCOL FOR CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

Only in his early 50's, Jacobus Rinse's doctors told him he had cardiovascular disease and only a few years to live. Medicine then (and some would say now as well) offered little aside from palliative drugs and hope. So Dr. Rinse, a chemist, decided to look into matters for himself. He hit the books and collected an enormous pile of nutritional research. Some studies suggested that he might be able to delay death with vitamins and other food supplements. He had little to lose, so he tried it. His payoff? Rinse would live for another third of a century.

For well almost 50 years, variations on the following pick-me-up for the cardiovascular system have been used harmlessly and effectively world wide. Science continues to uncover why it works, while countless people are satisfied that it works. (Quantities are approximate:)

Lecithin granules, two or three tablespoons (TBL) http://www.doctoryourself.com/lecithin.html

Brewer's or nutritional yeast, one tsp; preferably more

Bone meal or other powdered calcium supplement, one TBL

Wheat germ (vacuum packed or very, very fresh), two TBL

Vegetable oil, such as safflower, sunflower oil, or flax seed; one TBL

Vitamin C (I recommend ascorbic acid powder, 1/2 tsp or more, three times daily)

Vitamin E as natural mixed tocopherols; more than 200 IU. (If you have high blood pressure, start low (50 or 100 IU per day) and increase gradually. Have your doctor supervise this.)

Vitamin B-complex and/or a good multiple vitamin tablet

And after this you think you'll be hungry? This food stays with you till lunch and takes only minutes to mix up in juice. My favorite "carrier" is pineapple juice but you could use whatever sweet juice you desire. I can go for 6 or 7 hours on just one good "Doc Rinse breakfast" without feeling hungry.

The Rinse formula may not be as appealing (or should that be "appalling?") as a big bowl of "Fruit Loops," but it has vastly more to offer a healing heart and circulatory system.

Notes on the Rinse Formula:

* Some think oils high in linolenic acid, rather than the linoleic acid in these oils, have maximum value. http://www.health-heart.org/
There is also evidence that mono-unsaturated oil, such as olive oil, is heart-protective.

* Personally, I confess that I usually omit the oil; it’s just too early in the morning for me.

* Lecithin is cheapest bought in bulk at a health food store or food co-op. Specify granular lecithin, because the capsules are too expensive and liquid lecithin is enough to gag a maggot.

* Gradually increase the quantity of nutritional yeast. It is an acquired taste, and too much too soon can occasionally cause a skin rash in sensitive persons. No more than a couple of tablespoons daily would be needed.

* Calcium-magnesium supplements are best taken in the citrate (cheap), gluconate (even cheaper), or amino acid chelated form.

* Smell the wheat germ and the oil to ensure that it is fresh. If it smells bitter or sour, it is… and don't use it.

* Pure vitamin C powder (ascorbic acid) is about 2,000 mg per 1/2 tsp. Do not take so much as would contribute to loose bowels or gas.
http://www.doctoryourself.com/titration.html

* If I had the sure cure for heart disease, America's #1 killer, I'd be Surgeon General of the World and have my picture on the cover of Time magazine. But good nutrition can really make a difference.

For Further Reading:
Rinse, Jacobus (1975) Atherosclerosis: prevention and cure (parts 1 and 2). Prevention. November and December. Very important reading. Ask your librarian to get you these specific issues (or photocopies) through interlibrary loan.

Rinse, Jacobus (1978) Cholesterol and phospholipids in relation to atherosclerosis. American Laboratory Magazine, April.

Meditation Significantly Lowers High Blood Pressure (hypertension)

"...Transcendental Meditation (TM)is just as effective as prescription drugs for treating high blood pressure... A study published in the November issue of the journal Hypertension found that TM was twice as effective at reducing blood pressure as progressive muscle relaxation, a common stress reduction technique practiced in the
West, and equal to results obtained with medication."
(From the Vegetarian Times, "TM Combats Heart Disease," Issue 221, February 1996, 4 High Ridge Park, Stamford, CT 06905)

The American Heart Association says: "People with high blood pressure may want to medicate and meditate." (Press release, August 5, 1996)

Other News articles on Treating Hypertension with TM:
Ashland Daily Tidings, "Hypertensives spell relief: T-M," by Jo Garcia, August
13, 1997.

Portland Press Herald, "A powerful case for TM," by Meredith Goad, November 27, 1995.

Here is a summary of the Hypertension study the above news articles refer to:

In a clinical experiment with elderly African Americans (mean age 66) dwelling
in an inner-city community, Transcendental Meditation was compared with the
most widely used method of producing physiological relaxation. Subjects who
had moderately elevated blood pressure levels were randomly assigned
Transcendental Meditation, Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR), or usual care.
Over a 3-month interval, systolic and diastolic blood pressure dropped by 10.6
and 5.9 mm Hg, respectively, in the Transcendental Meditation group, and 4.0
and 2.1. mm Hg in the PMR group, with virtually no change in the usual care
group. A second random assignment study with the elderly conducted at Harvard
found similar blood pressure changes produced by Transcendental Meditation
over 3 months (11 mm Hg for systolic blood pressure).

Reference I: In search of an optimal behavioral treatment for hypertension: A review and focus on Transcendental Meditation, chapter in Personality, Elevated Blood Pressure, and Essential Hypertension. Washington, D.C., Hemisphere Publishing, 1992.

Reference II: Transcendental Meditation, mindfulness, and longevity: An experimental study with the elderly, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 57(6): 950964, 1989.

Andrew Saul is the author of the books FIRE YOUR DOCTOR! How to be Independently Healthy (reader reviews at http://www.doctoryourself.com/review.html ) and DOCTOR YOURSELF: Natural Healing that Works. (reviewed at http://www.doctoryourself.com/saulbooks.html )

For ordering information, Click here .

Andrew W. Saul

AN IMPORTANT NOTE: This page is not in any way offered as prescription, diagnosis nor treatment for any disease, illness, infirmity or physical condition. Any form of self-treatment or alternative health program necessarily must involve an individual's acceptance of some risk, and no one should assume otherwise. Persons needing medical care should obtain it from a physician. Consult your doctor before making any health decision.

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