Sarah Brewer - Overcoming High Blood Pressure: The Complete Complementary Health Program

PART ONE
UNDERSTANDING HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

PART TWO
THE NATURAL HEALTH APPROACH

PART THREE
THE NATURAL HEALTH GURU PROGRAMS

High blood pressure is an insidious condition that creeps up on you with little warning. As a result, one in three American adults has hypertension, yet at least half are unaware they are affected. This means an estimated one in six adults is walking around with an undiagnosed condition that can have serious effects on their long-term healthone in six of all your friends and relatives could be affected. Although you might have picked up this book for your own benefit, please encourage everyone you know to have their blood pressure checked if they havent done so in the past yearthey might be surprised at the result.

When hypertension is diagnosed, treatment is important as high blood pressure hastens the hardening and furring up of your arteries, which increases blood pressure even more. Its a vicious circle that can, if uncontrolled, eventually lead to coronary heart disease, a stroke, impaired vision, kidney problems, and poor circulation throughout your bodyall from a condition that doesnt, in itself, make you feel unwell. Because high blood pressure is so potentially dangerous, its important its monitored regularly and that you aim to keep your blood pressure below 130/80 mmHg.

Although drugs are often needed to lower blood pressure, dietary and lifestyle changes can help bring down blood pressure significantly. In many cases, these changes mean you wont have to take anti-hypertensive medication at all. And, if youre already taking drug treatment, dietary and lifestyle changes can lower your blood pressure enough for your doctor to start weaning you off the medicine youre taking.

This book provides all the information you need to help keep your blood pressure within safe limits. It gives you information about the important dietary and lifestyle changes you can make, why regular exercise is so important, the benefits of relaxation, and the natural health approaches that work. These approaches might be new to you. Rest assured that the information given is based on compelling clinical research. I have included only those complementary therapies, food supplements, and dietary approaches that have the best possible chance of controlling your blood pressure naturally and safely.

. This will point you in the right direction.

For those who want to take things slowly, the gentle program introduces you to healthy eating principles, such as cutting back on refined carbohydrates, cooking without salt, lowering your consumption of red meat, and eating more fruit, vegetables, and fish. Low doses of food supplements are also suggested. The gentle plan gets you stretching and walking and introduces you to complementary health approaches, such as aromatherapy, homeopathy, meditation, and yoga. The gentle program has the potential to lower your blood pressure by at least 4/2 to 7/4 mmHg within 30 days.

For those who want more of a challenge, or who are already following a relatively healthy diet and lifestyle, the moderate program introduces you to a wider variety of wholegrains, bean sprouts, and fruit and vegetable juices, and includes more of the superfoods shown to have beneficial effects on blood pressure. I suggest more therapeutic doses of supplements, and a more intensive exercise program. In addition, I introduce you to complementary approaches, such as qigong, herbal medicine, reflexology, and more advanced relaxation techniques. The moderate program has the potential to lower blood pressure by at least 7/4 to 11/5 mmHg within 30 days.

For those who already eat healthily and are very physically active, I recommend the full-strength program. This includes a diet based on seven superfoods identified as having the most significant beneficial effects on circulatory health. Supplement doses are suggested at the higher end of the therapeutic range. I also introduce you to naturopathy, acupuncture, and relaxation techniques, such as transcendental meditation. The full-strength program has the potential to lower your blood pressure by at least 15/8 mmHg over the course of just one month.

This book takes a holistic approach and is designed to complement the treatments your doctor prescribes. It is intended to offer general information, not to replace individual advice from your own doctor or other healthcare professionals who know your individual needs. Never stop taking your anti-hypertensive medication without your doctors permission. Once your blood pressure starts coming down as a result of diet and lifestyle changes, your doctor should be happy to consider reducing your prescribed medication under careful medical supervision.

The information in this book is not intended for women who have high blood pressure during pregnancy. Never take food supplements or herbal remedies during pregnancy unless advised to by a doctor, pharmacist, or qualified medical herbalist.

To accompany this book I have created the following website: www.naturalhealthguru.co.uk. It features updated information, new recipes, and the most recent research findings. Please visit the site regularly to tell me how you are doing with the programs, and, most importantly, to share your successes.

LOOK OUT FOR THESE SYMBOLS

Throughout this book I have included boxes that highlight useful, interesting, or important pieces of information. Each box bears a symbol (see below). The arrow symbol indicates that a box contains practical instructions. The plus sign means the box contains additional information about the subject being discussed, or about high blood pressure in general. The exclamation mark indicates a warning or a caution.

High blood pressureor hypertensioncan often be difficult to perceive as a serious medical condition. You might have been diagnosed with it, yet feel healthy. To fully understand high blood pressure, I think it helps to have some basic knowledge of the workings of the heart and blood vessels. In a healthy body blood pressure rises and falls throughout the daya process that is facilitated by nerve signals, hormones, and other chemicals. The development of hypertension means that instead of fluctuating normally, your blood pressure stays high all the time. I explain the two different types of hypertension and the risk factors associated with each. If you have hypertension, its important to know about the long-term complications, such as coronary heart disease, so you can take action to prevent them and be aware of their early signs and symptoms. The action you should take when you receive a diagnosis of hypertension depends on how high your blood pressure isthere are different categories that range from stage 1 (mild) to stage 3 (severe). Your doctor will decide whether you can manage your blood pressure through diet and lifestyle changes, or whether you need pills. I describe the range of medication you might be offered and explain how each treatment works.

To function, all the tissues and organs in your body need a constant supply of oxygen and nutrients. These are supplied by your blood, which is pumped by your heart through a complex network of arteries and veins. The pressure at which your blood travels through your arteries is very important. If it is too high, it can damage or rupture a blood vessel, or result in bleeding in the brain. In the long term it can damage your organs. If blood pressure is too low, not enough bloodand therefore not enough oxygen and nutrientsreaches your body tissues and organs. If youve ever experienced low blood pressure as a result of standing up suddenly, youll know that the main symptom is feeling faint. This is because the blood pressure in your arteries is temporarily too low to carry sufficient oxygen to your brain.