5 Minutes To Better Heart Health

Americans are living through a blood pressure crisis. Maybe you, or someone you love, is one of them…

In the United States, 65% of adults over the age of 50 are living with above-normal blood pressure – increasing their risk of heart attack and stroke.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Because high blood pressure can also put you at higher risk for developing dementia later in life.1

Of course, Big Pharma doesn’t see this as a big problem. They know they can use this crisis to sell more drugs… drugs that never fail to do more harm than good.

But a new study reveals how you can lower blood pressure – and reduce your risk of death from cardiovascular disease – in just five minutes a day.

In a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, a team of researchers proved that “working out” your breathing muscles (known as the inspiratory muscles) as well as your diaphragm for five minutes a day can promote healthy blood pressure at any age.2

The team recruited 36 adults ages 50 to 70 with above-normal systolic blood pressure. Half the participants were randomly assigned to do a novel routine known as high-resistance Inspiratory Muscle Strength Training (IMST).

They used various devices that made it much harder to inhale – giving their breathing muscles a high-intensity workout. The other half underwent placebo treatment.

After six weeks of “working out,” the group that underwent IMST treatment saw their systolic blood pressure plummet by 9 points on average.

This improvement is associated with up to a 40% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

That would be enough reason to start this workout immediately. But the group saw additional benefits, including:

  • 45% improvement in the ability for arteries to expand
  • Increased nitric oxide production
  • Reduced inflammation
  • oxidative stress declined significantly
  • Improved brain function

These improvements were just as effective as Big Pharma’s blood pressure-lowering drugs but without any dangerous side effects.

And the benefits didn’t stop even when the study ended.

Even six weeks after the participants stopped doing the IMST workout, they maintained most of the blood pressure benefits they gained.

5 Minutes to Better Heart Health

In the study, the group used a special device called an inspiratory muscle trainer to restrict airflow.

But you don’t need to purchase any equipment.

You can get the same results using your thumbs to constrain airflow through the nostrils by 75%. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Sit down and put one hand in front of the other, leaving both thumbs pointing upright.
  2. Place each thumb on the side of the nose and squeeze your nostrils closed, about 75%.
  3. Inhale, breathe deeply and expand your diaphragm for about 7 to 8 seconds.
  4. Remove your thumbs, and exhale forcibly for a count of three.
  5. Repeat 30 times.

It won’t feel easy or natural when you inhale. And you’ll feel it in your inspiratory muscles as well as your diaphragm.

Supplement To Lower Blood Pressure

I also help my patients lower blood pressure with supplements. Here are two of the most effective:

    1. Take a single dose of CBD. In a recent study, researchers gave healthy volunteers a single 600 mg dose of CBD oil and found it reduced resting blood pressure compared to a placebo.3 Then, the volunteers were given a stress test that caused blood pressure to increase substantially. A single dose of CBD caused a much lower increase in blood pressure than normal. If you’re not used to CBD, I recommend starting with 5 mg daily for the first week. But don’t be surprised if you don’t feel any effects until you reach about 30 mg per dose. But the right dosage all depends on your health and your body. Experiment to find out what works best for you.
    2. Use nature’s own blood pressure “prescription.” Magnesium is your body’s natural blood vessel relaxer. In a review of 34 studies covering more than 2,000 patients, researchers found that taking magnesium daily for one month lowered systolic pressure by two mmHg and diastolic pressure by 1.8 mmHg.3 I recommend between 600 mg and 1,000 mg a day. Take it with vitamin B6. It will increase the amount of magnesium that accumulates in your cells.

To Your Good Health,

Al Sears, MD, CNS

References:

1. CDC. “5 Surprising Facts about High Blood Pressure | Cdc.gov.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 9 Nov. 2020, www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/5_surprising_facts.htm#:~:text=High%20blood%20pressure%20affects%20nearly. Accessed 7 Oct. 2022.
2. Craighead D, et al. “Time-efficient inspiratory muscle strength training lowers blood pressure and improvs endothelial function, NO bioavailability, and oxidative stress in midlife/older adults with above-normal blood pressure.” JAHA. 2021;10(13)
3. Zhang X, et al. “Effects of magnesium supplementation on blood pressure: A meta-analysis of randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trials.” Hypertension. 2016;68(2):324-333.