Health Alert 91
Have you ever experienced impotence, weakness, dry mouth, moodiness, and an irregular heart beat all at the same time? If you’re taking drugs to lower your blood pressure, you probably have. Innovative understandings of how nutrients effect your blood pressure may make drugs obsolete.
I recently returned from a physician’s conference on cardiac health in Arizona. Many of the brightest cardiologists attended the symposium. To my delight, many of the doctors had my same appreciation for nutritional and other natural therapies for cardiac ailments.
While in Arizona, I chatted with Mark Houston, MD. He is director of the Hypertension Institute in Nashville, Tennessee and an authority on natural methods of lowering hypertension. Dr. Houston has been studying the effects of natural alternatives to blood pressure medication for years. He is currently writing a book on the subject. The book isn’t due out until September. But he gave our colleagues and myself a sneak preview of his book’s insights. Now, I’ll pass this insider information to you.
* No More Drugs *
Various nutrients found in food, vitamins, and minerals can help to lower blood pressure. I’ve made a list of some of the most common types of blood pressure medications. I have also included natural alternatives to the medications.
The main difference between the alternatives and the drugs are the side effects. The alternatives rarely have significant side effects. Remarkably, the natural alternatives work mostly by the same methods as the medications.
Diuretics work by helping the kidneys to flush fluids out of the body through urine. Along with these fluids, the urine flushes out minerals like sodium. Vitamin B-6 has a similar action. It aids in the removal of excess sodium. Low levels of B-6 are often associated with hypertension. About 5 mg a day is a therapeutic dose of B-6.
Beta blockers inhibit beta receptors in the nervous system. This allows arteries to open and blood to flow through. Hawthorne berry works as a natural beta blocker. Not only does Hawthorne work as a beta blocker; it lowers the risk of angina and irregular heart rhythms. We have seen improvement with around 200mg of a hawthorne berry extract daily.
An excellent alternative to ACE inhibitors is garlic. ACE inhibitors inhibit substances in the blood that make blood vessels constrict. Garlic is a vasodilator. Garlic opens blood vessels to allow blood to flow through unrestricted. The best way to get garlic is to eat 2 raw cloves daily.
Calcium constricts blood vessels. Calcium channel blockers inhibit the flow of calcium to blood vessels. Vitamin C is a good alternative. There is a definite correlation between Vitamin C and low blood pressure. The greater the Vitamin C in the body, the less likely that blood pressure will be high.
Look for Dr. Houston’s book in September. In the meantime, you can use this newest understanding of natural alternatives to your advantage. Try adding some of these nutrients in your diet.
Al Sears, MD
Information from 2003 lecture by Mark C. Houston MD, SCH, ABAAM, FACP, FAHA entitled The Role of Vascular Biology, Nutrition, and Nutraceuticals in the Prevention and Treatment of Hypertension.