My latest book, Healing Herbs of Paradise, has been a great success! Readers from all around the globe have written to tell me how much they love it — and how they’re already using what they’ve learned from the book to improve their health.
If you’re a regular reader, you know I’ve been traveling the world for more than 20 years in search of natural cures. I’ve seen so many beautiful places and discovered so many healing remedies that aren’t on mainstream medicine’s radar… but nothing prepared me for the wonder of Bali.
Not only its beauty — but its abundance of plants, herbs and foods with healing powers. One of those plants is a magnificent flower I nicknamed the “magical magenta bloom.”
And it’s an amazing cure for high blood pressure…
Even if you don’t have high blood pressure yourself, you probably know someone who does… your spouse, a parent, maybe even your own child.
The numbers are staggering: Two-thirds of American adults suffer from hypertension1 or prehypertension.2 That’s about 150 million people.
And chances are good that most of these people are on a blood pressure medication prescribed by their physician.
I prescribe prescription pills only as a last resort. Especially when a drug comes with as many side effects as blood pressure medications. Some of my patients who’ve taken them have had trouble sleeping. Others have had gastrointestinal issues. I’ve had several male patients who started having erectile dysfunction problems after starting blood pressure meds.
And if those side effects aren’t bad enough, people who take these drugs are at an increased risk of stroke.
But one of the scariest side effects is that blood pressure pills can increase your risk of a fatal fall by 40%!3
That’s right. A pill that’s supposed to protect you and your heart increases your mortality rate, especially as you age.
Bali’s Beautiful Blood Pressure Cure
The “magical magenta bloom” is more commonly known as the globe amaranth. But the Balians — the traditional healers of Bali — call it Bunga Ratna.
It’s a beautiful flower and you see it everywhere on the island. The bulbs are a stunning purple-red color and they just don’t seem to wilt. The Balinese make garlands out of them and they last for weeks. In the language of flowers and herbs, it earned the name “immortality flower.”
The globe amaranth is so incredible that I devoted an entire chapter to it in Healing Herbs of Paradise. The Balians use it to:
- Treat prostate problems like frequent urination
- Kill cancer cells
- Repair skin and heal sores
- Reduce inflammation
- Cure pink eye
But one of the best things about globe amaranth is that it lowers blood pressure. The Balinese have used it for centuries — and research backs up what the healers of Bali already know about globe amaranth.
A study from Brazil proved globe amaranth could significantly reduce arterial blood pressure without changing your heart rate.4 That’s important. It means nothing else in the body changes except blood pressure. And just a small amount works well.
Enjoy Globe Amaranth’s Benefits with a Soothing Tea
Globe amaranth tea is naturally caffeine-free. It has a fragrant, sweet flavor. The tea is easy to make in a few simple steps. For one cup:
1. Place a dried blossom (or more) in a teacup
2. Pour boiling water over the flower and steep for 4-5 minutes.
You can get the dried flower at health food stores and online. You might see it in a Traditional Chinese Medicine section of a store, too. The Chinese call it Qian Ri Hong.
But because they’re so easy to cultivate I suggest you grow your own. They make a gorgeous addition to any yard. In fact, I have them all over my backyard.
Seeds are available all over the country. But in your area, they may go by a different name. Bachelor Buttons is a pretty common name in the South. Cornflower is another common nickname.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD, CNS
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Underlying Cause of Death 1999-2013 on CDC WONDER Online Database, released 2015. wonder.cdc.gov/ucd-icd10.html. Accessed on Feb 3, 2015.
2. Farley TA, Dalal MA, Mostashari F, Frieden TR. Deaths preventable in the U.S. by improvements in the use of clinical preventive services. Am J Prev Med. 2010;38(6):600–9.
3. Tinetti M, Han L, Lee D. Antihypertensive Medications and Serious Fall Injuries in a Nationally Representative Sample of Older Adults. JAMA Intern Med. 2014 Apr; 174(4): 588-595.
4. Arcanjo D, et. al. Phytochemical screening and evaluation of cytotoxic, antimicrobial and cardiovascular effects of Gomphrena globosa L. J Med Plants Res. 2011;5(10):2006-10.