Most People with High Blood Pressure Can Easily Control It with Simple Dietary Changes
September 14 2006
|
4,406
views
<< Previous Article
I remember very clearly while studying physiology in medical school how surprised I was to learn that the cause of more than 95% of high blood pressure was simply unknown, a term medicine describes as "idiopathic"
I thought that was odd that medical science was unable to understand the cause of one of the most common diseases in the Western World. This mystery quickly resolved once I started to understand the profound influence the foods you choose have on one's physiology.
A case history from one of the patients that visited us at the Optimal Wellness Center will help illustrate this point. Joe was 46 years old when he first saw us He had a history of experiencing generalized anxiety that seemed to be the cause of his long standing high blood pressure. He was prescribed a diuretic -- he took it a few times, but then he decided NOT to take it anymore.
It is important to understand that while Joe's type of high blood pressure occurs frequently, it is certainly not as common as high blood pressure caused by eating grains and sugars that raise insulin.
It has been my experience that eating grains like breads (yes even whole sprouted organic grains), pastas, corn, potatoes, and rice which drive insulin levels higher is the most common cause of high blood pressure. The majority of people I have seen respond quite nicely to radically reducing or eliminating grains, sugars and processed foods. They are able to successfully wean off of their medication and normalize their blood pressure.
However there are clearly a significant number of individuals, like Joe, that do not seem to respond to this approach and still require the use of medication to control their blood pressure. These types of individuals, like Joe, are quite anxious and seem to have a type of stress induced high blood pressure.
While techniques like EFT, the effective energy psychology tool we use in our office, will help, food choices can sometimes be a more important factor. His EFT sessions also helped to reduce his stress-related anxiety.
So getting back to Joe, he tended to have anxiety whenever his blood pressure was being tested. His blood pressure has been as high as 160/100 in his previous physician's office. After a busy day, he usually has some difficulty falling asleep. Primarily because of his sleep problem, he has been taking Xanax 0.25 mg, as needed, for about the last 4 years.
Even though he has been exercising religiously for years, he feels that he is overweight & would like. Joe identified with ALL of the primary symptoms that a protein type will be prone to experiencing, if they are NOT eating right, such as:
- Cravings for carbohydrates in some form as a way of 'quick fixing' himself when hungry but when eating meals that are high carbs, this causes him to gain weight (right around the middle of his body) & lose energy,
- Being prone to feeling mentally wired but physically tired,
- Experiencing biochemically induced or amplified feelings of impatience, irritability, anxiety, frustration & even anger in response to relatively small amounts of stress
So Joe made a strong commitment to our programs and followed the prime protein type meal plan for two months. He found that anxiety level dramatically decreased and his blood pressure normalized. Simply by choosing foods that were compatible with his own unique biochemistry, his anxiety was virtually eliminated.
Additionally he has experienced an over-all improvement in his general health. He has also lost 5 pounds without dieting and his blood pressure has been healthier. At his last visit his blood pressure was a very normal 134/78.
There was nothing magical about his specific diet. It was not a diet change that would work for everyone. Another person could have actually required a high carbohydrate low fat diet to achieve the same result. The important take home principle is that when you supply your body with the food it was designed to eat, many mysterious "idiopathic" health problems are eliminated.