Natural blood pressure regulation

[2manyfibers]

This post is from a section of the book I'm writing (there are references to previous chapters in the book). It provides some information on blood pressure, how to get accurate measurements and nutrients that can help regulate blood pressure. The information on nutrients was based on information from several websites (some have recommendations from MDs) and shows the range of dosages and nutrients that appear to be effective.


Regulation of High Blood Pressure With Vitamins – as noted in chapter 5, there are several sites on the internet that list important nutrients and suggested amounts of them for regulating blood pressure in the body. After a friend of mine read the information on high blood pressure in chapter 5, he encouraged me to include some information on natural methods for regulation (his prescription drugs were becoming less effective at controlling his blood pressure). Of course, as you probably have gathered by reading this far into the book, this list of vitamins and minerals is not an exhaustive list of required nutrients for blood pressure regulation. Amino acids and combinations of them are required for these substances to be converted to the most useful compounds by our DNA. I’m not necessarily endorsing or recommending these supplements myself because I haven’t taken this specific combination of nutrients in these amounts (although I have personally seen strong anecdotal evidence that this can be a very effective way to regulate blood pressure in a couple of cases since writing this). Most sites note that the optimum way to get most of the nutrients we need is through proper diet (which is only common sense, but if you’re like me, you don’t necessarily eat all the things you should in the right amounts – and anyone would have to eat large quantities of the right foods ).

Over a period of several months recently, I have taken a multivitamin along with varying doses of vitamin C and sometimes zinc and CoQ10, and recent measurements of my blood pressure have consistently been about 120 / 78 (give or take 5 points or so either way). Also, my body weight is back up to around 210 pounds as I write this (from around 130 pounds at the worst point of my symptoms – I only eat one meal a day and a small “snack” later to prevent stomach irritation from the vitamin C I take with it (not “health food” by any stretch of the imagination) before I go to bed, so you can gain weight very quickly (over about 3 or 4 months time for me) when you go from literally eating nothing to eating moderate amounts – and getting no exercise of any kind). I’ve never had terribly high blood pressure as far as I know, but it did exceed 140 / 90 the few times I had it measured in my teens and 20’s (some of these measurements were taken when I had knee surgeries, so I’m not sure how reliable this information actually is). However, based on my own experience and the documented science of vitamins and DNA, I have no personal doubts that vitamin and mineral supplementation can and does work.

Blood pressure naturally fluctuates significantly all the time in the human body. Physical activity, eating, drinking liquids, emotional state (like anxiety at being in a doctor’s office to have your blood pressure checked) and other things can make blood pressure higher than normal. In fact, many studies have documented that what is called “the white coat effect” results in higher blood pressure measurements than normal (this is normal anxiety caused by being surrounded by people with “white coats” in a doctor’s office). Only a few years ago, a blood pressure of 140 over 90 was considered to be “borderline high”. Today, many doctors want to immediately place you on blood pressure medication if your blood pressure measurement (taken in the doctor’s office which stands a good chance of being higher than “normal”) exceeds 120 over 80. I’ve done a good deal of research on how blood pressure should be measured to obtain accurate readings and this procedure is not followed in most doctors’ offices (at least from my experience). A few guidelines from the manufacturers of blood pressure measurement equipment for obtaining accurate readings include:

• Measure blood pressure the first thing in the morning after you wake up (before you eat or drink anything (particularly caffeine or sugars such as in fruit juices) or exert yourself physically because all these things increase blood pressure to some extent).
• Take multiple readings (at least 3) because of the natural tendency for blood pressure to fluctuate significantly between readings (with a couple of minutes in between measurements - in most cases, the last reading will be the lowest because you are more relaxed)
• Take blood pressure with the “patient” lying down in a horizontal position and with the arm supported with a pillow (blood pressure can measure as much as 10 to 15 points higher simply by being in an upright or standing position)
• Allow the patient to “rest” for several minutes before taking blood pressure (physical exertion such as walking naturally makes the blood pressure a little higher)

Thus, depending on a lot of things, your blood pressure measurement at a given time (particularly in a doctor’s office) may not be a true indicator of your “normal” blood pressure. I’m certainly not suggesting that people disregard their blood pressure measurements when taken at a doctor’s office. It could be that your blood pressure is too high and medication of some kind may be needed. However, a “borderline high” measurement may also not necessarily mean that you need to be on medication, especially considering that to get readings of 115 over 75 to 120 over 80, you may have to take the measurements when you first wake up (this according to the manufacturers of the measurement equipment). Depending on how accurate these measurements at the doctor’s office truly are (based on what you’ve eaten, drank and done during the day as well as the “white coat” effect), slight elevation of blood pressure may actually be very normal and for practical purposes, it may be impossible to have “ideal” blood pressure measurements at the doctor’s office (you might want to get a blood pressure monitor for yourself and measure it regularly to see if your blood pressure is consistently too high). As I noted in chapter 5 (see the section on blood pressure medications), many prescription medications to regulate blood pressure may be prescribed simply because of the dilation chemicals contained in them that expand the size of the arteries. The additional ingredients that inhibit the body from producing angiotensin converting enzymes (ACE) may be totally unnecessary for many people and may cause more harm than good. If your blood pressure is only borderline high and a doctor wants to put you on medications, I would give careful consideration to changing doctors or at least getting a second opinion. I think you would probably be doing the doctors’ and pharmaceutical companies’ bank accounts far more good than you would be your own health by taking medications that you truly may not need.

I’ll let you be the judge as to whether you want to try this method using vitamin supplements for yourself, if you have high blood pressure. Since I’m not a medical doctor, I can’t “officially” recommend anything for anyone. If you do suffer from hypertension, regardless of whether you choose to try a “natural” method, I would also recommend keeping a close eye on your blood pressure (realizing that blood pressure actually fluctuates constantly) – there are several relatively inexpensive and reasonably accurate monitors available that you can use at home. Of course, if you are currently taking prescription medication for high blood pressure (or other conditions), you should consult your personal physician prior to trying this or any other treatment (there could be some potential interactions between certain supplements and some prescription medications). The amounts below are approximations I made based on information from several websites (generally the same amounts suggested within the ranges shown) and are intended to be taken in addition to a good, “standard-formulation” multivitamin. I’ve also included notes from my research noting some possible prescription drug interactions and other information – the internet has plenty of information on interactions between many substances including vitamin supplements as well as prescription drugs.

• Calcium – 800 to 1,500 mg daily: calcium is used for many things in the body and is a key electrolyte in the body (electrolytes carry an electrical charge and help control fluid “levels” in the body; they also help regulate muscle activity – sodium is also a key electrolyte). Calcium is difficult for the human body to absorb by itself in most any form. As noted previously, the amino acid lysine helps the body absorb calcium (see page 63 for more detailed information on lysine). Meats, dairy products, eggs and potatoes are foods that contain relatively high concentrations lysine so if you don’t eat a lot of meat or dairy products (which also contain calcium), you may consider taking a moderate amount of lysine as a supplement to help the body better absorb the calcium (you can always break up tablets to get smaller amounts if the tablet dosage is too high). Vitamin D is also required for the body to absorb calcium in the bones as well as in individual cells where it is needed (vitamin D in the form used by the human body is actually a steroidal hormone that helps regulate cell activity – a good calcium supplement will also contain vitamin D). Vitamin D is available from sunshine (sunlight makes the body produce vitamin D in its “bioactive” form) as well as in some plants, egg yolks, milk (added to milk), and in multivitamins and supplemental tablets. Again, the body can get too much calcium, so use due caution.

• Vitamin C – 1,000 to 2,000 mg daily: vitamin C can increase the absorption of iron in the body and some research shows an increased absorption of aluminum. Vitamin C can also negatively affect the absorption of “tricyclics” which are a class of anti-depressant drugs. Vitamin C is generally pretty safe at any reasonable dosage – even high doses don’t appear to have any lasting negative impact (it can cause diarrhea initially). Some cancer patients taking it intravenously use dosages of 30,000 to 40,000 mg (weekly dosage with 3 day a week treatment). Information from one lady that took this intravenous treatment (after unsuccessful chemotherapy) noted the only side effects she saw, other than curing her cancer, were great skin and hair. If you’ve read this far in the book, you already know quite a bit of detailed information about vitamin C.

• Magnesium – 300 to 500 mg daily: magnesium is an important mineral for protein formation and energy production. As one of the key electrolytes in the body, it also assists in regulation of muscle activity (the heart is a muscle). Magnesium can interfere with the absorption of some drugs (histamine blockers like ranitidine (Zantac®) – used for heartburn and stomach problems) so you may want to consult your doctor before taking it. Research has shown that, as a rule, people with higher concentrations of magnesium in their blood (reasonable, relative amounts of course) also have significantly lower blood pressure than people with relatively low blood concentrations. One researcher even stated that he didn’t believe there would be much of a medical problem with high blood pressure if people had enough magnesium in their systems.

• Potassium – Potassium supplements are available in 99 mg tablets (which is 3% of the US RDA – total US RDA from food and supplements is about 3,300 mg). You may be able to get enough potassium through your normal diet because many foods are rich in potassium including bananas, green beans, potatoes, orange juice, milk, yogurt, spinach, lima beans, lean pork, cod, trout and several others. If you think your diet doesn’t have enough potassium, you might want to consider taking a tablet or two of supplemental potassium daily to maintain the proper amount in your system. This mineral is another key electrolyte and is important for regulating the activity of muscles in the body. The body can overdose on potassium (as it can with calcium and other substances as well) however, potassium overdose is quite rare; the US RDA is relatively high – the only cases of overdose I am aware of are from someone taking lots of supplemental potassium). As always, you should use due caution with it.

• Zinc – 15 to 50 mg daily: Zinc helps the body build more “T-cells” which are an important part the immune system (T-cells are produced in the Thymus gland to help fight infections and kill viruses and bacteria). Zinc is also very important in the formation of many enzymes in the body (including the enzymes for producing collagens and keratins). Some research indicates that zinc compounds can reduce the absorption of some antibiotics, so this is something to be aware of if taking antibiotics. It also can interfere with the absorption of copper and iron to some extent. Elderly people often have a zinc deficiency. Some research shows that too much zinc (more than 75 mg per day of supplemental zinc) can actually inhibit the functioning of the immune system, and some studies show that more than 150 mg daily can cause significant problems. The National Academy of Sciences places the upper limit for zinc intake at 40 mg daily for adults (the point at which it CAN deplete copper in the body – of course this point can vary widely between individuals and circumstances). This also doesn’t consider weight or age as a factor.

• Coenzyme Q 10 (CoQ10) – 50 to 100 mg daily: there are some slight concerns (based on only one or two studies out of many studies) that CoQ10 can cause problems by interacting with blood thinners like warfarin or coumadin, (CoQ10 has some similarities to vitamin K in structure, which can negate the effect of blood thinners) so if you are on these drugs you may want to exercise due caution by consulting your physician before using CoQ10. You can refer to chapter 5 for more information on CoQ10.

• Garlic – 500 to 1,000 mg daily (available in “odorless” tablets): garlic contains lots of sulfur and amino acids and is believed to help lower LDL cholesterol and fight infections. Additionally, garlic contains substances that naturally thin the blood, so people taking blood thinners should consult their physician before using it as a supplement. I can’t state this as a fact, but theoretically, it seems possible that garlic and CoQ10 taken together might “cancel out” any effects these substances might have on prescription blood thinners. I would advise consulting your doctor first.

Most sites recommend splitting the dosages up by taking them in half the amounts twice a day. This is actually the best way to take any vitamin supplements because it helps keep a more constant amount in your system throughout the day. Although these substances work together in concert to help lower blood pressure, several studies indicate that these vitamins and minerals have shown significant reductions in blood pressure in some cases, even when taken alone (of course, some amount of these nutrients will likely be contained in your normal diet to some extent). Also, be patient; medical information indicates that the body needs 3 to 6 months to achieve the full results from nutritional supplements as well as many prescription medications (your DNA has to have time to adjust to these “new building materials” and DNA can’t do its work overnight; especially if it has been many years since it had enough of the materials to work with – it might have a lot of “catching up” to do). There is much information on the internet concerning natural treatment of high blood pressure, so the information presented above is by no means the only “natural therapy” that has shown effectiveness in regulating blood pressure. You can find as much information as you want on a variety of other vitamins, minerals, herbs, etc. if you are willing to spend the time required to read it.