By Channing King
Masses of Americans are suffering from blood pressure issues. You or someone you love may be one of the many who are suffering. If so, I have exciting news for you. Blood pressure can often be helped naturally, without the use of medications.
(Read Parts 1 and 2 of this series here and here.)
Atherosclerosis: what is it, and how is it caused? Atherosclerosis is fat inflammation in your blood vessels. This condition is primarily caused by eating too many trans fats, sugar and dairy. This inflammation also causes your cholesterol to rise. When these problems arise, many are taught to stay away from cheese, dairy, and red meat, and if that doesn’t work, pills are prescribed. I would like to offer an alternative. I recommend adding some fresh beets and apple to your daily diet, and that you avoid sugar. The apples and beets help reduce toxicity in the liver, thus, lowering cholesterol.
There are other treatment protocols to help you with blood pressure issues. One that I mentioned earlier is minimizing sugar. If you constantly crave sugar and have a hard time passing it up, there are vitamins/herbs that can help the process. One is Gymnemma, which suppresses and neutralizes the cravings for sweets, so it’s a great weight loss aid for people whose weight is due to excessive sugar intake. Another two are PancreVen and Cataplex GTF. These help to stabilize levels of blood sugar and lipids in the body, thus helping curb your cravings for sugar. Secondly, don’t forget to watch your dairy and trans fat intake. You don’t want excessive amounts of either. Also, try to eat more protein to help with your leveling of blood sugar. Lastly, take one teaspoon of flax oil per day per 100 pounds of your weight. Flax oil has a multitude of health benefits including, but not limited to, promoting cardiovascular health, promoting colon health and can be slimming.
What about other herbs that may help? Kelp is something that can be taken daily. It’s especially high in iodine, which must be present for proper glandular function and metabolism. Alfalfa tablets are good for helping your body have a natural balance of sodium and potassium. Garlic is also good. When buying garlic, be sure to buy the type that has odor to it. Lastly, a good herb for blood pressure issues is Black Cohosh. This is good for calming you and lowering cholesterol.
If you have blood pressure issues, do you have to give up fast food? I know it’s hard to eliminate these foods altogether, but if you have high blood pressure, you need to be aware that the amount of sodium in those foods can be a major issue. If you consume a lot of fast food or franchise food, you need to trim back as much as possible. How do you know if you’re consuming too much sodium? You may find that you have a hard time getting your rings off after eating at a fast food restaurant. This may be due to increased fluid retention from the food you consumed. This is something to be concerned about. You also need to be aware that some restaurants add sugar to their margarine and dressings, which can also affect your blood pressure.
I know we went through a lot of topics this time. We’re not going to have perfect health habits, but we can all improve. Our bodies will thank us for it.
