Natural Treatments for High Blood Pressure

Next to old age and obesity, high blood pressure is the most potent predictor of death. Although a few people with early-stage high blood pressure may have dull headaches, dizzy spells or a few more nosebleeds than normal, these signs and symptoms typically don't occur until high blood pressure has reached an advanced — even life-threatening — stage.

Once you're diagnosed with high blood pressure, you need to get treatment immediately. The good news is that there are many good blood pressure control medication available on the market. The bad news is that cholesterol and high blood pressure medications are age accelerators and may have many side effects^[1,2] (as a matter of fact, it was reported that the drug-treated group had almost double the incidence of stroke in the large POISE trial^[3]) . While these medications will keep your cholesterol in check and may help prevent Alzheimer's disease, they reduce your sex drive, aging all of your major organs (heart, brain, lungs, and kidneys) and can shorten your life by more than 16 years, especially if you are more than 10 pounds overweight^[4].

In this article, we will look at alternative treatments.

Natural Treatments^[5]

• Celery Juice
• Drink an 8-ounce glass of fresh celery juice 3 times a day for 1 to 3 months, until blood pressure is normal.
• Buy organic celery because it's one of the dirtiest dozen reported by EWG.
• A component in celery (3-n-butylphthalide) acts as as a diuretic and vasodilator and helps relax the muscles lining the blood vessels.
• Wake-up Drinks
• First thing upon waking, on an empty stomach, drink 8 ounces of warm water mixed with 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (always buy organic brand) and 1 teaspoon honey. Drink this regularly.
• The honey ensures regularity of the bowels, and is helpful because constipation may aggravate high blood pressure.
• The vinegar alkalizes the body and lowers blood pressure as well^[6].
• If you have a concern about this vinegar-drinking advice, read this article--"Vinegar for a Longer and Happier Life".
• Cucumbers
• Eat 2 fresh cucumbers every day for 2 weeks, or until blood pressure improves.
• Cucumber is a natural diuretic, it will help hydrate your body and lower blood pressure.
• Herbal Tea
• Make a tea by boiling 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, 1/4 cup dried chrysanthemum flowers, and 2 tablespoons cassia seeds in 5 cups of water for 20 minutes. Strain. Drink 3 cups a day.
• A recent research shows that drinking 3 cups of hibiscus tea a day may lower blood pressure ^[7].
• Sleep Pillows
• Sleep on a pillow stuffed with mung beans, lentils, and split peas— they help to draw the fire from the head and lower blood pressure.
• Toss your salad with sesame
• Loaded with unsaturated fatty acids and calcium, sesame oil may help lower blood pressure and let you reduce your dose of calcium channel blockers.
• Try downing 2 tablespoons daily for two months, then have your blood pressure rechecked.  If your numbers go down, ask your doctor about cutting down your drug dosage, too^[8].
• Dig up dandelions 
• The greens are an excellent diuretic that won't flush out potassium and are in fact rich in the mineral.
• Ask your doctor if you can substitute 3 or 4 cups of dandelion tea a day, suggests Dr. Ingels, but don't combine it with medication, especially diuretics or potassium supplements^[8]. 

Warnings

Do not stop your blood pressure medication on your own. Always consult your physician before making any changes to your treatment plan. It's also wise to consult with your physician before adopting any of the recommendations made in this article.

References

1. Atenolol Chlorthal Side Effects
2. Swaminathan RV, Alexander KP. Pulse pressure and vascular risk in the elderly: associations and clinical implications.  Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2006; 15(4): 226-32; quiz 133-34.
• Medications to lower blood pressure can lead to falls in the elderly, potentially causing hip fractures, and they can lower diastolic blood pressure excessively (as they lower systolic), which increases the potential for cardiac arrhythmias, potentially leading to death.
3. POISE Study Group. Effects of extended-release metoprolol succinate in patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery (POISE trial): a randomised controlled trial.  Lancet 2008; DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(08)60601-7.
• The metoprolol(a common beta-blocker)-treated group had almost double the incidence of stroke.
4. Younger You by Eric R. Braverman, M.D.
5. Secrets of Self-Healing by Dr. Maoshing Ni.
6. Acid-Alkaline Balance
7. Hibiscus Tea May Cut Blood Pressure
8. New Healing Foods by Colleen Pierre, M.S., R.D.
9. Food Remedies for High Blood Pressure (Travel2Health)
10. How You Can Normalize Your Blood Pressure Without Drugs
• If you’re 50 or older, your systolic pressure gives the most accurate diagnosis of high blood pressure.
• If you have high blood pressure, you probably have too much insulin and are in­sulin resistant.
• If you have high blood pressure, the first thing you should do is remove all grains and sweets from your diet until both your weight and your blood pressure have normalized.
11. Drug-Free Strategies to Lower Your Blood Pressure
12. Half of American adults have high blood pressure
13. Food Remedies for High Blood Pressure (Travel to Health)
14. Current blood pressure targets may not be low enough (Stanford Medicine)
• People with blood pressures around 115/70 live the longest