Mind-State

It has long been understood that there is a direct link between psychological stress and higher blood pressure. Anything that you can do to reduce stress will also help regulate blood pressure. Many medical studies have documented that meditation and breathing techniques that reduce stress levels also lower blood pressure. One of my favorite techniques only takes a few minutes, and helps you feel a bit more calm and at ease instantly. With practice, you can even lower your heart rate with this breathing technique within a minute or two. I call it the “Serenity Breath” in homage to a famous Seinfeld episode where George tries to relax from all his stress by saying “Serenity Now”.

Next time you’re feeling a bit stressed, give this a try. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. After 2 or 3 deep breaths, take a long slow breath in through your nose counting slowly to 6. When your lungs are full, pause, and hold your breath for a count of 6. After a count of 6, slowly release your breath through your mouth for a count of 8. Pause for a few seconds before breathing in again. Repeat this sequence 3 or 4 times. Once you get the hang of it, which doesn’t take long, you should find this very relaxing. Concentrate on relaxing while breathing. Sometimes it helps to repeat the word “relax” in your mind – especially while breathing out. Do this a few times each day, and it can help reduce stress a bit.

Blood Pressure Video Part 2

Exercise

Exercise is an incredibly powerful tool for regulating blood pressure. I’m a big fan of what I call “Smart Exercise”. This means exercising the way that your body is designed to move. When you do smart exercise, you get better results with less time and effort. Smart exercise for blood pressure management and heart health in general is very simple. It basically involves doing some form of cardio (walking, running, swimming, etc…) in which you get your heart rate up and then bring it down in intervals. The idea is to work out at moderate to high intensity for 4 to 8 minutes at a time, raising your heart rate, then slow way down and relax and recover for 1 to 3 minutes to bring your heart rate down. A general cardio program for heart health designed to be done on a treadmill would look like this:

1. Warm Up – 5 minutes. Move at a moderate pace, varying between a fast walk and a slow run.
2. Rest Interval – Walk slowly for 1 minute and fully catch your breath.
3. Working Interval - Move at a faster pace for 6 to 8 minutes, varying between a slow jog and a fast run.
4. Rest Interval – Walk slowly for 2 minutes or until you fully recover your breath up to 4 minutes.
5. Working Interval- Move at a faster pace for 6 to 8 minutes, varying between a slow jog and a fast run.
6. Rest Interval – Walk slowly for 2 minutes or until you fully recover your breath up to 4 minutes.
7. Stop Moving – Your Workout is Done!

This program is about right for a person in their 40’s who is in average shape – a typical gym goer who works out two to four times per week most weeks. If you haven’t been exercising recently, or if you are older, you can follow this sequence, but only spend ½ as much time in the working intervals. If you are younger or fitter, you can spend up to 10 minutes in the working intervals, or, even better, push yourself harder, and incorporate some sprints into the working intervals. You can also add a third working interval at the end of the program. The key is to exercise at the right intensity level for you. A good cardiovascular workout should leave you feeling fresh, alert and energized. You should feel better when you stop than when you started. It’s OK to feel a bit tired at the end of a workout, but you shouldn’t feel exhausted. Find the right pace and duration for your body, and as you get in better shape, push yourself a bit harder.

You only need to do about an hour of exercise each week (3 20 minutes ession) to begin making a difference. You can follow this program on a bike, an ellipse machine, running outside, or even walking up and down hills or on stairs in your home.

Diet

Diet is, perhaps, the most powerful tool for lowering blood pressure. In general, a diet rich in processed sugar and flower, unhealthy fats like Trans fats and commercial animal fat, and artificial food additives like preservatives, food dyes, and iodized table salt are major contributors to high blood pressure. Diets rich in fresh and frozen vegetables, beans and whole grains, and healthy meats and fish (organic free range meats and wild caught fish) lower blood pressure.

A great deal of research has gone into creating something called the DASH diet. DASH stands for “Dietary Approaches to Stopping Hypertension”. This diet emphasizes vegetables, whole grains, beans, fruits, nuts and seeds in moderation, and meat and dairy in moderation. You can read all about the DASH diet on Wikipedia or by googling DASH diet. I think that most of the recommendations are great. In general, you can’t go wrong with a healthy whole foods based diet for life health. When blood pressure is a particular concern, try eating more leafy green vegetables, which are high in potassium and magnesium. These minerals help lower blood pressure. Cucumbers are also great sources of magnesium. Calcium also helps lower blood pressure. Look to get your calcium from veggies like broccoli and baby spinach, small fish like sardines and anchovies, and truly grass fed dairy products (commercial dairy is best avoided). Drink plenty of water, and use a high quality sea salt like Real Salt or Celtic Sea Salt instead of iodized salt. Avoid breads, pastas, and other processed foods.

Sometimes making dietary changes can be intimidating. If you want to eat more healthfully, but can’t stand the thought of giving up the foods that you eat now, try a different approach to healthy eating called “crowding out”. Instead of trying to avoid sugar, fatty commercial meats, and other unhealthy foods, just make up your mind to eat a salad and a side vegetable at lunch or dinner every other day, and then eat these foods afterwards. If you already eat salads and vegetables regularly, increase the serving size, or add another vegetables side dish to each meal. The idea is to fill up on healthy food so that when you do eat less healthy food you eat less of it.

Supplements

There are a number of supplements that have been shown to be effective in helping to lower blood pressure. CoQ10 is one of the best studied. CoQ10 helps your muscle (and other) cells work more efficiently, including heart muscle cells. CoQ10 is a fantastic supplement for heart health as well as energy levels. I recommend it for heart health and general life health.

Orosine is another supplement that can have a dramatic impact on blood pressure and cardiac function. It is a combination of two elements (Inosine and Magnesium Orotate) which have decades of solid research behind them. To my mind, Orosine is the most exciting supplement to hit the market in some time. Google it to read the research – it’s really worth trying if you have any cardiac health concerns.

Hyperlose is one of our products designed specifically to help manage blood pressure. It is a vitamin and herbal based supplement, with a very different mechanism of action from Orosine and CoQ10. I recommend it as a third option to complement Orosine and CoQ10.

Fish oil also has a moderate beneficial effect on blood pressure, and the well documented health benefits of fish oil make it one of the very few supplements that virtually every medical and health professional aggress are beneficial to just about everyone.

As always, please email me with any questions.

Be Well –

Vaughn
MA, CHC