|
An
overwhelming amount of my patients are on medications
for hypertension (high blood pressure). These
medications are intended to prevent the complications of
hypertension, primarily heart attacks, strokes and
atherosclerosis (hardened arteries), but also memory
loss and kidney damage.
Ironically, in some cases, not only do they not prevent
these complications, but may even contribute to them.
Dr. Julian Whitaker, MD points out that seven large,
well-respected studies show that anti-hypertensive drugs
offer no significant protection against heart disease in
patients with mild to moderate hypertension.
A
variety of medications are used, often several at a
time, in an attempt to lower blood pressure.
Diuretics cause a loss of essential water-soluble minerals needed to
regulate the electrical activity of the heart, thereby
increasing the risk of heart attack and sudden death.
They can also cause irregular heartbeats, heart
arrhythmias and dehydration. According to studies in
the Annals of Internal Medicine,
Beta-Blockers weaken the heart muscle in the long run and therefore may
increase one’s risk of heart failure.
ACE Inhibitors
can be particularly dangerous for anyone with lung or
kidney diseases.
Calcium Channel Blockers,
while the mechanism is not exactly known, cause a 60
percent rise in the incidence of heart attacks in
comparison to other hypertensive drugs. In addition,
older patients on these drugs develop cancer at about
twice the rate as similar patients on other blood
pressure medications. These are just some of the side
effects of the most common types of blood pressure
medications. Ask your doctor if you are not sure which
of the above mentioned categories your medications fall
under. In general, studies suggest that they are only
helpful in cases of severe hypertension, but may be
overused and detrimental otherwise. Unfortunately these
medications do not address the causes of hypertension
and therefore offer no cure. As soon as people come off
these medications their blood pressure goes back up.
Hypertension can be reversed permanently in many people
if the appropriate lifestyle changes are made in
conjunction with natural remedies that address the
specific nature of each person’s condition. Everyone is
different. Some of the most common contributors are poor
diet, sedentary lifestyles, stress and obesity. If
these are addressed appropriately, not only are many
people able to come off their medications, but their
health improves in many facets of life including
diabetes, high cholesterol, weight and general sense of
well being.
Lifestyle is a major factor in hypertension. A study in
1956 found that hypertension did not even exist in 14
different pre-industrial societies, not even among the
elderly. The study showed that these same people
developed hypertension on migrating to new countries
such as the USA. In my experience, salt intake has
relatively little influence on most people’s blood
pressure when compared with the effects of poor nutrient
intake. Of course, there are some salt sensitive
individuals. Usually I encourage people to use the
mineral rich and balanced sea salts instead of processed
table salts.
My
approach to hypertension is to first determine the most
likely root causes of each person’s hypertension.
Interestingly enough, in many cases the herbs that
address the nervous system seem to work as effectively
as those specific for hypertension, even in those who
deny being stressed. I often deal with multiple heath
problems since hypertensive patients tend to often have
diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol and the like.
In most
cases, customized herbal combinations combined with
lifestyle and dietary modifications yield very good
results. Once the blood pressure begins to drop people
can easily justify asking their medical doctors to
slowly wean them off their medications.
In the
end people are either taken off their medications or are
taking fewer of them at much lower doses. They also
have more energy, sleep better, are more productive and
generally are much happier.
|