Health Articles

Blood pressure is the pressure of the blood against the walls of the arteries. Blood pressure results from two forces. The heart creates one force as it pumps blood into the arteries and through the circulatory system. The other is the force of the arteries as they resist the blood flow. The higher, systolic number represents the pressure while the heart contracts to pump blood to the body. The lower, diastolic number represents the pressure when the heart relaxes between beats.

Truly ”normal” blood pressure readings should remain below 115 over 75. A systolic pressure of 120 to 139 mmHg or a diastolic pressure of 80 to 89 mmHg is considered "prehypertension" and needs to be watched carefully. A blood pressure reading of 140 over 90 or higher is considered elevated or high. High blood pressure usually has no symptoms. In fact, many people have high blood pressure for years without knowing it. That's why it's called the "silent killer." Hypertension is the medical term for high blood pressure. It doesn't refer to being tense, nervous or hyperactive. You can be a calm, relaxed person and still have high blood pressure.

High blood pressure or hypertension is the most common medical diagnosis in the United States. High blood pressure is not the consequence of aging. It is the result of the Standard American Diet (SAD). A diet rich in processed foods, salt and saturated fat animal products, over many years, takes a toll. As a result, our blood vessels age, stiffen and lose their elasticity.

The Standard American Diet is simply heart attack and stroke causing. Almost all Americans have blood pressure readings that are unacceptably high. With nutritional excellence, we have the opportunity to add many quality years to our lives and free ourselves from the fear of these potentially deadly diseases. You must educate yourself with life-saving information that, when put into action, can prevent the possibility of a heart attack or stroke.

Medication has a minimal effect in reducing heart attack occurrence in patients with high blood pressure because it does not remove the underlying problem—predominantly atherosclerosis, which created stiff blood vessels. Medication just treats the symptoms; it does not melt away the diseased plaque lining the vessels. Patients are led to falsely believe they are protected, and they continue to follow the same disease-causing lifestyle that caused the problem to begin with.

When patients are given all of the facts, including the real benefits of removing the disease rather than merely disguising its existence with drugs, they almost invariably choose the natural way to a healthy heart, the Nutritarian way. Weight loss, high vegetable diets, lots of uncooked fruits and vegetables, sodium restriction, increased potassium intake, alcohol restriction, caffeine restriction, increased fiber intake and increased physical activity have all been shown to be effective at reducing blood pressure.