Foods and Supplements That May Reduce Your Blood Pressure

If you have high blood pressure you are not alone! Many people develop it as they reach middle age. Eating lots of vegetables and fruits along with exercise, keeping insulin levels low and reducing stress can help keep it controlled. In addition, certain plant foods supply minerals like potassium and some unique substances that may help your body maintain a healthier blood pressure. Be sure to monitor your blood pressure when taking any supplements and consult with your doctor. Note that some extracts mentioned below act in a similar fashion to common blood pressure medications.

• Celery contains the chemical 3-n-butyl phthalide that seems to help lower the resistance in blood vessels. It one study 150 mg of celery extract appeared to reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure by about 8 points each after three weeks. Natural Factors makes an extract capsule that has 75 mg of 3nb. Start with 1 tablet, twice per day. You can also eat about four ounces celery (equal to a cup chopped) daily.
• Hibiscus tea taken three times per day can lower blood pressure about 7 points within 3 weeks. It acts as an ACE inhibitor. Tazo Passion Tea, served at Starbucks iced, contains hibiscus and so does Celestial Seasonings Black Cherry Berry tea.  Black Cherry Berry tea and added hibiscus flowers also make a very refreshing iced tea in the summer. If you prefer capsules to tea, take 1000 mg capsules (2-3 times per day).

Tazo Passion Tea with Hibiscus

• Reishi Mushrooms contain triterpenes that lower blood pressure. A double-blind trial reported that reishi mushrooms significantly lowered blood pressure by the end of the four week study. A concentrated extract of reishi (25:1) in the amount of 55 mg three times per day was taken over the four weeks.
• Garlic tablets that are standardized, like those made by Kwai, may help lower blood pressure by five to ten percent within 12 weeks. Dose is 10,000 mcg allicin per day.
• Cocoa or Dark Chocolate with high polyphenol content may reduce systolic blood pressure by up to 5 points when ingested regularly. This is comparable to the effects of 30 minutes of daily minutes of exercise. 
• Fruits like watermelon and kiwis contain lutein that help lower blood pressure
• Potassium in such foods as peas, bananas, potatoes, tomatoes, kidney beans, melons and raisins can help your body control blood pressure. Potassium is very important for overall health. Each 1000 mg per day of dietary potassium reduces all cause mortality by about 20 percent.  A daily intake of 4700 mg of potassium from plant foods is suggested. The DASH diet recommends 8 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables per day.
• Pomegranate juice concentrate may lower the systolic (top) number by having a similar effect as ACE inhibitors, a commonly prescribed medication.  Some studies have shown that drinking 50-200 mL (about 1/2 to one cup) of pomegranate juice daily for up to one year can lower systolic blood pressure (the top number) by 5% to 21%.
• Beet root juice or extract lowers blood pressure and increases cerebral, coronary and peripheral blood flow.  Take 4 ounces of juice one to two times per day or at least 500 mg of extract per day.
• Hawthorn reduces BP, is an antioxidant, vasodilator and may reduce blood clotting. Try 1,200 mg of hawthorn extract that contains 2.2 percent flavonoids per day. It may take several weeks before blood pressure lowering effects occur.
• Vitamin C at 500 mg per day over six weeks, for those with low vitamin C levels,  may reduce systolic readings by about 4 mmHg and diastolic by 2.1
• Olive Leaf acts as a calcium channel blocker and improves insulin sensitivity. Take a 500 mg capsule twice per day.
• Magnesium enhances BP medication effectiveness and most Americans don’t get enough. Take 400-600 mg per day of a chelated supplement as long as renal function is good.
• Vitamin D, plus K2 work to incorporate calcium into bone and inhibit artery calcification to reduce cardiovascular deaths. Your skin makes Vitamin D during sun exposure in the summer months. Gut bacteria make Vit K and is in fermented food and grass fed meat. Some vitamin D supplements contain it as well.
• Melatonin lowers cortisol and is a vasodilator. If you suspect your levels are low, you may want to take 3-5 mg each evening at bed time.

Ten Ways to Eat More Fruits and Vegetables

The latest research has shown that most Americans need to eat 7-10 servings of fruits and vegetables for optimal health. In fact, a study by Dr. Michael Miedema and his colleagues found that women who ate eight to nine servings of fruit and vegetables in their 20s were 40% less likely to have dangerous plaque in their arteries in their 40s. In reality, the average actual consumption falls far short at about 3 servings.

Getting from 3 servings to 10 can seem daunting. Here’s how you can increase you’re intake:

• Start including fruit with breakfast. You can add fruit to cereal or yogurt. Or you can have a piece of fruit along with what you normally eat.

• Try making smoothies for breakfast that include vegetables. Smoothies are an excellent vehicle to add fruit and various vegetables to breakfast, lunch or snacks. Good vegetables to include are: cucumbers, carrots, spinach, kale, chard, beets, lettuce and even cabbage. Half of a banana and a cup of unsweetened berries help give the smoothie a fruit taste without adding too much sugar.

• Expand your definition of breakfast. Why not have a breakfast salad with lettuce, strawberries and mint with some yogurt on the side? Or reheat some dinner leftovers? I’ve had many weekday breakfasts that consisted of home-made chicken vegetable soup that I made over the weekend. Of course vegetable omelette or scrambles also work well.

• Experiment with new vegetables on sandwiches. Pile on veggies like cucumbers, sprouts, mushrooms, kale or peppers. Before you know it you’ll have another substantial serving of vegetables.

• Include a high proportion of vegetables in casseroles. When preparing, include lots of vegetables even if your usual recipe does not call for them. For instance, add vegetables to macaroni and cheese. Or substitute eggplant and vegetables for pasta in lasagna.

• Ask for extra vegetables when you go out to eat. I often ask for broccoli for Chinese food entrees or soups.

• Make vegetable soup. I save all of my vegetable trimmings and chicken bones in the freezer and use them to make soup stock. Then I add lots of vegetables along with meat or beans.

• Eat salads for meals. A large salad with your favorite protein on top make a filling and satisfying meal.

• Eat fruit as dessert. Add some berries to a small scoop of ice cream or have some berries with whipped cream. Or better yet, eat plain fruit for dessert.

• Make fruits or vegetables a snack. Cut up some carrots, celery or fruit and bring to work as a mid morning or afternoon pick up. Add a few nuts for protein or some hummus.

It probably does not make sense to try ten tips in the same week. Pick one or two at a time and see how it goes. If you keep at it, pretty soon you will have some new “vegetable habits” that stick.

Prepare Great Almond Milk in Ten Minutes

Prepare Great Almond Milk in Ten Minutes

Have you ever tried commercial almond milk in tea and been disappointed by the taste? Are you also concerned about additives like carrageenan? Well now you are about to learn how to prepare almond milk at home. It tastes wonderful, takes about ten minutes and bit of planning. Here’s how I do it:

Soak almonds first: A day or two before I want to make almond milk, I put 1/2 cup of raw almonds in a bowl, cover them with filtered water and leave them on the counter. Then once a day I rinse them and cover again with fresh water. This soaking method helps make the almonds soft and some say it results in a slightly sweeter taste. It also makes them easier to digest and increases protein content. But if you don’t have soaked almonds, go ahead and use dry nuts.

Making the milk: I usually just make two cup of milk at a time, but if you want to make more just adjust the recipe. The basic proportion is 1/4 cup of almonds to each cup of water.

• Take 1/2 cup of soaked almonds and mix for one minute in a blender with 2 cup of water.
• If desired, add a dash of glycerin based vanilla extract from Trader Joe’s.
• Pour the milk mixture though a fine mesh strainer into a bowl.
• Transfer to airtight glass container and store in fridge up to 4 days.
• For a little more flavor, add a sprinkle or two of nutmeg and a date before blending.

Using the almond “meal” that is left over: I usually eat this with a little sweetener and some coconut flakes. It reminds me of the Kretchemer wheat germ I used to eat as a kid. Some people save it for smoothies.

Very easy, don’t you think? And homemade almond milk tastes great in tea, on cereal or just alone.

Artifical Sweeteners Cause Weight Gain

Think that diet soda you swill down every day with lunch is a good option? It is time to reconsider. Recent studies illustrate the negative effects of various artificial sweeteners that have been pushed at us for so many years.

For one thing, according to Dr. Andrew Weil, artificial sweeteners have not shown to help anyone lose weight and may be causing way more harm than good in the long run. Aspartame, saccharine and sucrolose may increase the risk of health problems, including obesity, headaches and some cancers.

The whole premise of these substances for weight control may be false because our body does not react as we might expect to something that it would not normally encounter in a natural diet. An article in Harvard Health says that the use of these sweeteners may prevent us from associating sweetness with caloric intake. Plus, they may cause cravings that make us pick empty calories over more nutritious food.

Purdue University researchers found that drinking diet soda may be causing people to pack on the pounds. Dr. Mark Hyman says that artificial sweeteners are at least 100 times sweeter than sugar, increasing our preference for sweets. They trick your metabolism into thinking sugar is coming, so your body releases insulin, which is a fat storage hormone. Then as the insulin levels soar, your body packs on belly fat. They can also slow your metabolic rate so that you need fewer calories each day to maintain your body weight.

There is also evidence that synthetic sweeteners are addictive and may be a contributor to hardening of the arteries and diabetes. A multi-ethnic study of arteriosclerosis determined that regular consumption of diet drinks was linked to a 36 percent increased risk of metabolic syndrome and a 67 percent increased risk of diabetes.

Yet another study showed how sucrolose can alter the body’s reaction to ingesting glucose. Researchers gave each participant a glucose tolerance test and found that people who consumed sucrolose and water before the test had increased insulin levels. Their blood sugar peak that was also much higher than those who drank plain water.

These studies tell us that we are better off learning to drink water with our meals since these artificial ingredients in soft drinks are causing unintended effects. Our bodies are reacting with confusion and this appears to be increasing the risk of developing unhealthy metabolic conditions.

Take Control of Health by Learning to Cook

Our society has become very reliant on restaurants and processed foods. While these resources may save us time, we have lost control over what we eat and one-third of us don’t  know how to cook basic meals.

One good thing about eating out is that we can be exposed to new ideas for food combinations that may inspire us to prepare new foods at home. The downside is that many of the foods in restaurants are served in large portions, with the proportion of salt, fat, sugar, meat and starches too high in relation to vegetables and fruits. We also lose control of food quality and what harmful additives, like MSG, antibiotics and preservatives, may be included.

Making meals at home can also be much less expensive than eating out. When we eat out or buy prepared foods, we are paying for someone’s time to buy and serve the food. While it is true that fast food is cheap, it is usually at the expense of quality. Even when I am careful and buy a healthy lunch, I know it is costing me more to buy it prepared than to bring it from home. For instance, when I bring my own organic salad to work with some left over chicken, it costs me about five dollars less than buying a $9 salad in downtown San Francisco.

Cooking is a very useful skill and I cannot imagine what life would be like not being comfortable preparing my own meals. Cooking need not be complicated and it is a creative outlet that is also a good way to relax and share with friends and family. You have much more control over the quality and types of foods when you prepare them yourself. You can make sure you are getting plenty of vegetable and fruits using quality oils like olive, avoiding farmed fish and conventional meats while lessening your exposure to pesticides and GMO’s by purchasing organic produce. Plus you can season it the way you like it and add healthy spices like garlic, turmeric and ginger.

Knowing the basics of good nutrition and choosing healthy food is a good way to avoid the chronic conditions and diseases that plague much of today’s populations in our country. Diabetes, obesity and cancer are striking people at younger ages in large part because our diets contain too much sugar, processed starches, unhealthy fats and hormone disrupting chemicals from fast foods and non-organic ingredients. Good nutrition is the foundation of a healthy society. Having knowledge of what to eat and how to prepare healthy, simple, appealing meals are basic skills that are not difficult to learn as a child or an adult. If you don’t know much about cooking, get a friend to help you learn a few basic dishes, or enroll in a class. You will soon discover the fun and satisfaction of taking control of your health, saving money while learning to make your favorite dishes.