Don’t Mess Around With High Blood Pressure

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As most of you know, I’ve been messing around with my high blood pressure for well over a year now, trying to get it down with good nutrition, exercise and supplements. Read here: Blood Pressure – My Story.  Sometimes the natural way just doesn’t work.

It did for a while, especially after I started taking Magnesium Orotate. However, it didn’t last and I found myself finally going to the doctor to get the medicine.

What really motivated me (outside of family nagging) was finding out that high blood pressure can actually create very small strokes in your brain which they think can be a cause of Alzheimer’s.  The strokes basically go unnoticed until it’s too late.

Needless to say, the doctor was not a happy camper when he took my blood pressure and it was 215/115. Yikes! That’s definitely dangerous!

So he ordered a whole bunch of tests (everything came back fine) and prescribed a low dose hypertension medicine.  After a few days, I’m back to normal -  even better than normal.  I haven’t seen 115/75 in years!

I did ask if I’d have to be on it forever and he said the chances are yes – I’m doing everything right and I’m still having high blood pressure.  There are really no lifestyle changes I should be making – well, maybe less salt.

So now I’m one of the millions of older Americans on a prescription medication, which saddens me a little. But my friends and family are happy that I’m not going to stroke out on them, so that’s certainly worth it.

Moral of the story? Do everything you can to control your high blood pressure, but don’t be foolish.  One small pill a day is worth the peace of mind.

Beets for High Blood Pressure – Are They Worth It?

There have been several new articles about how beets (more specifically, beet juice)can help with high blood pressure. In a British study, subjects given 2 cups of beet juice lowered their blood pressure by as much as 10 points.

Great News!

Beets contain nitrates, which convert to nitric oxide, a substance that dilates blood vessels. One researcher from the study said, “Our research suggests that drinking beetroot juice, or consuming other nitrate-rich vegetables, might be a simple way to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system, and might also be an additional approach that one could take in the modern-day battle against rising blood pressure”.

Not So Great News

Upon further exploration of nitrates, I found another site ( The Food and Fertilizer Technology Center) which states that the prolonged intake of high levels of nitrate is linked to gastric problems. And such compounds have been found to cause cancer in animals. Nitrates also form free radicals in the body – a major component of aging.

What To Believe?

Beets me! (Sorry – couldn’t resist) Seriously though, I’m not really sure. Perhaps the nitrate levels the two resources are talking about are vastly different. It seems for every good new research you find, there’s also another stating the opposite. If someone has an answer for this, please share it with us.

Luckily for me, I don’t have high blood pressure and I don’t like beets, either!

The good news is, no one is saying that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables in a wide variety is bad for you — yet.