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High Blood Pressure is one expression of a disease-complex caused by the
wrong diet and unhealthy lifestyle. For years, excessive sodium salt was associated
with hypertension and low sodium diets were recommended to all sufferers. According
to the Canadian Coalition for High Blood Pressure Prevention and Control, non-drug
strategies should be the priority for hypertension control. Smoking cessation, low
fat diet, weight loss, exercise, reduced alcoholic beverage consumption and increased
potassium, calcium and magnesium intake with decreased sodium are the important
steps to avoid the problem of high blood pressure. A vegetarian diet is favorable
for anyone with high blood pressure and other manifestations of cardiovascular disease.
In the US, 50 million people are thought to have have high blood pressure; about
half are receiving treatment and half of the treated are successful at reducing
their blood pressure to below 140/90. This leaves about 37 million people in the
US with persisting hypertension. The incidence of high blood pressure rises with
age; more common in men under 50, but more common in women over age 65. Over age
70, the incidence approaches 2/3s of the population. In Canada 57% of the estimated
4 million people with hypertension are treated by a physician but the overall success
of this effort is in doubt.
 Essential Hypertension
Hypertension is divided into two groups - primary or essential hypertension and
secondary to a specific disease. Diseases of the kidney and blocked kidney arteries,
for example, can produce high blood pressure as a secondary effect. No specific
cause is found in 90% of hypertensives. One explanation is that the population at risk is becoming more sedentary with
an increase in obesity. Their food supply is clearly suspect and it is not just
the fat in the diet. These arterial problems with different and complex origins
link to the diets and lifestyle popular in Europe and North America and occur less
often among physically active, vegetable-eating populations who seldom eat dairy
products, meat, and other high-protein-fat foods.
Four concerns about BP diagnosis and treatment
- BP readings may be inaccurate
- Higher BP readings are obtained in the doctor's office
- Many readings are required to obtain a meaningful sample
- Corrective action taken is inappropriate or inadequate
Drugs
A large number of drugs and drug combinations have appeared for the treatment
arterial disease. The battle for market share is fought among the drug producers
with double blind controlled studies that compare drugs to placebo and drugs to
one another. The studies are designed to provide favorable news thru press
releases to doctors and their patients. The drug industry prefers that medical doctors
only think in terms of drug therapy and the producers aggressively market their
newest and most expensive drugs. Smart patients prefer to change their diet, lose
weight and exercise, rather than become drug users.
 The
Solution Diet Revision
The 50 million Americans and 4 million Canadians who have high blood pressure
and arterial disease should seek the benefits of complete diet revision therapy!
To improve the health of modern citizens and to reduce, at the same time, the increasing
costs of health-care, self-responsibility for disease-prevention is required. Each
person will have to alter disease-causing habits, change poor eating habits, stop
smoking and drinking, and become more physically active. We have no difficulty in
recommending aggressive diet revision, vigorous enough to prevent vascular
disasters. Imagine that you live in a little cottage by the sea, think quiet thoughts,
walk everywhere, tend your organic vegetable garden, cultivate fruit trees (never
sprayed) and go fishing once or twice per week. Now you have a perfect setting and
a perfect diet for enduring good health.
Current recommendations for fat intake are shrinking progressively from 35% of
total calories to 20%; for people with high risk of heart disease, fat intake should
go below 10% of daily calories. Typical American diets contain as much as 37% fat,
an extravagant surplus. A total of 15-25 grams of fat per day supplies our needs.
The minimum requirements are 1-2% of total calories for adults and 3% for infants.
Sodium restraint is considered a primary strategy of reducing high blood pressure.
Increased intake of calcium and potassium may lower high blood pressure and extra
potassium may protect against stroke-associated death. North American diets tend
to offer sodium levels 10 times higher than actual need (minimum of 1100 mg/day,
adults). Average consumption of sodium salt is over 10 grams/day. The proper ratio
of Sodium to Potassium is not obvious. Most diets have sodium disproportion, tending
toward sodium excess of 3-10 parts Sodium to 1 Potassium. The foods
in Phase 1 and 2 of the Alpha Nutrition Program automatically improve the
sodium/potassium ratio and increase intake of magnesium.
Hypertension 2009 Update
Learn More about Hypertension
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to the Alpha Nutrition Program,
a standard method of diet revision. Starter Packs bundle the Alpha Nutrition Program,
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