According to the latest statistics, there are about 65 million Americans with hypertension or high blood pressure. Learn the three essential foods you need to include in your diet to control high blood pressure. This article on anti-hypertensive diet may save your heart and your life.

Maybe you are one of those 65 million with hypertension. Are you above 40? Are you experiencing sudden headaches? It is a known fact that many people are not aware they already have hypertension. This could potentially harm your heart and overall cardiovascular health. At age 40, have your blood pressure monitored regularly. Although younger individuals are not spared from hypertension, this is absolutely critical with people reaching the age of 40.

One of the main concerns with people having hypertension is the diet. Here are three essential foods you need to include in your anti-hypertensive diet.

The first in the list of essential foods is vegetables. Pay close attention to including garlic and onions. These vegetables are known for centuries to control hypertension. The healing properties of both garlic and onions are so amazing that it can strengthen your heart and regulate the blood pressure effectively. These spices can be great for your salad, soups, and salsa. You can also add them in your sour cream and pastas.

The second essential food is whole oats to maintain normal blood pressure. In addition, this group particularly controls the cholesterol and blood sugar levels due to its fiber content. Starting today, increase your intake of whole oats in replacement to all the processed and refined foods.

Lastly, you need to include Omega-3 fatty acids in your anti-hypertensive diet. Rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids are fishes like tuna, salmon, and halibut. These fatty acids lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol levels which are helpful in controlling hypertension.

By: Paul De Vizard

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Polyphenols are chemical compounds that are found in most of the plant-based foods that we commonly eat. As I discuss in detail in my new book, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race, some polyphenolic compounds, such as green tea flavonoids, soy-based isoflavones, quercetin, curcumin, and resveratrol, among other polyphenols, may possess important cancer prevention properties. There is also abundant research data suggesting that diets rich in certain natural dietary polyphenols may be associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, as well.

Hesperidin, which is a flavonoid polyphenol, is found in a variety of plant-based foods, including oranges, orange juice, and other citrus fruits. A newly published prospective, randomized, blinded clinical research study, which appears in the current issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, offers intriguing evidence that hesperidin may actually decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease in high-risk patients.

In this pilot study, 24 overweight (but otherwise healthy) men, ages 50 to 65 years, were subjected to 4-week intervals in each of three experimental groups. The first group was assigned to drink 500 ml (17 ounces) of orange juice per day. The second experimental group drank a “control drink” that appeared similar to orange juice, but which did not contain any actual orange juice. However, this “sham orange juice” was fortified with hesperidin. The third group was also assigned to drink the fake orange juice, and to which was added a supplement portrayed (to the study volunteers, and to the research nurses who administered the beverages to these research volunteers) as hesperidin, but which, in fact, was an inert placebo that contained no hesperidin or other polyphenols.

Physical examinations and blood tests were performed before and after the men rotated through each of these three experimental groups.

The findings of this small but high quality clinical research study were quite interesting. When compared to the control group that consumed the fake orange juice and fake hesperidin supplement, the men in the other two experimental groups experienced a significant reduction in their blood pressure measurements. Specifically, the diastolic blood pressure was significantly reduced, which suggests that these men experienced an improvement in the elasticity, or compliance, of their arteries, as a direct result of the hesperidin contained in both orange juice and in the non-juice beverage supplemented with hesperidin. This observation was again confirmed through additional testing that revealed improved vascular compliance associated with hesperidin intake. Moreover, this significant improvement in arterial compliance was observed only after the ingestion of hesperidin, and disappeared when these same men were retested after undergoing an overnight fast. (Improved arterial compliance is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, including high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, and stroke.)

To summarize the findings of this study, hesperidin, when taken in the form of either orange juice or as a supplement, appeared to significantly improve arterial elasticity, and lower diastolic blood pressure, in middle-aged overweight men. While this brief study cannot prove that these observed and transient improvements in arterial compliance subsequently reduced the incidence of cardiovascular disease in these high-risk men, there is abundant data from other research studies linking improved arterial compliance with a reduced incidence of cardiovascular disease. A much larger version of this small pilot study should now be repeated, and the volunteers in this larger study need to be followed for a much longer duration of time, before we can say, with certainty, that hesperidin significantly reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. That being said, the findings of this small but well-conducted, and elegant, randomized, controlled, prospective clinical research study are still quite compelling.

For a complete discussion of the role of dietary flavonoids and polyphenols in cancer prevention, and other important evidence-based approaches to cancer prevention, order your copy of my new book, “A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race,” now! For the price of a cheeseburger, fries, and a shake, you can purchase this landmark new book, in both paperback and e-book formats, and begin living an evidence-based cancer prevention lifestyle today! Available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Vroman’s Bookstore, and other fine bookstores.

By: Robert Wascher

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If you’ve been diagnosed with hypertension then you absolutely must make efforts to reduce high blood pressure. Doctors don’t call it the “silent killer” for nothing. If you don’t do anything, you could easily die early from heart attack or stroke. In this article, I’ll explain why and show you how you can cure yourself with drugs or naturally.

Why Hypertension Is A Killer

Basically, you have this condition because your arteries are too narrow. This is just like pressing a hose with your fingers – you can feel the pressure on the walls of the hose increasing.

If this happens in your body for too long then you could easily get a heart attack or a stroke. Luckily, there are established ways to defeat this condition.

Drugs

One way is to use drugs. There is no single drug that will reduce your high blood pressure and do nothing else. Because the blood flows all around the body, any drugs will also affect your entire body.

This is why side effects are so common and your doctor will likely try various “paired combinations” of drugs in an effort to minimize these side effects. However, he cannot eliminate them.

He may even tell you to try natural methods in addition to taking pills because it is not uncommon for them to be insufficient in controlling your condition.

Natural Methods

These are not some kind of “hocus pocus” cure that your mother-in-law invented! Such natural methods have been the subject of randomized, controlled studies for decades. It is proven beyond doubt that they work.

What I’m talking about here is just some minor lifestyle change. The most common is your diet but there are also other key areas where you can make changes.

There are also some supplements that will help you on the way. Supplements will not cure you completely but they do mean that less severe changes need to be made in other ways. Basically, there is plenty of “natural ammo” that you can use to defeat high blood pressure.

By: Chris Cage

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