BLOOD PRESSURE VITAMINS/SUPPLEMENTS

[leshoward]

I had previously posted Olive Leaf Extract for controlling Blood Pressure....Anyone using another alternative they could elaborate on? Thanks!

[majkinetor]

C, Mg, Arginine, GSE, Piracetam etc. would be some of them.
But low carb is most important - removes water + salt from the body.

[ofonorow]

But low carb is most important - removes water + salt from the body.

Not sure why water and/or salt would be bad?

Being dehydrated and short on salt are both conditions that will lead to hormonal imbalances.

Brownstein in his book SALT found in the buried literature an astounding increase in the risk of a heart attack in people who had high blood pressure and were avoiding or low on salt. Something like 450% greater risk. His reasoning was that the body needs and tries to retain salt (and water!) and will adjust hormones attempting to preserve these important substances. His answer was not to avoid salt, only highly refined table salt. The unrefined salt, such as Cetlic Sea Salt, is more like a health food, with more than 80 minerals.

[majkinetor]

Not sure why water and/or salt would be bad?

Maybe you should update yourself

[bbtri]

I use C, D, magnesium, arginine, fish oil and potassium. The C, D, magnesium, arginine and fish oil were keeping me out of the danger zone, but when I recently added potassium my BP dropped from borderline hypertension to optimal (dropped 18mm systolic and 10mm diastolic). The adequate intake for men is 4.7g and I wasn't getting near that. I now get an extra 2g daily by having a can of low sodium V8 juice, which has 1g and by using potassium chloride in some foods or dissolved in water. I tried using the KCl like table salt but didn't like the flavor. When I first started using C, that dropped my BP by about 5mm systolic and diastolic.

[jimmylesante]

Table salt is poison, the unrefined salts are beneficial with all the minerals present. Todays diet of added refined salt to carb fueled foods makes it difficult to not have too much" bad salt. "
Lowering blood pressure- correct breathing techniques help to.

[majkinetor]

Table salt is poison, the unrefined salts are beneficial with all the minerals present.

Why is that ? I don't argue that unrefined salt is what everybody should be taking but poison ? I don't have problem with minerals, I eat right and take supplements, I don't need microoptimisation of every single input.

But that is entirely different point. Rising plasma Na and water rise blood presssure (basic biology). The contraversal issue is weather is it influenced by normal dietary input (similar issue as with cholesterol). But anything that reduces your water and Na concentration in plasma will reduce blood pressure (thats why the basic drug used is diuretic -> water and Na are eliminated both).

Low carb diet naturally eliminates Na from plasma (so called natriuresis of fasting) and water (the reason for rapid weight loss at the start [i.e. water loss]).

This is very effective method combined with supplements. You don't need anything else, in majority of cases. In ketogenic diet salt supplementation is rule because blood pressure drops very fast and goes lower then needed (I experienced this myself, if I don't supplement salt i get orthostatic hypothension ASAP).

[jimmylesante]

Table salt is mainly Sodium Chloride with a bit of aluminium hydroxide(to help the salt pour). It is inorganic so the Sodium has no benefit in our bodies- we get our organic sodium from veges. The excess quantities we eat mess up the potassium/sodium ratio causing Na to be locked into cells, and cellular dysfunction followed by cancer,cvd,diabetes,hypertension etc etc.
Table salt really only has one positive aspect-taste, from then on it is poisonous to the body(not fast cyanide poison but slow, over time poison) It is poisonous, plus if you stick it in your eye, it burns:)

[majkinetor]

It is inorganic so the Sodium has no benefit in our bodies

It is inorganic so we don't have benefit ??? Cmon...

So when pressure drops and tsp of salt brings it back, something people use for centuries, they are imagining stuff ? Or when people megadose with iodine prevent side effect with salt its also imaginary ?

The excess quantities

There is no "excess qunatities" that can be quantified. That depends on your life style and your diet. People on low carb need more salt. Get informed.

[Bossman]

Garlic is a winner i n lowering blood pressure.
I did some tests on myself to see the effect of garlic on BP in the past and have taken a daily garlic supplement ever since.

[jimmylesante]

majkinetor- i am not sure which old wives you have been listening too.

It is inorganic so we don't have benefit ??? Cmon..

. It is inorganic and therefore useless as a nutritive material. Salt is poisonous to cellular life. Salt when ingested is not metabolized. Salt is craved because it is addictive. Salt solutions were used to commit suicide.
Salt in the short term may increase blood pressure but in the long term will do more damage. Provided your kidneys are working fine etc and you are capable, wouldn't a more sensible approach to low blood pressure episodes be exercise?Or treating the problem rather than the symptoms??

There is no "excess qunatities" that can be quantified. That depends on your life style and your diet. People on low carb need more salt. Get informed.

There is plenty of excess salt in our foods. Get real and get informed.
People on a low carb do not need more salt. Get informed.... Unless people on low carb are only eating animal protein and therefore not getting there organic sodium and potassium from fruit and veges!!
Table salt is poison-it's white and refined.

[majkinetor]

Thats embarrassing dude

Stop getting information about medical things from the daily newspaper.

[jimmylesante]

I see your response was logical and reasonable as always . I will agree to disagree and i'm sure you'll agree to still remain misinformed . I'm done with this thread.

[ofonorow]

I use C, D, magnesium, arginine, fish oil and potassium. The C, D, magnesium, arginine and fish oil were keeping me out of the danger zone, but when I recently added potassium my BP dropped from borderline hypertension to optimal (dropped 18mm systolic and 10mm diastolic). The adequate intake for men is 4.7g and I wasn't getting near that. I now get an extra 2g daily by having a can of low sodium V8 juice, which has 1g and by using potassium chloride in some foods or dissolved in water. I tried using the KCl like table salt but didn't like the flavor. When I first started using C, that dropped my BP by about 5mm systolic and diastolic.

Thank you for this very interesting report. The number of 4.7 g of potassium is interesting. Can you provide a reference?

[bbtri]

Here's one reference: http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/minerals/potassium/
The same number can be found in several other locations. One interesting thing on that page was that primitive diets provide 7 times as much potassium as sodium, so people claiming to eat paleo should be getting several times the amount of potassium as sodium.
The mechanism of action of potassium is that low potassium makes you retain sodium, which increases blood volume, so getting adequate potassium if you were low on it acts like a diuretic. A couple of trials I looked at said the blood pressure response to potassium takes a few weeks, but for me the response was almost immediate, and at a larger magnitude than they reported. Maybe that's because I was already trying everything else and potassium was the missing ingredient.
This article gives a brief explanation of how the kidneys recycle potassium and sodium: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium Maybe my kidneys don't do a good job of holding on to the potassium.