Blood Pressure Help

[TypicalNYFan]

Hello, Board.

New guy here, a friend recommended this board to me for helping me get fit. Said there was a lot to be learned here, so I'll give it a shot. Here's a bit about me.

6'3, former athlete (O-Lineman, if that counts). Was pretty active through high school and college. Always been on the heavy side, but I kept it in control with sports and exercise and lifting. Around my Junior-Senior year of college, through the miracle of all my friends getting married, moving away for work, even myself settling down, somewhat, I became less active. Only problem is, like many young people, I didn't adjust my diet.

Fast forward to early March, I go in for a checkup and my weight was high (I expected as much. I wanted to join a gym and decided to get a physical first). I was a whopping 346 lbs. Even worse, my bp reached hypertensive levels. 140/100. Doctor offered medicine, but I declined. I want to at least take a shot at controlling this naturally before I resort to drugs. I mean, I am only 26.

Since March, I've lost about 33 lbs with diet and exercise. I've also been taking some herbal supplements. Pressur-Lo, which is supposed to be good based on reviews. Ubiquinol which is a broken down CoQ10 and celery seed extract which the lady assured me is good as well.

I've also been eating super-clean and doing cardio at least once, and sometimes twice a day. Was wondering if there was anything else in the way of supplements that I add to my diet. I would be greatly appreciative. Sorry if this is the wrong place.

[Purge]

http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/herb...pertension.htm

There's a few. Welcome to the boards, and good luck on your fitness goals.

[Valhallabound86]

Hello, Board.

New guy here, a friend recommended this board to me for helping me get fit. Said there was a lot to be learned here, so I'll give it a shot. Here's a bit about me.

6'3, former athlete (O-Lineman, if that counts). Was pretty active through high school and college. Always been on the heavy side, but I kept it in control with sports and exercise and lifting. Around my Junior-Senior year of college, through the miracle of all my friends getting married, moving away for work, even myself settling down, somewhat, I became less active. Only problem is, like many young people, I didn't adjust my diet.

Fast forward to early March, I go in for a checkup and my weight was high (I expected as much. I wanted to join a gym and decided to get a physical first). I was a whopping 346 lbs. Even worse, my bp reached hypertensive levels. 140/100. Doctor offered medicine, but I declined. I want to at least take a shot at controlling this naturally before I resort to drugs. I mean, I am only 26.

Since March, I've lost about 33 lbs with diet and exercise. I've also been taking some herbal supplements. Pressur-Lo, which is supposed to be good based on reviews. Ubiquinol which is a broken down CoQ10 and celery seed extract which the lady assured me is good as well.

I've also been eating super-clean and doing cardio at least once, and sometimes twice a day. Was wondering if there was anything else in the way of supplements that I add to my diet. I would be greatly appreciative. Sorry if this is the wrong place.

I think you'll find a positive correlation with weight loss and reduction of resting BP levels. I would be hesitant to recommend a plethora of BP lowering supplements at least at this point in the game. Have you retested your BP since losing weight?

[Starkk]

nitrates

[TypicalNYFan]

I think you'll find a positive correlation with weight loss and reduction of resting BP levels. I would be hesitant to recommend a plethora of BP lowering supplements at least at this point in the game. Have you retested your BP since losing weight?

Not recently. I tested it after losing about 20 lbs. The systolic was a bit higher. It was attributed to the possible stress of learning about my situation. (it really is stressful )

I realized that being in the clinic freaks me out and spikes my systolic numbers. I bought a home monitor and get fairly consistent readings.
I've got to admit... I'm scared of the machine. The nurse noticed that my hand started shaking and I started to breathe funny when she tried to test me once.

[badassidtrip]

Try to chill out a little. I was in the same spot you were five years ago. Like, the exact same spot, except I was three years younger. Now I'm 28, 215 lbs (still fat, can't wait to bulk), and my bp is 120/70. Keep working at it, give it time, and I bet you're looking and feeling a lot better with a much longer life expectancy in no time. It doesn't have to take five years- I did it with no idea what I was doing for the first four.

[Dewey99]

Hawthorn Berry is cheap and may help you with your BP. I agree that losing weight will probably make the single biggest difference.

[TypicalNYFan]

Try to chill out a little. I was in the same spot you were five years ago. Like, the exact same spot, except I was three years younger. Now I'm 28, 215 lbs (still fat, can't wait to bulk), and my bp is 120/70. Keep working at it, give it time, and I bet you're looking and feeling a lot better with a much longer life expectancy in no time. It doesn't have to take five years- I did it with no idea what I was doing for the first four.

Thanks, I appreciate it.

I think chilling out is the number 1 thing I have to do. I'm already a worrier by nature. This literally keeps me up at night. Plus, I made the mistake of googling the worse possible scenarios. I screwed myself up even more. Gonna keep eating clean and working out and consulting my doc. Gonna give myself a couple months before I start to consider medication. I really wouldn't wish this feeling on my worst enemy.

[aaronuconn]

What's your BP now with your weight loss?

[TypicalNYFan]

What's your BP now with your weight loss?

I dunno. I haven't checked it in a few. Not trying to drive myself crazy. It's by my GF's house. I'll have to check when I see her this weekend.

[Caponetta]

Congratulations on losing the 30+ lbs. keep it up and you should see your bp return to normal. Also consider tracking your current eating habits, a low sodium diet can really aid in lowering your blood pressure.

[humanpuck]

Congratulations on losing the 30+ lbs. keep it up and you should see your bp return to normal. Also consider tracking your current eating habits, a low sodium diet can really aid in lowering your blood pressure.

Banana's help too

[itzDodge]

Congratulations on losing the 30+ lbs. keep it up and you should see your bp return to normal. Also consider tracking your current eating habits, a low sodium diet can really aid in lowering your blood pressure.

The japanese consume 2x the sodium we do iirc and their BP is fine. It's our obesity problems in america that cause these other health related issues. To top it off fairly certain its the chloride not the sodium that raises BP, one study using sodium bicarbonate showed no change relative but I'm speaking off the top of my head so I could be wrong.


OP, just keep losing weight, the numbers will eventually come down. If you want good health the best way to achieve that is to become healthy. Just keep working on it man, set goals to keep yourself towards a set destination and then maintain course.

[TypicalNYFan]

Congratulations on losing the 30+ lbs. keep it up and you should see your bp return to normal. Also consider tracking your current eating habits, a low sodium diet can really aid in lowering your blood pressure.

Banana's help too

The japanese consume 2x the sodium we do iirc and their BP is fine. It's our obesity problems in america that cause these other health related issues. To top it off fairly certain its the chloride not the sodium that raises BP, one study using sodium bicarbonate showed no change relative but I'm speaking off the top of my head so I could be wrong.


OP, just keep losing weight, the numbers will eventually come down. If you want good health the best way to achieve that is to become healthy. Just keep working on it man, set goals to keep yourself towards a set destination and then maintain course.

Thanks a lot for the support, guys. If one good thing has come from this, it's that it forced me to get serious about my health sooner, rather than later. No more "I'll get serious this summer" or "Once I settle into work, I'll get a gym membership". The road starts here and now. Looking forward to sharing my progress with this board. I repped all those that I could.

[Starkk]

banana is

[Caponetta]

The japanese consume 2x the sodium we do iirc and their BP is fine. It's our obesity problems in america that cause these other health related issues. To top it off fairly certain its the chloride not the sodium that raises BP, one study using sodium bicarbonate showed no change relative but I'm speaking off the top of my head so I could be wrong.


OP, just keep losing weight, the numbers will eventually come down. If you want good health the best way to achieve that is to become healthy. Just keep working on it man, set goals to keep yourself towards a set destination and then maintain course.

You're correct, its the combination of Obesity and High Sodium intake. Here's a study regarding the correlation. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2155002

"The water retention in obese subjects increases absolute volume that is predominantly redistributed in the cardiopulmonary area, leading to augmented venous return and cardiac output. These changes in association with a total peripheral resistance considered inappropriately normal, are the main hemodynamic characteristics of obesity-related hypertension."

You spiked my curiousity about the chloride topic, will definetly check that out., Repped for new information.

[itzDodge]

Thanks a lot for the support, guys. If one good thing has come from this, it's that it forced me to get serious about my health sooner, rather than later. No more "I'll get serious this summer" or "Once I settle into work, I'll get a gym membership". The road starts here and now. Looking forward to sharing my progress with this board. I repped all those that I could.

Good luck to you man, it's a long road but one certainly worth traveling. The boards can be very supportive, there are various sub forums you might find to be helpful tools in keeping you motivated.

[itzDodge]

You're correct, its the combination of Obesity and High Sodium intake. Here's a study regarding the correlation. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2155002

You spiked my curiousity about the chloride topic, will definetly check that out., Repped for new information.

Definitely, it's important athletes not limit any electrolyte too much as well. Here's a study showing sodium bicarbonate decrease BP(in hypertensives) and sodium chloride has no effect. http://journals.lww.com/jhypertensio...cts_on.10.aspx

[XCriticalBenchX]

Not smart at all IMO. Your blood pressure was high, in relation to your weight more than likely so you had a legit reason to believe those hypertensive numbers were correct. So, with arterial pressures being high, and elevated pressures slowly wreaking havoc upon your cardiac, vascular, and renal systems, you declined immediate medical intervention. The smart approach would have been to pharmacologically manage blood pressure initially, and then attempt to control it naturally through diet, supplements, training etc. so you can gradually wean off of your medication in an attempt to completely eliminate it and stay the natural route.

There are many things out there naturally do this. You need to go back to the doctor, get your levels checked, and if they came down, great but you allowed extra days of damage than need be so just keep doing what your doing. Or do the approach I said. Regardless, its your body, so you are responsible for any decisions you choose to do. My approach to this sort of thing, previously working in a cardiac ICU, may be slightly different. I am very pro pharma intervention.

Mike

[TypicalNYFan]

Not smart at all IMO. Your blood pressure was high, in relation to your weight more than likely so you had a legit reason to believe those hypertensive numbers were correct. So, with arterial pressures being high, and elevated pressures slowly wreaking havoc upon your cardiac, vascular, and renal systems, you declined immediate medical intervention. The smart approach would have been to pharmacologically manage blood pressure initially, and then attempt to control it naturally through diet, supplements, training etc. so you can gradually wean off of your medication in an attempt to completely eliminate it and stay the natural route.

There are many things out there naturally do this. You need to go back to the doctor, get your levels checked, and if they came down, great but you allowed extra days of damage than need be so just keep doing what your doing. Or do the approach I said. Regardless, its your body, so you are responsible for any decisions you choose to do. My approach to this sort of thing, previously working in a cardiac ICU, may be slightly different. I am very pro pharma intervention.

Mike

I go back in late June. I'll see how things go then. I'm not totally against it. I just don't want that to be my first resort. I understand what you're saying though. Thanks for the input.

[ComputerHabit]

Read about raw garlic as a remedy. Chinese have been doing for thousands of years.

Also baby aspirin may help I hear.

[ComputerHabit]

Read about raw garlic as a remedy. Chinese have been doing for thousands of years.

Also baby aspirin may help I hear.

Btw garlic works. I was in the 155's range. Started eating one raw clove a day with morning supplements. Two weeks later I'm at 120 ish

[eatyourspinach]

Banana's help too

Potatoes as well.

[Starkk]

Btw garlic works. I was in the 155's range. Started eating one raw clove a day with morning supplements. Two weeks later I'm at 120 ish

but at what cost

[mmafighterskiba]

Hawthorn Berry is cheap and may help you with your BP. I agree that losing weight will probably make the single biggest difference.

Was going to recommend hawthorn berry as well!

[itzDodge]

but at what cost

unintentional celibacy I wager

[TypicalNYFan]

Btw garlic works. I was in the 155's range. Started eating one raw clove a day with morning supplements. Two weeks later I'm at 120 ish

but at what cost

unintentional celibacy I wager

This exchange made me chuckle.

I did hear that garlic works. Would a garlic extract work just as well, or would it have to be ACTUAL, LIVE garlic?

One of the supplements I'm taking now says it has Garlic bulb in it. I haven't checked my BP since I've started taking it, so I don't know if it's worked yet. (Kinda scared )

[aaronuconn]

but at what cost

A lack of coitus from inability to speak to females without stinging their nostrils. However, vampires probably don't mess with him anymore.

[CCCP77]

Read about raw garlic as a remedy. Chinese have been doing for thousands of years.

Also baby aspirin may help I hear.

x2 on the garlic. Cayenne pepper also supposedly helps with BP, google that for more info.

[XCriticalBenchX]

I go back in late June. I'll see how things go then. I'm not totally against it. I just don't want that to be my first resort. I understand what you're saying though. Thanks for the input.

Since you are a respectable guy, Celery Seed Extract 75mg 2x per day. It mimmics a calcium channel blocker and a mild diuretic. You wont get much better OTC IMO. High doses of Hawthorn Extract can build up and function similar to a mild ace inhibitor, the gold standard of hypertension from what I've read.

Mike