Other than BP medications, like to hear from the board members what food/supplements they might had tried to help their BP. It appears there are a lot of things that may help lower BP and I like to start to try some. I like to hear some real life experience before I blindly start on my own.

I am currently taking Norvasc 10mg and Clonidine 0.2mg for control BP. I think my diet is already "fairly healthy". My goal is to reduce my BP with help of the right type of food/supplement and reduce drug dosage.

Any advise will be appreicated.

Have you heard about the DASH diet?

A major study, published for the first time in the New England Journal of medicine a few years ago on high blood pressure showed for the first time that simply eating more fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy foods can signficantly lower a person's blood pressure even WITHOUT weight loss or salt restriction. And the higher the person's blood pressure, the better the dietary regimen worked.


According to the study, DASH worked quickly, within two weeks, and it worked in everyone who tried it regardless of their initial blood pressure: men and women, blacks and whites, young and old, thin and overweight.



The findings suggest that the diet could replace medication in people with mild hypertension, and for people on the verge of developing high blood pressure, the diet could prevent them from crossing the line, according to Dr. Laura Svetkey, who led the Duke University portion of the multi-center study.

The study was funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and was jointly conducted by Duke, Johns Hopkins University, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, and Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research.


This diet is quite novel because it doesn't require the same degree of deprivation as do current dietary treatments. Instead, you are actually ADDING healthier foods, which may be easier to maintain on a long-term basis.
Also, more good news.... the diet is consistent with all other national recommendations for preventing cancer, heart disease and other chronic diseases.

The diet included four to five daily servings of fruits and four to five daily servings of vegetables, about twice the average American consumption of fruits and vegetables. It also included three daily servings of low-fat dairy foods. Despite the fact that the DASH diet is a reduced fat diet, participants also ate peanuts, cookies, meats and other high-calorie foods in moderation. All foods were bought off the grocery store shelf and required no special preparation. The participants were NOT ALLOWED TO LOSE WEIGHT OR RESTRICT SALT believe it or not, so that researchers could study the effects of the diet independent of all other factors.

The 459 participants in the multi-center study ate one of three diets for approximately 11 weeks: either the DASH diet; a typical American diet high in fat but low in fruits and vegetables; or a typical American diet with added fruits and vegetables.

Check it all out here:


http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache:7LNeEv1s7N8J:www.nhlbi.ni h.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash/+%22dash+diet%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8


zuzu xx

Zuzu,

I know about the DASH diet and my diet do include many vage and fruits. What I after was is there any one or more vage or fruits that someone on this board had tried and found helpful to lower BP.

For example. I read that eating 4 stalk of celery daily would help lower BP. Has anyone try that?

zuzu,

The core of the DASH plan is severe sodium restriction and weight loss by calorie restriction...why they mention the 3100 calorie diet as opposed to a 1600 calorie diet, only the lord knows.
The participants were NOT ALLOWED TO LOSE WEIGHT OR RESTRICT SALT believe it or not, so that researchers could study the effects of the diet independent of all other factors.
That statement has me confused...the diet is ALL salt restriction wherefores and howto's!
I really don't think anyone would decribe it as a "fruit diet" but rather a "calorie and salt restrictive diet."
Believe me, a diet consisting of 2 items only: fruit and salt encrusted Amish pretzels would have most people's BP off the wall...even with 20 servings of fruit.

The earliest of the salt restrictive diets devised before even the thiazides existed was the RICE DIET...basically all the white rice you could eat plain...with a teeny amount of fruit and vegetables. It worked beautifully...at least till the dieters all committed suicide (I guess with enough rice;
Hara Kiri:D)

Zip- Mea culpa. I should have read my dates! I made a mistake by giving the earliest lowdown from the very FIRST studies published. In my eagerness, I failed to see, in the Duke Univ. newsletter I was reading, the following: ( I am putting it in quotes but paraphrasing so as not to use copyrighted material as per board guidelines):

"The next research phase will be testing the DASH diet together with salt restriction to evaluate whether this can lower blood pressure even more dramatically"....

Apparently the original study indeed was with NO SALT RESTRICTION. Simply low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and total fat, emphasizing fruits, veggies, and low-fat dairy, but including whole grains, fish, poultry and nuts. It involved reduction of red meat, and sweets/sugar.

They have now of course concluded that sodium restriction is essential and now there are, I believe, two DASH diets one can use. One with sodium restricted to 2400mg daily and one @1500mg.

zuzu xx

:) Zip- Mea culpa. I should have read my dates! I made a mistake by giving the earliest lowdown from the very FIRST studies published. In my eagerness, I failed to see, in the Duke Univ. newsletter I was reading, the following: ( I am putting it in quotes but paraphrasing so as not to use copyrighted material as per board guidelines):

"The next research phase will be testing the DASH diet together with salt restriction to evaluate whether this can lower blood pressure even more dramatically"....

Apparently the original study indeed was with NO SALT RESTRICTION. Simply low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and total fat, emphasizing fruits, veggies, and low-fat dairy, but including whole grains, fish, poultry and nuts. It involved reduction of red meat, and sweets/sugar.

They have now of course concluded that sodium restriction is essential and now there are, I believe, two DASH diets one can use. One with sodium restricted to 2400mg daily and one @1500mg.

zuzu xx

I've lowered my bp eating more veggies and fruits and salt restrictions. Yes, I've also read that 4/5 stalks of celery lowers bp. also sweet potatoes due to its high content of potassium. I eat 2 a week.I went from 197/106 to 140/70. Of course I still am working on this.

[QUOTE] I have restricted salt to my diet and I increased fruits and veggies to my diet. I read that high fiber low fat diets lower bp. And yes, I have tried the 4/5 stalks of celery per day and lower my bp. also sweet potatoes lower bp due to high potassium.

Jut,

I am surprised celery can help reduce BP due to its relative high salt content. Do you need to prepare the celery in any specal way or you just eat it raw? I may give celery a try. BTW, how long you had to eat them before you saw the effect on BP?

Kato

Yeah me too.

I always thought that celery was the SINGLE vegetable with a high sodium content (we won't talk about potato chips though:D:D.)

I found this article about Celery and Hypertension:

3-n-butyl phtalide in celery for lower blood pressure
Although celery is especially high in sodium and people with high blood pressure are put on low-sodium diets, celery seems to lower blood pressure! This was discovered by a medical student at the University of Chicago Medical Center named Quang T. Le. Le's father was diagnosed with mild hypertension. Instead of reducing sodium or taking drugs, Le's father chose to eat a quarter-pound of celery every day. After a week, his blood pressure dropped from 158/96 to 118/82. This observation let to study by Dr. William Elliott and Quant T. Le. They found that very small amounts of a chemical in celery called 3-n-butyl phtalide lowered blood pressure (by relaxing the smooth muscles that line the blood vessels) in rats by 12-14% and lowered cholesterol by about 7 %. Interestingly, the comparable dose in humans would be about four stalks of celery.

The chemical "apigenin" in celery dilates the blood vessels and may contribute to preventing high blood pressure.

I understand that celery also contains a mild diuretic(sp?). Some people are far more salt sensitive than others. I cut back on salt in our diet, my BP remained the same, my DH saw his go from 130/80 to 110/70. Same diet, same amount of salt.

I don't know if the vitamin supplements help, but I take them anyway. If I don't, I see the BP go up, but since it is usually in conjunction with business travel which also involves stress, eating out all the time, and probably more alcohol, I can't say there is a direct link. I do seem to do better with the BP when traveling if I remember to take the vitamins, so maybe there is something to it.

Since being diagnosed I've added garlic and extra vitamin C. I also take a calcium supplement with magnesium and zinc. This reportedly works for some people, though the study said more men than women for some reason. I need to take the calcium anyway, so it makes sense to take it in this form.

:cool: Jut,

I am surprised celery can help reduce BP due to its relative high salt content. Do you need to prepare the celery in any specal way or you just eat it raw? I may give celery a try. BTW, how long you had to eat them before you saw the effect on BP?

Kato
:cool: I can't say how it works for others but for me it was a godsend. I have been battling hbp for 20+ yrs and finally after many other illnesses, I am taking this matter seriously. I've had 2 heart attacks :rolleyes: :rolleyes: And I've finally gotten the message. I exercise in winter months 30/45 min. on treadmill and spring, summer and fall I walk 2 hours a day or 10,000 steps. I read an article in Woman's World that said celery would help. I've tried it for 3/4 months and my bp is coming down. At one point it was 225-106. It is now 140/80 with pulse of 75. My diet is high fiber low fat. As a matter of fact, my last visit 1/20/04 it was 135/70. things can only get better. I don't necessarily like the foods I eat but they are quite healthful.

Kato,
Thanks for the good chemical info on the butyl phthalide and the apigenin.

It caused me to look in the USDA and reasses my belief that celery was a "salty" vegetable. Not so: 100 grams (near 1/4 pound) contains 269 Mg. K+ but only 80 mg. Na+. A VERY nice mix. AND at 14 calories, it is a dieter's dream (sans the cream cheese, that is.:D)
I'm going on the celery bandwagon for a 1 month trial...2 stalks a day should give me the 1/4 pound. (I can use the fiber also, even if it's more insoluble fiber than soluble...everything helps.)

Well, I ate cerlery for 2 weeks. No change on my BP at all.

Ca va....next week we'll all try CARROTS?:D

I agree that celery can help lower BP. So can haws, but it's better to take them after meals coz they are a bit acidic. Just add water (and honey, optional) to the haws and drink.

Thanks for reminding me. I have forgotten to eat my celery the last couple of days. I went to the fridge and got my ziplock out. Munching away while I read all the post.
I find if I cut the stalks into two and stick them in a ziplock, they dont wilt on me. It seems to stay very crispy.