We’ve all heard that salt raises blood pressure but what about other everyday things that we might not have heard about?
The following information has been gathered and compiled through personal experience while traveling, teaching T’ai Chi, Qi Gong, Chinese Herbal medicine, martial arts and other health related subjects. The article also contains feedback from students and anecdotal information from readers of my columns. The following are my opinions and deductions from those sources.
Cigarettes are vasoconstrictors, which means they constrict the blood vessels. When that happens it takes a higher blood pressure to pump the blood to the brain and other parts of the body. If the tiny blood vessels in the brain have become hardened by lack of collagen, the likelihood of a rupture is rises with the blood pressure. Cigarettes and cigarette smoke destroys collagen. Collagen is also a component of the spinal discs and keeps the skin soft and pliable.
Licorice has been a known cause of headaches, low blood calcium levels (hypokalemia) and high blood pressure. Licorice contains a host of ingredients including one called saponin which contains the chemical glycyrrhizin. Glycyrrhizin acts like a corticosteroid, causing the body to lose potassium and retain sodium. One of the side effects of sodium retention is excess fluid and higher blood pressure. Loss of potassium causes weakness, fatigue, paralysis and can cause heart failure. If you’re on high blood pressure medication, particularly a diuretic (water loss pill) it can cause an even higher loss of potassium.
A large percentage of the licorice imported into the US is not used in candy, it’s used in tobacco products. If you chew or use other tobacco products, you may find that they disappear if you kick the habit. All tobacco products that contain licorice can cause excess loss of potassium and the resulting symptoms.
Most licorice candy is actually flavored with oil from the herbal anise. Anise oil doesn’t appear to cause any of the problems connected with licorice. You can get deglycyrrhizinated licorice that doesn’t cause the problems regular licorice does. Check the labels to see what you’re getting if you’re determined to eat candy, licorice flavored candy in particular.
Chlorinated water damages red blood cells and inhibits their ability to carry oxygen. Lowered oxygen to the cellular level causes fatigue, symptoms of anemia and premature aging. Viruses and bacteria can’t live in an atmosphere that’s high in oxygen but thrive in low oxygen environments. When the body is deprived of oxygen the heart beats faster in an effort to deliver sufficient oxygen to the cells. A higher heart rate means higher blood pressure. A pinch of vitamin C will neutralize the chlorine almost instantly and if you use only a pinch, you won’t taste the vitamin C or the chlorine.
Garlic has been used for centuries to help lower blood pressure and science has proven that to be true. But, the garlic you take makes a difference. You know what you’re getting with fresh whole garlic but garlic pills can be a different story. Most garlic pills are 10% or less garlic and 90% or more vegetable oil. Read the label before you buy.
Calcium, vitamin E and daydreaming have all been shown to lower blood pressure levels. Daydreaming can be beneficial for lots of ailments, whether they’re physical, mental, emotional or spiritual.
Leave Your Comments