Tips for lowering your BP naturally

Whew! This one hits home a little bit.

A few years ago, my husband Patrick herniated a disk in his lower back. It was debilitating. Like, couldn’t walk, drag himself to the car to get the ER painful. (by the way, he was out of state, otherwise I would have driven him, duh).

This all happened when I was very new to the functional medicine world. I’m not even sure I had my FDN training at the time. If I remember correctly, I was just fascinated with health and starting to listen to biohacking and health podcasts!

We didn’t know if this would lead to surgery, but we started digging in and doing as much research as possible - how could we help his cells regenerate? Can you heal a herniated disc? Can your body repair after this much trauma? (hint: the answer is YES!!)

What does this have to do with high BP? Well, hubby always trended high BP. My family is weird, and we think it’s fun to lay on the living room floor, try to get as calm as possible, and compete with everyone else for the lowest blood pressure setting. For Patrick however, this stresses him out. Probably because his is usually on the higher end….which also stresses ME out….

So when he herniated his disc, his BP shot through the roof. And it would NOT come down - when you are in pain, this is a common side effect.

Thankfully, as we incorporated ALL the woo we could get our hands on to stimulate cell health, repair, support his blood pressure, and support his body.….he began to heal. His back repaired itself and within a year or so he was lifting weight and working out again. His blood pressure also came down.

Fast forward to 2018 - BP back up! Idk, I was diagnosed with cancer, it could be connected (!) …. ANYWAY. We hopped back on the natural train and BOOM down it came again.

Often, high BP is actually a signal that you have a mineral deficiency.

Disclaimer: none of the information in this blog is intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent a disease. Talk with your doctor or practitioner before making changes regarding an existing medical condition.

A 1999 study from the Department of Toxicology in a University in Finland stated,

“The mineral elements sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium play a central role in the normal regulation of blood pressure. In particular, these mineral elements have important interrelationships in the control of arterial resistance. These elements, especially sodium and potassium, also regulate the fluid balance of the body and, hence, influence the cardiac output. Evidence shows that the present levels of intake of mineral elements are not optimum for maintaining normal blood pressure but predispose to the development of arterial hypertension. Research results suggest that without sodium chloride (common salt) and other sodium compounds being added to the diet arterial hypertension would be virtually non existent. Moreover, blood pressure would not rise with age. In communities with a high consumption of added sodium, a high intake of potassium and, possibly, magnesium seem to protect against the development of arterial hypertension and the rise of blood pressure with age. A marked reduction of sodium intake is effective in treating even severe hypertension. A moderate restriction of sodium intake or an increase in potassium intake exert remarkable antihypertensive effects, at least in some hypertensive patients. Magnesium and possibly also calcium supplements may be effective in reducing blood pressure in some hypertensives. In hypertensive patients treated with drugs sodium restriction and potassium and magnesium supplementation enhance the therapeutic effect, reduce the number and dosage, and lessen the adverse effects of prescribed antihypertensive drugs. Hence, a fall in sodium consumption and increases in potassium and magnesium consumption are useful in preventing and treating arterial hypertension.”

Minerals are an amazing place to focus your energy when it comes to managing and lowering high blood pressure. You will often see the guideline to LOWER sodium, but minerals require balance. It may be more important to INCREASE potassium. Potassium is the counterbalance to sodium….the balance is more important for your heart health than the elimination of one. What MAY be a better way to think about it is this: ditch the regular table salt, and switch to Himalayan, Celtic, or any other mineral rich salt instead, and eat more bananas.

If you are still concerned about sodium being too high, you can consider Healthy Salt which is higher in mineral content, and lower in sodium.

As I mentioned in my UTI blog, when choosing natural remedies I generally prefer to go strong and use a mixture of potential options instead of waiting to see if one ingredient or compound helps.

Natural Support for High Blood Pressure

• Homeopathic Cell salts - a combination of minerals. I believe we used bioplasma 12 cell salt blend

• Pomegranate juice - 1 cup/day has been shown to lower blood pressure - thought to be due to the high antioxidant content.

• Bananas- high in potassium, a supporting mineral for high blood pressure

• Magnesium - used is over 500 processes in the body, this mineral is vital and quickly depleted under any form of stress

• Strawberries and Blueberries - a 2010 study showed that Anthocyanins (a type of flavonoid with antioxidant effects) was useful in the prevention of high blood pressure!

• Reduce stress - obviously! But seriously. Most people don’t take this crucial step seriously. Any mental, emotional, physical, perceived or real stress can impact your blood pressure and health in general! Incorporate regular stress relieving techniques and ad IN joy producing activities!

• Eliminte food sensitivities - just like any other stressors, foods that cause an immune system reaction and inflammation in your body can trigger high blood pressure as well.

• Switch to mineral rich salt instead of regular table salt and consider Healthy Salt (check with doctor or practitioner if sodium is ok for you)

Is this a chronic issue? Work with a practitioner, like myself, that can run labs to guide you in the right direction! Checking your food sensitivities, gut health, genetics, and mineral status can give you actionable steps individualized to YOU to address the problem right away.

If you are serious about moving forward with your health and working with a coach who can guide you, click the button below to sign up for a FREE call to see if working together is the right fit.

Not ready for one on one? Click the link below to download my Free smoothie guide and be the first to get notified when my new online group coaching program launches (pssst….its coming SOON!)

Sources:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1930921

https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/93/2/338/4597656

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090126173839.htm

I suffer from adrenal fatigue....what now?

Hey Hey Diva Friends!

Hey all! Thank you so much for taking the survey recently - if you haven't had a chance yet please take 2 minutes to answer few questions below so I can provide more information and fun content that YOU want...

I was reviewing your answers and one question stuck out to me and I got really excited to answer it!
 

"I suffer from adrenal fatigue like many women.
How can gut health, diet, or exercise help?"

I LOVE THIS QUESTIONS because I too have struggled with adrenal fatigue. In fact being aware of adrenal fatigue and the importance of hormones was what prompted to seek natural healing paths and ultimately led me to FDN!

 Gut health, diet, and exercise are CRUCIAL components in the healing process so let's talk about each one...But before I jump into that, what IS adrenal fatigue? HPA axis dysfunction is the sciency-term for what we commonly call adrenal fatigue. There's a lot of huffing and puffing going on about the name of it because the more we learn about what it actually is, the more we realize it's not that your adrenals are tired but it's actually a breakdown in your stress regulation system.
 

Your hypothalamus receives signals from your environment (mental, emotional, or external) that communicate stress. Your hypothalamus then translates that information to your pituitary gland and your pituitary gland tells your adrenals what hormones to pump out. When we are in an acute stress state your adrenals are pumping out adrenaline, cortisol, and other fight or flight hormones.

Typically, this stress goes away shortly and there is a feed back loop where your adrenals communicate back to your brain effectively shutting everything back down and your body returns to homeostasis. Adrenal fatigue is when this hypothalmus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has been activated so long, that the wires get crossed and the feedback loop is no longer effective. When this happens certain hormones become imbalanced and your body cannot regulate them in the appropriate ratios anymore. 

This is  when people begin to feel symptoms of fatigue, exhaustion, inability to cope with stress, blood sugar irregulation, anxiety and more.

There are many reasons that this can happen. Severe acute stress or trauma can induce adrenal fatigue, but more commonly in our society it's brought on by chronic stress. Chronic stress can be environmental (think mold or chemical overload), nutritional, mental/emotional, or physical. So let's talk about gut health, diet and exercise and they can help or hinder your healing process.

Gut Health 

Your gut is commonly called the "second brain" but some experts wish it was more accurately called the first brain. Your gut sends more signals to your brain than your brain does to your gut. That's right....your gut essentially controls your brain. All those little microbiota in there are crucial for brain health... 2 parts of the HPA axis are in....the BRAIN! 

You can get really in depth and talk about the science of how neurotransmitters and hormones are regulated in the gut, or you can go the woo-woo route and talk about how you manifest stress in the gut. It doesn't matter which angle you come from, the health of the gut is incredibly important for regulating your hormones AND your brain.

Diet

What helps your gut health the most but diet?  Anything from inflammation in the gut, to hyper permability (leaky gut), to gut dysbiosis (parasites or bacterial imbalances etc...) can be influenced in a positive or negative way from your diet.

• Foods can cause inflammation or they can calm it. 
• Foods can cause the tight junctions to open up in your gut lining or food can protect and soothe your gut lining.
• Certain foods can regulate hormones
• Food and fiber and regulate hormones, increase gut motility, and eliminate toxins (buildup of which can cause brain and hormone imbalances)

Thankfully, this is one aspect of our lives we have complete control over. When we commit to a pesticide free, chemical free, whole food approach to our diets, we lay the foundation for other changes to be more effective.

Exercise

While exercise is a helpful acute stress for healthy people, if you are in the exhaustive stage of adrenal fatigue (low cortisol, depleted hormones, tired often, inconsistent sleep and diurnal rhythms...) then exercise becomes another stressor that actually DEPLETES your body of the few resources it has left. 

When trying to heal from adrenal fatigue calming exercise like walking and yoga are the best options. As your body heals you can increase the amount of exercise but since chronic exercise and over exercise can damage the gut, that's just another reason to take it easy until you've made lots of headway in the right direction!

Takeaway:

Stress relief, the right nutrition, targeted healing for the gut, and health promoting movement are all steps you can take to reverse your adrenal fatigue, balance your hormones, calm anxiety and get back to your best life! I know because I've been there and this year, 2018, I feel better than ever! I'm not done healing and I have more to work on, but I have seen amazing sleep, more libido, and tons more energy just to name a few improvements! 

Interested in digging deep to find the root cause of your hormone imbalances? Click the link below to schedule a free call to find if working together is right for you!

Do you or have you struggled from adrenal fatigue? I'd love to hear your experience...share in the comments below!