One Cause of High Blood Pressure

[HappyHiker]

Like me, you've probably read that some people with HBP are salt-sensitive and should reduce their sodium intake. But at the same time, one rarely reads that concurrently, we should greatly increase our intake of potassium-rich foods--like bananas, baked potatoes (with skin), dried apricots, beans, leafy greens, etc.

One article I read stated that HBP was virtually unknown among our early ancestors--and is still rare among those people today who consume a low-sodium diet.

Part of the article said:

"Our caveman forebears got around 11,000 mg of potassium daily and about 700 mg of sodium. Today, in the United States, that 11,000 mg has shrunk to 2,500 mg of potassium. Meanwhile, the sodium intake has increased from 700 mg to 4,000 mg."

And today, HBP is an epidemic--even among children.

I'm doing an experiment on myself to see if increasing my potassium, reducing sodium will lower my HBP. Supplements of potassium that are over the counter are pretty feeble--the highest only have 99mg of potassium. A prescription is required for more robust potassium supplements.

Reading labels finds sodium is high in many canned foods...hard to find items that are sodium-free or lightly salted.

[JaneV2.0]

Sodium is a problem for 25% of people with high blood pressure, I've read. People who eat variants of low carb typically need to eat more salt. But I do agree about potassium. I eat avocados and swill bone broth to make sure I get enough.

[catherine]

Reading labels finds sodium is high in many canned foods...hard to find items that are sodium-free or lightly salted.

Staying away from canned foods and eating fresh foods is the best. They need to salt canned stuff to preserve and replace some of the flavor that's lost in the processing of it. So if you can eat fresh spinach, potatoes, bananas, swiss chard, beet greens, clams, mushrooms, etc. you are FAR better off. To your point, I can't think of a hunter-gatherer that relied on his can-opener!

[Spartana]

OK the question is - how do they know that HBP wasn't common in our early ancestors? A neanderthal with a bp cuff ? :-). I eat a mostly raw foods vegan diet - probably very Neanderthal like - and I believe that keeps things like HBP in check.

[Tiam]

Are there studies for HBP and potassium uptake? I'd have to figure out what my mostly vegetarian diet affords me in terms of potassium.

[HappyHiker]

There's a wealth of information found here (http://www.naturalnews.com/027407_potassium_blood_pressure.html).

And yes, I already eat a lot of fresh vegetables and fruit, but have found high sodium amounts in canned beans, tomatoes and such...I rinse the beans to get rid of some salt, but that doesn't work for the tomatoes. Guess I should use dry beans, but that's a process to soak them and get them cooked to an edible state.

Just went to the grocery and stocked up on more bananas, avocados, and potatoes for baking. Bunches of spinach and green leaf lettuce and zucchini. A trip to the health food store will get me dried apricots.

[shadowmoss]

Use a slow cooker for the dried beans. Works with dried lentils and such as well. Or, you can use a modern pressure cooker if you want to get fancy. Cheaper and healthier than canned.

[Rosemary]

I don't have HBP, but I can really feel the difference when I eat salty food. I feel dessicated from head to toe - even my eyes feel dry. I find it difficult to drink enough water to compensate for a salty meal or snack. Salt adds flavor - well, saltiness - but I'm better off without it.

Before I switched my diet to being about 80% fruits and vegetables, I would notice this after having a particularly salty restaurant meal. I had chronic dry eyes and had to put lotion in them 1-2 times nightly. Now I still use eye drops at night, intermittently, but generally feel a lot better - unless I eat some chips & salsa or something really salted at a restaurant. Ordering salads, my favorite most of the time anyway, helps - as long as the dressing is on the side.

[Bethers]

Thank you for bringing this up. A few years back I was on a very low carb diet and was starting to have issues with high blood pressure and constipation. When I had some lab tests done, my potassium was very low. After looking at the low carb diet in general, I could see I wasn’t eating many high potassium foods and was getting a ton of salt in foods like frozen chicken, sausage, etc.

So, first I became very conscious of salt in my diet and ditched it as much as possible. But that didn’t really help, just kind of felt dehydrated. Then I decided to pump up the potassium with some low-sodium vegetable juice and avocadoes. Boy, that was like magic in that blood pressure came down and I felt sooo relaxed.

Because of the benefit, I really started watching the sodium content and upping dietary potassium. For the most part if you stay away from the processed stuff (cans,condiments, frozen) and eat mostly real/fresh (fruit, vegetables, beans, potatoes) you’ll be okay. It’s pretty frightening to look at labels and see the sodium content in things like a simple can of soup.

There are also plenty of recipe sites out there for low sodium work arounds. I also got a lot of good information from a book called “The High Blood Pressure Solution” by Richard D.Moore, MD, PhD

[HappyHiker]

I'm finding, more and more, how what we eat directly relates to our level of wellness...but still have to stay on guard to read labels and eat smartly and wisely. The more nutrient-rich whole foods I eat, the better are my mind and spirit.

Getting the results of my bi-annual blood panel gives me a road map of my body's chemical composition and direction to take to bolster areas and subtract from others.

Since going low-carb and eating more healthy fats, my blood lipids are quite marvelous. Now if I can get that pesky HBP down without medications, it will be great. Given my family's history of having HBP, maybe it's an impossibility, but I'll continue to try.

Being of emotional, hyper-active Hungarian stock doesn't help.

[gmpg54]

Potassium is 1 of the main components of heartbeat regularity,just be sure to stay within daily limits,to much or to little can have an adverse effect.

[Rosemary]

Given my family's history of having HBP, maybe it's an impossibility, but I'll continue to try. Being of emotional, hyper-active Hungarian stock doesn't help.

"Never say never," said the type A reader with low blood pressure despite all members of the previous two generations having shared high blood pressure.

[HappyHiker]

Thanks, Rosemary, for your encouragement! And you're right...never say never. I wonder if you get too much potassium from your food these days when so many foods have added sodium? That would an interesting dilemma, certainly.

[puglogic]

HH, what else have you tried adjusting in your lifestyle to get at the HBP?

For example, I am sodium-sensitive, but even cutting sodium down to next to nothing didn't budge my numbers. I eat a healthy amount of potassium (I love bananas, potatoes and apricots)

Exercise was the only thing that even helped a little, yoga a little more, losing more weight even a little more, but it wasn't until I started taking hawthorn berry that I got it back down into normal range.....for whatever reason, that was my magic bullet. Sodium/potassium might have been a factor in making it worse, but it's my genetics that cause the problems. All of my siblings, mother, father, etc. all have HBP.

Now I feel normalish. So try different other things if the potassium experiment doesn't help. Good luck!!

[reader99]

My MIL had HBP and while the docs were working to find the right meds for her she kept it down by consuming mass quantities of garlic - like a whole bulb in a day. They told her that she didn't have to be as strict about salt if she ate plenty of potassium rich foods. It's more about the balance of sodium and potassium than about the numeric amount of sodium by itself.