Blood Pressure
Habitual Coffee Consumption Lowers Blood Pressure
While on the subject of blood Pressure, here’s an interesting little tidbit from a medical journal:
Coffee Consumption and Blood Pressure
This study examines the relationship between coffee consumption and blood pressure. Results gathered from previous experimental studies on humans had been inconsistent, reporting either positive or negative correlations, or finding no association.
The relationship between habitual coffee consumption and blood pressure was investigated in an epidemiological study of 3336 male self-defense officials aged 48-56 in Japan. Average coffee consumption over the previous year was assessed via a questionnaire.
Findings indicated an inverse association between habitual coffee intake and blood pressure that were independent of obesity, glucose intolerance, smoking and alcohol consumption.
Intake of caffeine-containing green tea was unrelated to blood pressure.
The authors also found that progressively decreasing systolic and diastolic blood pressures matched increasing levels of coffee intake. Further studies are needed to understand the underlying mechanism of this response.
European Journal of Epidemiology 14 (1998)
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Cholesterol and Garlic
Improving Cholesterol Levels
Exercise, weight-reduction and stopping smoking are the prescribed methods for improving cholesterol levels. Another way to look after your heart and blood-pressure is by taking care with fats. But research has also revealed the role of aged garlic in balancing HDL and LDL in the blood.
This article comes from a piece of personal experience that I think might be worth sharing. Several years ago, I went for a thorough check-up at our local hospital, and part of the associated blood work was a cholesterol level check – something I had never had before.
When I returned for the reports, everything was fine. But one thing stood out. My doctor commented that my HDL / LDL levels were perfect – picture book, in fact. She seemed surprised, and so was I. Though I live as healthily as possible, and was certainly getting plenty of exercise at the time, it surprised me to have such a noteworthy report. I concluded that I might be fortunate in having a good HDL / LDL balance genetically.
HDL / LDL Balance – What It Means
You probably know that the balance of these two lipoproteins – high-density lipoprotein and low-density lipoprotein – is an indication of coronary health. Lipoproteins are formed in the liver by the binding of fats to proteins, to enable cholesterol to be carried in the bloodstream, which is water-based.
When too much low-density lipoprotein circulates in the blood, it allows cholesterol to build up as plaque on the arteries that feed the heart and brain, and the individual is at risk of coronary heart disease or a stroke. On the other hand, higher levels of high-density lipoprotein in the blood lower the risk of coronary heart disease, possibly by carrying cholesterol away from the arteries and back to the liver, where it is processed for excretion from the body.
The more LDL-cholesterol you have in your blood, the greater your risk of heart disease. The higher your level of HDL-cholesterol, the better your prognosis is.
Garlic and HDL-Cholesterol
Some time later, I was researching garlic and had bought Garlic for Health by Benjamin Lau, MD, PhD, (1988 ISBN 0-941524-32-9), which deals specifically with research on aged garlic. One of the areas he researched was the effect of aged garlic on regulating lipid metabolism. Perhaps the best way to make my point is by a brief quote from his text:
“In this part of the study, we differentiated between low-density lipoproteins, considered to be detrimental to health, and high-density lipoprotein, known to protect against heart-attack and stroke. Those taking garlic experienced an initial rise in the level of LDL and VLDL. The initial rise was followed by a significant drop beginning in the third month. As the study progressed, subjects experienced an increase in HDL (high-density lipoprotein) (see Figure 6). In other words, garlic can reduce the levels of “bad” cholesterol while increasing the levels of “good” cholesterol.” (Pp. 13-14).
The Light-Bulb Moment
Reading this gave me one of those light-bulb moments, because I regularly take aged garlic capsules, and was certainly taking them at the time I had the cholesterol level check. I was already a fan of aged garlic, for its antibacterial and antifungal effects – now it appeared there was another very good reason to take it in one’s diet.
For anyone trying to achieve a good HDL / LDL balance, exercise, weight-reduction and stopping smoking are the prescribed methods. All of these are vital to good health and should be implemented. But it’s nice to know you can support your dietary and exercise measures by taking an herb that was initially proved to work in at least 65% of cases.
What about the other 35%? This is where it gets interesting. I’ll quote Dr Lau again:
“Reviewing their dietary history, we discovered that they were heavy meat-eaters with diets consisting regularly of steak, pastries, and ice-cream, particularly during the evening meals. When we incorporated dietary modification for these individuals, lowering of lipids was then observed in those who were able to follow the recommended dietary changes. Our conclusion is that garlic should be used together with a good diet to achieve the best result.” (Pp. 15-16).
Caution
Note: In these tests, Dr Lau reported an initial “modest rise in cholesterol and triglycerides” in the first 2 months of the test as the aged garlic moved lipid deposits from the tissues, with normal serum lipid values being reached by 6 months. Be aware that this temporary result is to be expected if you have high LDL levels and are considering using aged garlic.
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High Blood Pressure
Blood Pressure Medication
Here are some thoughts on the experience I’ve had with blood pressure, which I know is a huge concern to many people. We had never had problems with it in my immediate family until my mom had an accident and fell down the stairs about 5 years ago (no broken bones, thank goodness). When they examined her at our local hospital they found her blood pressure was up and prescribed medication for it.
“Oh-Oh”
I picked up the medication from the pharmacy on the way home and once mom was settled I opened the packet. The first thing that caught my eye was a notice on the pack that said “DO NOT DISCONTINUE THIS MEDICATION”.
Alarm bells went off in my head immediately. I rang the clinic to check up and the receptionist said, “Yes, once you are on that medication you have to stay on it” – more and even louder alarm bells.
I got another appointment with the doctor and asked him if I could try to treat this naturally. He went rather red in the face, and asked me what I wanted to use. I told him I had experience in alternative remedies and I wanted to try her on Garlic and Hawthorne capsules. Rather grudgingly, he agreed to let me have a 3 months window to trial it.
Effect of Garlic and Hawthorne
Well, the upshot was that the hospital forgot about it, I put her on Garlic and Hawthorne capsules, and some six months later when a District Nurse was here we checked her blood pressure and it was found to be completly NORMAL. That would have been about 4 years before she died, and from then on, what with the visiting nurses and her admissions to hospital she would have had a pretty regular check kept on that blood pressure – and it remained normal until her final admission in February 2007, at which time it was “slightly elevated, but nothing to worry about.”
I have to add, that we do live on a healthy diet – for those blood pressure sufferers who are not adjusting their diet and don’t plan to, PLEASE don’t expect any kind of supplement to work a miracle. You have to also take responsibility for your eating and lifestyle habits. But if you do that, then taking the right supplements can hep you greatly.
I have a friend who used to own a service station and garage. Because of the extreme black circles around her eyes, I felt concerned enough one day as I filled my tank to ask her if she had problems with her kidneys and she said yes – it was her blood pressure medication. She was in her early 50s.
Side-Effects of Medication
Now I ask you – how many people are put on medication and kept on it for the rest of their lives – medication that causes side effects of this magnitude? It bears thinking about. I am not a doctor and I would hate to look like I am advising people, but my own mother is a case in point.
At 94/95 years old whenever she went in for Respite Care for a week per month to give me a break, she was the only elderly person in our small rest home and hospital complex who was not on medication of some kind – and in some cases there was medication upon medication to stop the side effects of this or that drug. Stacks of pills. Stacks of chemicals. I used to watch the meds trolley doing its rounds and shudder. I was grateful my mother wasn’t part of it. And frankly, I’m inclined to think that’s one reason she lived as long as she did.
People actually seem to use medication as a badge of honour. “Oh yes, now they’ve got me on XXX.” Or, “They’ve just changed my medication again to YYY.” Hmmmm…
Pharmaceutical drugs are fine for emergency situations. We have much to be grateful for there. But I recently saw a video clip of some dolly-bird rep of a pharmaceutical company on US television openly stating that her company wanted everyone to know that they needed her company’s products to stay well. As if the human body requires artificial chemicals to enable it to function normally and repair itself if given half a chance. What rubbish – what arrant, arrogant, money-grubbing rubbish!
The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.
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