Before we begin there is a central assumption for the treatment of high blood pressure, described in a recent issue of Red Flags Weekly, which needs to be examined.

What are the facts about high blood pressure?

High blood pressure increases your risk of heart disease and stroke.

No question on this fact.

What is the assumption?

Lowering your blood pressure with drugs will also lower your risk for heart disease and stroke.

Unfortunately this is not true. As evidenced by a recent study, there is a non-linear relationship between mortality and blood pressure. Eur Heart J. 2000 Oct;21(20):1635-8

As written in Red Flags Weekly:

"It is widely believed that randomized trials have proved that lowering blood pressure is beneficial. Actually, that is not true. All high blood pressure drugs have profound effects on the cardiovascular system, aside from their blood pressure lowering effect. How much, if any, of the observed risk reduction can be ascribed to the reduction in pressure and how much to the direct action of the drug on the cardiovascular system?

Motivated by the belief in the linear relationship of risk to pressure, many automatically attribute the risk reduction to the pressure reduction, ignoring the direct action of the drugs on the target outcomes. But results of a multitude of clinical trials make it clear that such a simplistic view cannot be true. In fact, evidence is mounting (especially from the newer trials) that it is the direct effects that are producing most, if not all, of the benefit and that the accompanying blood pressure reduction may be just an inconsequential side effect."

Maintaining proper nutrition can play a vitally important role in the management of high blood pressure, even before you are born. Aside from this, emotions can also play a major role in your own health and the health of your unborn child.

The unborn child is a rapidly developing, aware being, and factors experienced early on, such as a mother’s nutritional habits, may determine the child’s future health and well being. To find out more about how your unborn child is affected by decisions you make during pregnancy, I highly recommend the book The Secret Life of the Unborn Child, by Thomas Verny, M.D.

Attachment Parenting: Instinctive Care for Your Baby and Young Child, an outstanding book that I also highly recommend, explains the importance of adopting an instinctive style in caring for your newborn, including valuable aspects such as breastfeeding. The book also delves into the topic of how being a responsive parent and following your natural instincts can enhance your child’s well being.

Nutritionally speaking, it is clear from my own clinical experience that most people with high blood pressure respond to a reduction of sugars and grains in the diet.

Additionally, omega-3 fish oils have clearly been shown to be beneficial in the treatment of heart disease and are a must for dietary changes.

It is necessary to use a quality source of fish oil and cod liver oil to ensure that toxins and other impurities have been removed from the oil. If you are unable to find one locally, I offer Carlson’s brand fish oil and cod liver oil on this site, as I have found it to be of superior quality.

The majority of the time, implementing the above changes will provide amazing blood pressure normalizations. In cases where it does not there is generally an underlying anxiety or fear that is driving the person’s sympathetic nervous system to clamp down on the blood vessels.

There are a number of different approaches for treating this emotional aspect, and exercise is one of the most important as it has other cardiovascular benefits. If you have high blood pressure a good aerobic program is essential.

However, frequently exercise will not be sufficient to normalize strong fears or anxieties. Praying, deep breathing, relaxation exercises, and meditation seem to be more effective at relieving these types of concerns.

Psychological acupressure techniques like the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) also work remarkably well to relieve emotional stresses. You can review my free, 25-page report that discusses how to perform the EFT technique for more information. If you are unable to obtain the benefits you need from performing EFT yourself, you might consider seeking the help of a trained EFT therapist. To find a qualified EFT therapist, you can review Gary Craig's EFT Practitioner Referrals.

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