I took this photo while walking above Spiral Beach on Vancouver Island. Spending time in nature or by the water is a great way to lower blood pressure — the theme of today’s podcast episode, which was prompted by a Whether question. So I’ll give you the question first, and then I’ll answer it in the context of a Brain Booster, Health Headline, and What’s Missing from Modern Medicine?
Can you tell me WHETHER it’s better to tackle high blood pressure with western medicine or alternative medicine? I have never smoked, do not drink alcohol, I weigh 73kg at height of 1.78cm (so not obese) and I exercise six out of seven days a week, for a minimum of one hour per day with fit-cross, swimming, running and cycling. My blood pressure sometimes spikes to 160/85 with low pulse (ranging between 40-60). I appreciate you being genuine and open to everything.
This question is relevant to everyone because chronically sustained high blood pressure — known as hypertension — acts as a constant, silent, physical strain on your entire circulatory system: heart, blood vessels and lymphatics. Over a period of years, this excess force damages blood vessels and organs, including your brain, and becomes a primary driver of life-threatening cardiovascular events like heart attacks and strokes. Untreated blood pressure throughout midlife (between the ages 40 and 65) more than doubles the risk of developing dementia, but it rarely shows obvious symptoms until you’ve sustained significant damage. So unless you get your blood pressure checked regularly, you don’t know that you have hypertension. Tune in to find out how to measure it correctly, and why most doctors are not taking your blood pressure properly!
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Today’s Health Headline is: sugar — NOT salt — is the biggest driver of high blood pressure.
That doesn’t mean salt plays no role at all. But it means that if you cut out sugar and refined starches, you might not need to worry about salt. Let me explain, because this comes as a big surprise to most people.
In episode 6, Skip the sugary sip because every soft drink is a bullet to your brain, I discussed the biochemistry of sugar in relation to brain health. And you’ll recall that sugar (chemical name sucrose) is made up of two smaller sugar molecules: fructose and glucose. And just as fructose and glucose are involved in different biochemical pathways in our brain, they also follow different biochemical pathways in relation to their influence on blood pressure.
But before we get into the biochemistry, it’s important to become aware of where the sugar in our diet is coming from. Even if you don’t have a sweet tooth, you don’t drink soft drinks, you don’t eat biscuits and pastries, and you don’t put sugar in your tea or coffee, you might still be eating a lot of sugar because it’s hidden in what you’d consider to be healthy or savoury foods. I’m talking about sugar that’s added to processed foods — not the sugar that occurs naturally in vegetables and fruits like carrots and berries.
So where might sugar be lurking in your diet that you don’t realise? Here’s one spoiler alert: a cup of sushi rice typically contains one to two tablespoons (3-6 teaspoons) of added sugar, depending on the chef or recipe.
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What’s missing from modern medicine is effective advice on how to lower blood pressure without using medications.
Here are my top eight non-pharmaceutical ways to reduce your blood pressure, in addition to quitting sugar and managing stress:
- Reap the benefits of sleep
- Abstain from alcohol
- Move to improve
- Rustle up some muscle
- Step into a sauna — which I covered in detail in episode 12 part 1 and part 2
- Breathe, don’t seethe
- Pay attention to potassium
- Stop using mouthwash!
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Click here to watch the episode on my YouTube channel, or listen to Healing with Dr Helena on your preferred podcast platform. I’ll publish a new episode every Monday, and you’ll receive an email notification that morning. Please subscribe to my podcast or YouTube channel so that you don’t miss an episode, and email your whether questions to: podcast@drhelenapopovic.com
If you’re happy for me to play your voice on my podcast, you can provide an audio file. Otherwise, you can type your question for me to read out.
I very much look forward to answering your questions, and exploring how we can all build a smarter brain, stronger body and deeply fulfilling life.
Please share this Health-e-Byte with anyone who might find my podcast useful or interesting.
