What You Can Do About High Blood Pressure
High Blood Pressure is a warning light on your body's dashboard. Pay Attention.
Ok. So you have high blood pressure.
Game over, right? There is nothing you can do but take medication. This will never go away, no matter what you do. You’re a helpless victim.
Wrong.
Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor, and this is not medical advice. Consult a medical professional before taking any steps, such as reducing medications. This post does not refer to gestational hypertension that is experienced during pregnancy. (Except if you are growing a food baby. We are absolutely talking about food babies.)
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High Blood Pressure is No Accident
An unhealthy Standard American Diet (SAD) causes you a lot of grief. One side effect could be high blood pressure. Your doctor will immediately give you drugs to solve this problem.
But! Your body dialed up the pressure for a reason.
Imagine the fine blood vessels in places like your brain, your toes, your fingers, your…. delicate parts.
These blood vessels are tiny. So blood flow gets cut down if there’s a problem, like all-body chronic inflammation. Imagine these small, small blood vessels unable to allow that life-giving liquid through.
Your body is no dummy, and it’s doing its best.
YOUR BODY: “What, the blood can’t get through? I’ll just dial up that pressure until it FORCES its way through. Yeah, that’s gonna cause some damage, but what else can I do? I’ll fix the damage when I got time. If that clown ever starts taking care of us…
So your body turns up the pressure. That’s another red flag. The solution? It sure isn’t medication. It’s a lifestyle change.
High Blood Pressure is Linked With Insulin Resistance
What causes high blood pressure in most people isn’t a mystery. We’ve known for a long time. Check out this study about the link between high levels of insulin in the blood and increased blood pressure. This is for those who carry extra weight and those who stay thin but have extra, unseen visceral fat around their internal organs.
Thin people can have hyperinsulinemia, too. However, most people with high blood pressure have gained some extra pounds, and weight gain is just one symptom of the overall body inflammation causing the problem.
It’s risky to be overweight. The study says that “excess body fat appears to be the main culprit. Results of studies conducted in different populations indicate that approximately 70% of the risk for essential hypertension can be ascribed to being overweight.” This is backed up by other medical literature out there, too.
Reduced sensitivity to insulin and hyperinsulinemia (too much insulin in the blood) seem to cause both extra weight AND high blood pressure. All of this leads to a variety of metabolic diseases such as pre-diabetes, diabetes type 2, and diabetes type 3 (dementia.) Heart disease and strokes make the list, too.
This is excellent news. Why? We can move the needle because it isn’t genetics or something we have no control over. We can reduce our chances of incurring these conditions. What has been done can be undone within reason.
I had High Blood Pressure, and I Fixed It.
I’ve had firsthand experience with this. At one point, my blood pressure was more than 140 over 90. That’s considered pretty high.
I’ve written about this plenty before. I was over forty pounds overweight and felt like garbage. I had to buy bigger clothes. I gave up running because I just couldn’t do it. All my joints hurt because of the inflammation. I had uncontrollable cravings, partially caused by how out of whack my whole system was getting. I was on a one-way train to nothing good.
The solution was obvious, although not easy. I cleaned up my diet and lost the weight. The blood pressure returned to a normal, healthy level and has been there ever since.
So What Can You Do About It?
“Ok, Tim, you’ve convinced me. I can lower my blood pressure by losing the weight. But how in the world can I do that? Nothing I’ve ever done has worked! It’s hopeless. I’m just gonna drown my sorrows in beer and nachos and wait for the end.”
Yeah, I know. It’s hard. But that doesn’t mean we should give up. You have a few paths you could take.
Option one: Do nothing. Don’t change a thing. Don’t take medication, don’t go to the doctor. Ignore the problem, and maybe it will go away.
This path will lead to things like heart attack, stroke, or some other metabolic disease.
Option two: Take blood pressure medication.
This is better than doing nothing. But.
Taking medication for this problem is like sweeping dirt under the carpet. You can’t see it anymore, although it’s still there.
It’s irrelevant if the medication has possible extra effects, like drowsiness, dizziness, swelling of the feet and ankles, a slow heart rate, a dry hacking cough that won’t go away, and muscle and bone pain. Everyone doesn’t get these side effects, but enough do.
One of the “side effects” of blood pressure medication can be cold hands and feet and poor circulation. That’s because your body cranked up the pressure ON PURPOSE to maintain circulation, and now you bypassed the controls.
Meanwhile, the high insulin levels are doing damage unchecked. This is a partial solution that doesn’t address the root cause.
Option three: Work on your health.
I hope you will take this option. There are plenty of ways to pull it off. Here are just a few:
Stop eating ultra-processed foods, switch to foods with less than three ingredients, and start weight training
Increase your daily protein intake to 1 g per pound of lean body weight and double the veggies while cutting out late-night snacking.
Switch to a plant-based whole foods diet that skips excess carbs.
Go KETO or Carnivore long enough to lose weight, then adopt a whole foods diet to maintain.
Learn how to do Intermittent Fasting and work your way up to longer fasts until any extra weight is gone.
Sign up for a meal-prep service and choose healthy options. Do a pantry purge and avoid fast food.
Option 4: Take Ozempic.
This might surprise you since I’m outspoken against unneeded medication and drugs. But the more I find out about Ozempic and other drugs like it, the more excited I get. They have drawbacks and unwanted effects, but it might be a good bet for those who have tried everything else.
There’s solid evidence that Ozempic and drugs like it can fix high blood pressure. Read about that here.
When I was suffering the most from binge eating, I could have used Ozempic.
Can’t Tackle it On Your Own? Get Help
All of this can be overwhelming. You might want to make a change but just don’t know how. I’ve been there. It’s depressing and feels impossible.
You need an ally to support you and help you find the right way for you. We are all individuals with different needs and starting points.
Start with your doctor and medical professionals. Always consult with them before making any changes. You can also try one of the following to help you:
Get a personal trainer at the gym and have them help you design a custom diet and exercise plan
Join forces with a few friends or acquaintances to form a walking/ food/ fitness challenge club
Talk to a health coach and develop an action plan that fits your needs.
This seems like an impossible mountain to climb. But thousands of others just like you have done it.
YOU can do it.
My Reason Why:
I became a Certified Health Coach because I was a victim of ultra-processed foods and a slave to society’s food programming all my life. It made me an overweight binge eater with multiple problems. I got healthy with the help of a coach, so I know how powerful personal support can be.
Now, I help clients to set and reach their own fitness goals. Unfortunately, not everyone can afford coaching.
That’s why I set up this newsletter: to spread free information and support.
Become a paid subscriber to join my coaching community chat.
Over the weekend, I will start a chat for paid subscribers to support you in goal setting and accountability. We can get down to your specific issues and answer questions.
This is an opportunity to make positive changes in your life. Let me help you come up with a plan!
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