My Heart Hurts

     A few months ago I made a rare visit to the doctor. I was having pains in my chest and weird "tremors" in my heart some nights before I fell asleep. I knew something was up and decided to finally figure out what it was. As it turns out, my blood pressure on that day was 153/91 (normal is considered to be 120/80) and also had an abnormally elevated heart rate. I was in a state of hypertension. For a 28 year old who works out 4-6 times a week and eats moderately healthy, something did not make sense. The doctor was not all that worried, told me to relax more, take up meditation or try some yoga. I guess his thinking was that stress puts the tension in hypertension.

     In America, high blood pressure is the second greatest health threat. One in three United States adults have high blood pressure and nearly one-third of that group did not know they had it. The cause of this could be a wide variety of things. For me, I decided to take a proactive approach. I cut back on some responsibilities (working over 41 hours in a week raises the risk of hypertension by 15%), swapped out caffeineted coffee for hibiscus tea, and made an effort to sleep better. I was hoping this would do the trick and it did help eleviate some of the pains in my chest. Unfortunately, it had little effect on the blood pressure numbers. I then began researching the topic further in an effort to "cure" my little problem. One reoccuring theme in all the research revolved around your diet. A large number of those who are insulin resistant also have high blood pressure. Insulin resistance is attributable to a high sugar, high grain diet combined with low levels of exercise. I figured I already had the exercise thing covered so I made the next step and cut bread, pasta, corn, potatoes, and rice from the diet. The effect it had on my blood pressure numbers was astonishing. The first number was reduced by 20 points and the second number came down 14 points. For six weeks, I would say that is a pretty damn good reduction! I am going to keep at it with the diet and make an effort to reduce some sugars and figure out a way to include some form of medication into my daily routine. I will be sure to keep you posted!

     For those suffering from high blood pressure, prescription drugs are rarely the best option. A large percentage of us can normalize blood pressure through lifestyle modifications. The first step in an effort to normalize your blood pressure is to eliminate the non-essentials: limit alcohol consumption, get rid of the pack of smokes, and cut back on the caffeine. The next thing you need to do is to include physical activity into your every day life. This is one of the most potent ways to decrease your blood pressure and alleviate some of the daily stressors life throws at us. Lastly, I highly recommend cutting or limiting all forms of sugar and grains. There is an endless amount of information out there in regards to the negative effects that grains and sugars have on your brain and body. You would be doing yourself a huge favor by cutting them out. Remember, the fate of your health is largely in your hands!

Chris Fluck