The recent increase in fructose consumption in industrialized nations mirrors the rise in the prevalence of hypertension… We investigated whether increased fructose intake from added sugars associates with an increased risk for higher BP levels in US adults without a history of hypertension… These results suggest that high fructose intake, in the form of added sugar, independently associates with higher BP levels among US adults without a history of hypertension.
Do you eat a lot of fruit? Do you realize you are primarily eating fructose? How about grains… yep, it turns to fructose. A a matter of fact, this article on my Blog … drericrichards.com, will shed some light on the bane of some of the foods that are consumed as “Health” foods everyday. Even the sweet red peppers that I so enjoy need to be consumed in moderation when on the healing diet.
The association of High Blood Pressure with high intake of grains and sugar, dates back to 1998 when the journal Diabetes reported that nearly 2/3 of insulin resistant test subjects also had high BP. Insulin resistance comes from a typical American diet, rich in grains and sugars. As we have seen over hundreds of patients over the years. If you control your diet, you will drop your blood pressure. Un-responsive blood pressure after dietary changes will typically respond to chiropractic care, and was shown to be VERY responsive in this chiropractic study by The University of Chicago MEDICAL School.
If you really want to make sure your blood pressure is as good as it can be, you need to invest in the Total Food Makeover, and figure out how to eat in order to insure that your blood pressure is healthy. I do not believe in medcinally treating disease if there are other options. However, I do not believe in letting high blood pressure go unchecked, especially if it is climbing into the 150/100 range, that is associated with a significant increased risk of heart attack and/or stroke.
The amazing thing to me, is that the diet that has been shown to be the best at reducing blood pressure, is the exact opposite of the diet that doctors had pushed as being the healthy diet. For years they thought that low fat high carb diets were the best for weight loss, and cardioascular function. Even today that mentality still rules many doctor’s offices, and package marketing on food products, it has been completely destroyed in the research. The research has slowly been pointing towards high fat diets ever since the 1970’s when scientists discovered that the Greenland Eskimos had practically NO instance of heart disease, yet were eating diets of lard and fat from whales, seals and fish.
Understanding the “why” behind blood pressure and diet, is the first step to getting it right. When the sugar goes up, there is an immediate need for increased blood pressure to push that “syrup” through the arteries. Of course, you fix that pretty quick with insulin. The insulin drives the sugar out, and the blood pressure normalizes. This is why in the study referenced above, the patients had no history of hypertension. Of course, as they continue down this sugar cycle (grains, sugars, fruits…), they begin to over-stimulate the insulin receptors and start to burn them out. As these receptors are burnt out, the body no longer responds to insulin, and the sugar rises… permanently.
So if you want your blood pressure to stay lower, let’s fix your insulin receptors. Come tonight at 7pm, and you will be able to do just that over the next five weeks!