The extent of the problem

Roughly, over the last 80 years, death by heart disease has increased from less than 1% to 50%. It has been reported that almost a million Americans die through heart failure every year. Many people suffering from a heart or cardiovascular problem such as high blood pressure may find themselves on medication for the rest of their lives (A hint: if the pills were any good then how come is it that patients don't get better?)

A loss of sovereignty over your health

Because heart disease has increased from 1% to about 50% roughly over 80 years, this clearly shows that the problem is not genetic, since this rise could not be caused over just one generation. The same could be said about many other illnesses, with similar facts. Orthodox medical Doctors however, are forever touting the genetic explanation as a cause of illness. -The point I'm making here is this: Many people have lost control over their health. They have designated the responsibility to the man in the white coat who they think knows what's best for them with the 'pill for every ill' mentality, and get the wrong idea that their ailment is uncontrollable because it's genetic. For example, a patient may erroneously be led to think: "I don't need to look after my body because the Doctor takes care of that..." Or ''There's nothing I can do about my blood pressure because it's in my genes...''

The real solutions

So, when it comes to lowering high blood pressure, the first thing to realise is that YOU are responsible for your health. Pills don't cure. They only treat the symptoms. For example, let's say you have a throbbing headache and feel like you're walking around with an axe in your head. Granted, the pills give temporary relief by numbing the pain, but the root cause has not been addressed and indeed, will still persist.

Hi blood pressure pills never get to the root cause. They have adverse side effects and hence the patient could be suffering for the rest of his/her life. -But that's the way the pharmaceutical companies want it to be, don't you see? They don't want a patient to be cured because that would mean the loss of a paying customer.

The first thing to realise is that lowering high blood pressure means is not difficult, but needs a commitment to treating the root cause. Indeed, if you have this condition, your health is in your hands and only you can lower your high blood pressure.

Curing high blood pressure the natural way

Like I always document in my articles, books, blogs... there are 4 major factors related to curing one's self of illness, and high blood pressure is no exception. The 4 major factors needing the active approach are:

1. Nutrition

2. Exercise

3. The environment

4. Your attitude: Outlook on life, thoughts and emotions...

-In the latter case, it mostly implies stress handling. Good blood pressure lowering nutrition can be summarised by the following main features or common denominators. That the food is:

1.Natural (organic): Seeds, beans, nuts, fruits and vegetables...

2. Is mainly free of chemicals, preservatives with mysterious E-numbers, flavour enhancers and stabilisers...

3. Has had very little heat treatment. Poaching or steaming is okay

4. Is fresh, since the vitamins & enzymes will not be too denatured and be able to take more of an effective part in the body's metabolic requirements. Good fresh antioxidants like vitamin C are an absolute essential.

Water is very important and sometimes overlooked when considering blood pressure. A lack of drinking water causes the vessels to have less of a volume of water in the blood. Because of this lower liquid content in the blood, like any tube that has less liquid inside, the blood vessels constrict (shrink and become smaller). A rise in blood pressure is caused by this.

Around 15-30 minutes a day exercise. Take enough exercise so that it gets you puffing and panting. This improves cardiovascular function.

Environmental factors are probably self-explanatory. Create a stress-free surrounding. A number of studies have shown that 15 minutes meditation per day can significantly lower high blood pressure.

Your thoughts emotions and beliefs can have a great effect on your blood pressure. Perhaps, to a greater extent than most people imagine. There are plenty of very good books on this subject . Take a look at the excellent work by Doctor Bruce Lipton.

Chelation therapy has been a very successful alternative to bypass surgery. Many MD's are now offering this. It involves introducing an amino acid called EDTA into the blood stream. Its purpose is to dissolve the plaque lining the blood vessels. It is worth noting that it does put some initial stress on the kidneys. However, in comparison to bypass surgery and angioplasty, it is much cheaper, non-toxic and has no side-effects and actually does the job of getting rid of the plaque, rather than merely rearranging. It is worth noting that it does put some initial stress on the kidneys.

-This is not an exhaustive account, but this is certainly the highly effective way forward to being in the driver's seat when it comes to controlling health and blood pressure.