The TRUTH about Blood Pressure and Cholesterol.

High blood pressure is not DANGEROUS, it is not a Disease!
IT is a symptom of a greater underlying problem!
50-65% of people who have heart attacks have normal levels of cholesterol
Marketing plays a huge role in how the drug companies portray the need for a product
[www.youtube.com]
20:48 in Germany our BP its to low 30:28 AF

Here's another one about BP.
Search Dr. Bergman on Youtube search engine . He has a lot more video's.

P.S. He had another one which he went on about Germany having higher BP as a norm.

Years ago doctors believed that it was normal for older people to have higher blood pressure, after all our blood vessels are more stiff. Taking BP meds according to some stats don't increase your life that much, one drug leads to another.

Liz

Afibbers - it's good to see doctors branching out and not continually relying on Rx drugs for everything. There is plenty of support that shows that we need the good cholesterol to maintain healthy bodies - especially as we age and those who don't have it because of statin use or otherwise, just low levels, are more often affected by dementia and other ailments that occur with low cholesterol levels.

There is a problem with hypertension, though, as it has connections to MI and stroke. The main problem is that hypertension is so often just accepted as part of normal aging, because in this country, that's exactly what happens. No one looks to reverse it or prevent it. ('cause there's a drug for that). The arterial stiffness and thickening along with fibrosis that can progress with age can be prevented and that's not news in natural medicine circles.

Anyone interested should do an advanced search here for L-arginine and begin reading for the many links and references to learn about the function of nitric oxide in the body and how maintaining proper amounts prevent and even reverse heart disease and stroke risk... as indicated in the title of the classic book by Nobel Laureate in Medicine, Louis J. Ignarro, PhD for his work with Nitric Oxide or NO.

Many of the natural medicine practitioners are now suggest taking L-citrulline which is a precursor to L-arginine (or both) and there is an abundance of reports, studies and testimonials on the benefits and successes of helping to make sure our bodies can continue to make NO.

Here's a response from a post ..last February...

Jackie
Re: low potassium levels and fatal outcomes
February 15, 2016 10:14AM
Posts: 17,639

Hi Peggy - I'm late responding. I'm so sorry to read about your recent hospital stay.

George mentions the beet juice and improvement in elderly with heart failure. Beet juice is a good source of nitric oxide (chemical symbol NO) which helps significantly with heart failure and other related symptoms. Actually, using the supplements.. either L-arginine or L-citrulline have been used for that purpose as outlined in the book written by the pharmacologist who, with two other researchers, won the Nobel Prize in 1998 for work on nitric oxide and heart health.

Book: NO More Heart Disease: How Nitric Oxide Can Prevent--Even Reverse--Heart Disease and Strokes You can go to this link on Amazon and use the Look Inside feature to read quite a bit. There is also an abundance of info online if you Google his name and nitric oxide.

Start here: Recap: Why Nitric Oxide Is a Crucially Important Molecule in the Cardiovascular System
[www.drignarro.com]

The NO science has advanced so rapidly that the latest Louis Ignarro book, The New Heart Health (2013) seems important to read as well. Co-authored by Naturopathic physician, Dr. Andrew Myers, which is a great combination.
Also has the Look Inside feature. [www.amazon.com]

The book, The Nitric Oxide (NO) Solution by Nathan S. Bryan, PhD and Janet Jand, OMD... continues the NO story about heart benefits.

While I don't have high blood pressure, I've been using the NO protocol (arginine) for almost 2 years and last year switched to using L-citrulline based on all the science provided by the nitric oxide research and increasing popularity.

Here's a clip:

Citrulline and arginine scientific studies

In the first study to show that oral supplementation with citrulline raises blood levels of arginine, 20 healthy volunteers were given 6 different dosing regimens of placebo, citrulline, and arginine.

After one week of oral supplementation, the citrulline dose increased plasma arginine concentration more effectively than arginine alone.8

A study in humans also showed the citrulline supplementation’s “time release” effect on arginine production. In this study an oral dose of 3.8 grams of citrulline resulted in a 227% peak increase in plasma arginine levels after 4 hours, compared with a 90% peak increase with the same dose of arginine.7,9

Thus, acute oral administration of citrulline appears to be considerably more efficient at raising plasma levels of arginine over the long term than arginine itself.7

Reduces blood pressure
In another recent study, citrulline supplementation was shown to reduce blood pressure in 17 young (average age 21.6 years) men with normal blood pressure after they were submitted to a cold pressor test (CPT). (A cold pressor test is a cardiovascular test done by having the subject immerse his hand into a bucket of ice water for one minute. Blood pressure and heart rate are then evaluated.)

Even more importantly, new studies are showing that supplemental citrulline also assists in nitric oxide production by boosting blood levels of arginine.

The men were randomly assigned to four weeks of oral citrulline (6 grams/day) or placebo in a crossover design. Blood pressure was measured after the blood pressor test. The results showed that compared to placebo, oral citrulline decreased brachial systolic blood pressure (-6 +/- 11 mm Hg), aortic systolic blood pressure (-4 +/- 10 mm Hg), and aortic pulse pressure (-3 +/- 6 mm Hg) during CPT but not at rest, suggesting improved production of
nitric oxide under stress.10 [www.smart-publications.com]

You can also check some of the links related to this Google search on NO therapy and the name, Professor Dan Hammer, who has his easy-to-follow NO protocols. Eliminating Heart Disease Naturally Thru Nitric Oxide Therapy [www.google.com] His website gives a good recap of the NO story and successes. and also this link: [danhammerhealth.com] for the high blood pressure protocol. [www.seas.upenn.edu]

Conference Room 49 discussed arginine in 2006 as well.

Hope this isn't overwhelming, but it's so important, I wanted to share some of the highlights from my resources with you.
Let me know if I can help you find or research specifics, Peggy, and I certainly wish you success in turning this around.

Best to you,
Jackie

Source: [www.afibbers.org]

Good to know!

Seventeen young men aren't proof, how about Seventeen old men?

Funny, that Dr. Brownsten didn't recommend Nitric Acid, my BP is always a little high when I am in the Doctors office. It is my Diastolic only.

Liz

Importance of Nitric Oxide

I was gathering info for a person concerned with slightly-elevated blood pressure and overall cardiovascular health and I sent these reports on NO (nitric oxide). Not all nutritionally-oriented practitioners are aware of the extraordinary benefits; but those who are, continue to share impressive results. Makes sense.

Many previous posts have discussed the use of the amino acids supplements, L-arginine and L-citrulline, for production of nitric oxide and the benefits as well including Conference Room Session 49 – which talks about the benefits of arginine along with taurine as an anti-arrhythmic. [www.afibbers.org]

Jackie

These clips are from the website of Dr. Louis Ignarro, Nobel Prize Winner, for Nitric Oxide

Why was the Nobel Prize awarded for Nitric Oxide?
The Nobel Prize is awarded annually in six categories: Physiology or Medicine, Chemistry, Physics, Literature, Peace, and Economic Sciences. There are two important criteria that must be established for one to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: (1) original discovery, and (2) benefit to humankind. The discovery that Nitric Oxide exists in and is produced by the mammalian species including humans is an “original discovery” made in my laboratory in 1986. The benefits to humankind are numerous, having been made in my laboratory and in other laboratories, and include cardiovascular function and health, brain function and health, digestive function, joint function, exercise endurance, erectile function, and many others.

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for Nitric Oxide was awarded in 1998 to three pharmacologists working independently. The title of the Nobel Prize was “Nitric Oxide as a Unique Signaling Molecule in the Cardiovascular System”. Today, it is recognized that NO is a widespread signaling molecule in all organs of the body, not only the cardiovascular system. Please refer to other sections on my website to learn more about the basics of Nitric Oxide and how this amazing molecule protects us against all sorts of diseases and disorders.
Continue: [www.drignarro.com]

Here are some fascinating links to the Nobel Prize website that you must visit:
Nobel Prize website: www.nobelprize.org
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine website: [www.nobelprize.org]
1998 Nobel Prize for Nitric Oxide: [www.nobelprize.org]
Video of Dr. Lou and the other Laureates receiving the Nobel Prize:
[www.nobelprize.org]

Also these quotes …
...." NO Recap: Why Nitric Oxide Is a Crucially Important Molecule in the Cardiovascular System
I’ve spent my first 10 years at Herbalife talking about Nitric Oxide and heart health. Since the focus of the Heart Health Initiative is to bring the story of cardiovascular wellness to people across the globe, it’s important to circle back to the NO basics. So, let’s look at NO’s role in supporting the cardiovascular system, why a healthy endothelium is important for optimal NO production, and how lifestyle and nutrition can support NO production and a healthy heart.

NO Basics
Let’s start by looking at the NO basics:
• Our bodies contain 6 trillion endothelial cells, which line 100,000 miles of blood vessels in a single layer.
• When those endothelial cells are healthy, they release a powerful signaling molecule known as Nitric Oxide, or NO.
• When NO is released, it penetrates cell membranes and sends messages, or signals, that help regulate cellular activity and instruct the body to perform certain functions.
• While NO influences the functioning of nearly every organ in the body, its role in the cardiovascular system is especially crucial.

Think of the cardiovascular system as the shipping and delivery center of the body. The heart “ships” out oxygen, nutrients and messages (in the form of hormones and other biochemicals) through arteries and capillaries to every cell in the body. While all this is happening, veins remove waste and toxins from cells throughout the body and “deliver” de-oxygenized blood back to the heart. Meanwhile, NO controls and regulates this entire system through its production in the lining of every blood vessel and enhances the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the cells.

But how does it do this? In a number of ways. One of the most important roles of NO is as a vasodilator, meaning it helps control blood flow and pressure throughout the body. NO signals the blood vessels to relax and widen, or dilate, increasing blood flow to deliver oxygen and nutrients to the body and bring deoxygenated blood back to heart. This supports healthy blood pressure levels, which is critical to cardiovascular wellness. NO is also a crucially important cardiovascular antioxidant in the body and helps keep blood vessels young, elastic and healthy.

Healthy Cells, Healthy Heart
When you look at the cardiovascular system as a whole, it becomes clear that “healthy heart” really means “healthy cells” and optimal cellular function. And as you’ve learned, NO is an extremely important part of keeping the body’s cells healthy. It’s important to understand that NO can’t be consumed, but it is produced in the body. The good news is that you can support NO production in the body, which, in turn, supports optimal cardiovascular function. How? By supporting the endothelium—the production house of NO—through exercise, lifestyle changes and specific nutrients. " end quotes
Continue: [www.drignarro.com]

Well, at age 43 now my diastolic is creeping up to the 90 mm Hg number where I'm going to get put on a medication if I can't reverse this trend. Prior to my ablation, I had diastolics around 80 and sometimes even dipping into the 70's. At 6'0" and 200 lbs, I don't think BMI is a huge issue. I could drop 10 lbs and see where that gets me. I doubt I could drop 20 lbs without serious side effects due to the amount of calorie restriction that requires on my part (< 1000/day). That was were I was pre-AF and frankly it was a train wreck.

Any suggestions? Is NO a direct supplement or a by-product of another?

Wolfpack - you can supplement directly with L-arginine.
I can dig out more links if it would be helpful to you.

Also, great info in the book by Richard D. Moore, MD, PhD...
The High Blood Pressure Solution - Natural Prevention and CURE with the K Factor

And the basics of the importance of the Sodium-to-Potassium ratio in Dr. Moore's book
The Salt Solution

Be sure that your recent labs show healthy kidney function.

Jackie

Thanks.

I am trying the L-citruline powder right now. I’ll see how that goes. If it also helps Raynaud’s then that will be a major clue!

Wolfpack - Good. Hope the citrulline works. I believe we talked about iodine deficiency and Raynaud's.
Did you try taking small doses of iodine/iodide combo?

Jackie

Jackie,

I've been supplementing the liquid iodine for a couple of months now, but haven't noticed a big difference. Now that the weather is finally turning colder, I think it's time to try something else.

As I understand it, L-citrulline is a precursor to L-arginine. The theory is cirtuline may stay in one's system longer before being excreted as L-arginine. I was reluctant to try both at the same time so I chose one over the other. Of course, the source is Doctor's Best, which is now questionable given what we've been discussing in the other thread.

Wolfpack - what is your daily dose of the liquid iodine?

I've recently experimented with an iodine complex - with caution - and find that the combo capsules containing:
molecular iodine 2.5 mg,
2.5 mg as sodium iodide, and
1.25 mg as potassium iodide – total 6.25 mg

is helping to improve my constant 'internal core coldness' ...esp. pronounced now that my doctor's won't prescribe natural thyroid hormones - the ablation history and also my age.

After re-reading Lynne Farrow's book, The Iodine Crisis, I felt encouraged to resume iodine therapy since I was obviously deficient since childhood and the thyroid obviously needs the various forms of iodine to function properly.

On the Arginine and Citrulline - it just may take more time… depending on your dosing as well. I used the Source Natural’s brand of arginine and just recently recommended to a friend the Natural Factors Arginine which is pharmaceutical grade… although capsules but inexpensive. I used the Source Naturals L-citrulline as well. Maybe switch until the Dr’s Best is clarified one way or the other.
You may find the book “The Nitric Oxide (NO) Solution… How to boost the body’s miracle molecule to prevent and reverse chronic disease”…
by Nathan S. Bryan, PhD and Janet Zand, OMD … to be a useful resource.
The front cover says: “Say NO to high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, diabetes, kidney disease, Alzheimer’s…”
It’s a great guideline and not overly technical but gives the details of why NO (nitric oxide) can help a variety of ailments and is also preventive.

The following excerpt supports the function of NO for improving circulation… and certainly, that eventually would help with fingertip circulation as well:


Nitric oxide and platelet aggregation. (1999)
[www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Abstract
Platelets are small cells, 1/14th the volume of erythrocytes, and about 1000 billion circulate in human blood as smooth anucleate disks. Their job is to survey the lining of our blood vessels, the endothelium. In acute damage and extravasation, platelets are activated by contact with exposed collagen and aggregate together at the wound sites to initiate clotting and stop bleeding. Forming a physical plug to seal a hemorrhaging vessel is the key role of blood platelets. However, milder injury to the endothelium, perhaps a result of high blood pressure, raised plasma cholesterol, or smoking, also causes platelets to adhere to the internal walls of arteries. Such precipitate adhesion and activation of platelets initiates an inflammatory response of the vessel wall and predisposes to vascular complications, including thrombosis, premature heart disease, myocardial infarcts or strokes, and diabetes. It is essential, therefore, that during normal vascular hemostasis platelet activation is tightly controlled. Indeed, both platelets and endothelial cells produce and secrete chemicals that directly inhibit platelet aggregation. A key agent is the free radical gas nitric oxide (NO). Here, we review how this 30-Da molecular messenger is synthesized by a catalytic cassette 10,000 times larger and how it functions to suppress platelet "stickiness." We also present new evidence that directly links plasma lipoproteins with platelet activation: we describe at the molecular level how apoE, a protein with a prominent role in cholesterol transport, interacts with the platelet surface to stimulate NO production and hence attenuate platelet activation.

Jackie

Jackie,

I believe the daily dosage of iodine - as Potassium Iodide - is 225 ug (micrograms).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/21/2017 08:40PM by wolfpack.

Hi Wolfpack.... sorry for the delay... Holiday and all.

If you have had the appropriate testing to rule out that you have no auto-immune thyroid antibodies indicating Hashimoto's or Graves disease, (if so - Iodine is contraindicated), then I'd try increasing your daily dosing of iodine and try for the blended forms that include what I listed for mine. Each form plays a part. Your microgram dose amount is minuscule and may not be nearly enough to help get your thyroid functional again. If you can find a functional medicine practitioner with advanced training, that would certainly be useful for you.

As I mentioned previously, rather than submit to surgery for the enlarged thyroid nodules, the supplemental iodine complex offered amazing results for me. That was a number of years ago and all is still quiet there. As I also mentioned, my internal chill or coldness is slowly starting to diminish... although now that winter is setting in here, it's hard to find consistent, positive changes...although occasionally, I feel oddly warm even when the temps are cool...so I assume that's progress.

Jackie