Hypertension… 10 Things You Need to Know

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 Inflammation, Leaky Gut Syndrome, Heart Health and Blood Pressure issues all point to how healthy your Endocrine System is. Here is what you need to know.

Over the past few decades, the medical industry put sodium on the bad list and got people to restrict or even cut out salt in their diet. As humans we have a salt history. Our body is an amazing balance of over 50 trillion cells. In addition to our cells we have over 100 trillion bacteria in our gut. This creates a balance of both biochemistry and bio-electricity. For thousands of years, sodium has been looked at as one of the fundamental components of health.

When we cut sodium but still eat junk foods, a problem arises. What happens next is our systems can go into emergency mode, holding on to every drop of water it can find. Thus swelling!
Most toxic salts in our diet are found in fast food restaurants, pastry shops, store bought roasted nuts, chips, dips, salsa, cereals, crackers, breads, canned foods, Bovine growth hormone cheeses and more. These salts can contain chlorine. The side-effects from these alone can retain fluid in the body and create a puffy look all over. Unfortunately these can also cause unwanted weight gain, digestive issues and can leach magnesium from our body. Fluoride salts (sodium fluoride) are found to be very harmful to our pineal gland, pancreas, thyroid gland, tissues, brain and heart health.(2)  Toxic salts harm our neurotransmitters in our gut and in our brain. They disrupt our hormones, blood sugar, blood pressure, Circadian Rhythms, kidney function and gut microbiome.

When Circadian Rhythms are disrupted the end result is insomnia. Insomnia can mean there’s a disruption in Melatonin and Serotonin levels.(3) The pineal gland secretes Melatonin and can play a major role in hypertension.(1) Things that can disrupt Melatonin and Serotonin levels are junk foods, stimulants, not enough sunlight exposure (Vitamin D) and and abundance of artificial light exposure from computers to televisions.  If one has hypertension than insomnia is not too far behind.(4)

 

Less Stimulants… Less Sugar… Better Gut Health

In the morning when our body needs quick mental energy, we use caffeine to increase our blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing. Caffeine is the drug of choice, an endocrine disruptor and stresses our adrenal glands. Caffeine increases insulin resistance and cravings for sugar. As adrenal fatigue progresses, blood glucose levels may fall too low. This reaction will cause the person to crave anything that will rapidly raise blood sugar levels, such as soda, candy bars or boxed orange juice.  All these processed sugars disrupt hormone levels! But to make matters worse, all stimulants increase Insomnia and breathing can become shallow.

A digestive disorder called Leaky Gut Syndrome allows undigested proteins and fats to leak out of the intestine and into the bloodstream, where it sets off an autoimmune reaction. This irritation triggers increased cortisol secretion as adrenal glands are alerted.

When the adrenals are weak, the coronary artery can become constricted, especially under stress and a high sugar diet. Ischemic means less blood flow. Stress also increases gut inflammation, heart disease, high blood sugar disorders and aging.

Researchers in Denmark begin by noting that dietary glycemic load has been associated with elevated C-reactive protein (CRP). CRP is an inflammation marker that plays a key role in the development of atherosclerosis by consuming refined sugar. Sugar does not supply quality nutrition to our body and brain.

 

More sunlight please

There are benefits to sunlight.(5) Cells in our skin with the help of sun exposure produce Vitamin D. This is the best way to get this important vitamin. The alleged benefits of vitamin D3 are actually benefits of cholesterol sulfate. Environmental toxins including sunscreens and glyphosate damage sulfate production. Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup® damages all cellular systems throughout the body causing inflammation.(6)

The commonly used antibacterial and antimicrobial product ‘Triclosan’ disrupts liver function and promotes tumors.(7) With liver inflammation we can experience decrease vitamin D production.

Our adrenal hormones are made from cholesterol, so we may find that it’s hard to keep cholesterol balanced when eating an abundance of sugar that can increase stress levels in our body.

The brain, skin, hormones, gut, heart and liver need and thrive on cholesterol. We can’t live without it. Cutting our dietary cholesterol is not the point. We need to rethink STATINS that can end up increasing the disease it was suppose to correct. Cholesterol is in the brains of all cells.  According to Stephanie Seneff, restricting cholesterol can starve the adrenals and the entire life process.(8)

 

Medication disrupts

Antibiotic use disrupts hormones and digestion. This causes an overgrowth in fungus in the digestive tract, which kills off good digestive bacteria, which then allows fungus into the bloodstream. Leaky Gut can then prove to be an issue.

For people who use various forms of aspirin, such as BC Powder, Bayer brand, Excedrin, and Advil, they may be risking their health. Yes, we may obtain the illusion of pain relief, but never fix the true cause of pain. Long term aspirin use for blood thinning is sure to disrupt digestion, liver and nervous system. “Trials do not show that Aspirin saves lives.”(9)

Researchers from the University of Western Sydney in Australia stated, “Aspirin causes the body to go into stress mode.”

Aspirin breaks down or converts into ascetic acid inside the body and eats up red blood cells. Aspirin may increase risk of a bleed stroke.(10)  Therefore, aspirin use pollutes the blood depleting oxygen flow to the brain.

 

The body may be low in magnesium, not aspirin

Magnesium deficiency contributes to high blood pressure along with oxidative stress. According to the International Journal of Hypertension, lifestyle changes with the inclusion of regular physical activity and healthy eating habits are what we need. Observational studies have shown that a diet rich in potassium, magnesium, and calcium, from fruits and vegetables, is associated with lower incidence and mortality from cardiovascular disease.(11)

Excitotoxins such as MSG, Aspartame, Fluoride deplete magnesium levels and disrupt hormones. Aspartame used as a sugar substitute triggers an irregular heart rhythm, and interacts with cardiac medication. Aspartame damages the cardiac conduction system and is linked to diabetes and brain disruption.

 

This crucial connection between insulin resistance, hypertension and adrenal fatigue

But the most common underlying cause of hypertension is typically related to our body producing too much insulin.  This is a direct result from the obesity epidemic we face today. A direct cause for Insulin resistance is blamed on a junk food diet. Bottled juices can also add to this toxic load. (12)  As insulin levels rise, it causes our blood pressure to increase.

Research published in the DMS Journal reported that nearly two-thirds of the test subjects who were insulin resistant also had high blood pressure.(13)

Xenoestrogens are endocrine disruptors and are found in our food and environment and contribute to belly fat, heart disease and more. A small list of xenoestrogens included hormone replacement therapy, DDT, and birth control medications, BPA’s, dryer sheets, pesticides, chemicals, tap water, dyes, and plastics. BPA’s increase insulin resistance. Interestingly enough, BPA’s and STATINS are considered an undesirable class of environmental contaminants.(14)

Solutions

If we are frequently acting in short term survival mode we may not be aware of how we can be sabotaging our own health. The secret to a longer happier life is through conscientiousness/mindful eating.

 

Eat Plant’s first!

Magnesium is found in organic green, leafy vegetables. (Spinach & Kale) Other excellent foods high in magnesium are: Avocados & Almonds.

Make your own fermented foods. Fermented foods are the real probiotics that help with Leaky Gut.

Add organic beets to your diet.

Use good salt. Celtic Sea salt has over 85 minerals but toxic table salt has only 2.

Eat balanced whole foods from Mother Nature’s Table and ditch the glutenous grains and GMO corn, as these can prove to increase inflammation in the body.

Avoid sugary bottled juices and canned or bottled teas.

Socially acceptable caffeine, alcohol and trans-fats are not health foods. These do not sustain life.

Avoid the fast and easy canned soup trap. These can contain large amounts of toxic salts and MSG.

Avoid diet drinks that contain Aspartame.

Sweet potato and yams are a naturally sweet food that are high in fiber and vitamins have antioxidant properties and are beneficial in lowering blood pressure.

Get your Vitamin D through sunshine exposure, not a pill.

Practice Belly breathing to increase oxygen levels and decrease stress levels.

Drink more fresh clean water daily. Water gives the body energy, not energy drinks.

All life is movement. Add exercise to your day! Exercise improves hypertension and insulin resistance.

Author Connie Rogers a Certified Integrative Nutritional Health Coach. Her expertise lies in toxics that can disrupt our metabolic, endocrine and skin health.

Get her book ‘Path to a Healthy Mind & Body’  HERE  Get the Toxins Out HERE and Be Well!

Websites here: www.bitesizepieces.net and wwwthehealthguru.net

 

footnotes:

1- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8186991

2-http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3183632/

3- http://thehealthguru.net/cure-insomnia/

4-http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23173590

5- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2290997/

6- http://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/15/4/1416

7- http://www.pnas.org/content/111/48/17200.full

8- https://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/London2014/SeneffHeartDisease2014.pdf

9- http://www.bmj.com/content/324/7329/103

10- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspirin

11- http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijhy/2012/754250/

12- http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/118/5/2066.full

13- https://dmsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1758-5996-6-12

14- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26896816

Connie Rogers
Connie Rogers is a Certified Integrative Nutritional Holistic Health Coach, Published Author, Certified Skin Health Educator for 40 years, Expert in non-pharmaceutical applications to chronic illnesses for endocrine, metabolic, and skin health.

Connie believes health and wellness are established with proper nutrition, fitness, and mindfulness. Connie takes a natural and holistic, common sense approach to rebuilding well-being from the ground up. As she works with each client, together they open a door that empowers them to rewrite their life, one bite size step at a time!