My Healthy Blood Pressure Program

by Dr. Stephen Sinatra
Filed Under: Heart Health, Blood Pressure
Last Reviewed 02/14/2014

Read more: http://www.drsinatra.com/healthy-blood-pressure-program/#ixzz35ZqcRyGE

You'll be well on your way to promoting healthy blood pressure levels and feeling really good about your health—and about yourself—after two months on my best blood pressure program. Let's get started.

Week One: Focus on Your Diet

There is no lifestyle modification more powerful for healthy blood pressure than diet. My nutrition recommendations are based on the Pan Asian and Mediterranean ways of eating. It's been shown that people in those areas have 76 percent fewer cardiac events than anywhere else in the world. During your first week on my program, begin by choosing foods high in potassium, calcium and magnesium. Try to choose at least five foods each day from the charts below.

These three nutrients are key for promoting healthy blood pressure levels and maintaining heart health. For that reason, foods rich in potassium, calcium, and magnesium are an integral part of my http://www.drsinatra.com/eat-this-way-for-good-cardiovascular-nutrition/Pan Asian Modified Mediterranean (PAMM) diet.

Recommended Foods High in Potassium
Adzuki*	Kidney beans
Anchovies	Lentils
Antelope	Lima beans
Apricots	Lobster
Avocado*	Mackerel
Baked potato (with skin)	Natto (soy product)
Bananas	Nectarines
Beef eye of round	Pinto beans
Beet greens	Prunes*
Black beans	Raisins*
Bluefish	Salmon
Buffalo	Sea vegetables
Cantaloupes	Snapper
Chickpeas	Sole
Clams	Soy nuts*
Crabs, blue	Sweet potato
Dates	Swiss chard
Elk	Trout
Figs*	Turtle beans
Flounder	Venison
Free-range chicken	White beans*
Garlic	Wild goose
Haddock	Yogurt, non-fat
Halibut

* Foods highest in potassium.

Recommended Foods High in Calcium
Asparagus	1% milk*
Broccoli	Parsley
Cabbage	Prunes
Collards	Raisins
Daikon*	Ricotta cheese, part skim*
Dates	Sesame seeds
Feta cheese	Skim milk*
Figs*	Tofu*
Kale*	Turtle beans
Kelp	Yogurt, non-fat and low-fat
Molasses	White beans
Oatmeal

* Foods highest in calcium.

Recommended Foods High in Magnesium
Adzuki beans	Figs, dried*
All-Bran	Kelp*
All seafood	Pumpkin seeds*
Apricots*	Sesame seeds
Bananas	Sunflower seeds
Black beans	Spinach
Brown rice	Wakame

*Foods highest in magnesium.

Week Two: Get Up and Move!

You don't need a lot of fancy equipment to start exercising, nor do you need to join a health club. Just put on a pair of comfortable shoes and start walking.

New studies show that moderate activities such as regular walking, dancing, swimming, golf and tennis can reduce blood pressure levels significantly. In fact, exercise is crucial for maintaing healthy blood pressure. No other lifestyle change will provide such immediate and enduring benefits to your health and well-being.

If you haven't been active for a while, start out easy with just 10 minutes a day, then add five minutes a week to your walking regimen, building up to 30 minutes total, five days a week. Make it more enjoyable by walking with friends.

Avoid exercise that is too strenuous, especially if you're just embarking on an exercise program. I advise my patients to never jog or run. Studies have shown a connection between heart attacks and sudden exertion, so talk to your doctor before you engage in more aggressive workouts, such as aerobics.

But don't feel that you must engage in heart-straining exercise to reap big rewards. The Nurses' Health Study found that women who walked briskly at least three hours per week achieved results equivalent to jogging or aerobic dancing.

If you add some regular stretching or yoga exercises, plus light weight training once or twice a week, you'll have a total-body conditioning regimen. Just make sure to be evaluated by a certified exercise specialist or physiologist for muscular strength first. Some of my patients have taken it upon themselves to lift weights on their own, but this is not the best approach. Once you get a baseline evaluation of your muscular strength, then you'll know what amount of weight you can safely lift and how many repetitions to do.

Week Three: Begin Taking Targeted Supplements

• Coenzyme Q10: Research shows that 200-300 mg CoQ10 per day can lower blood pressure. CoQ10 makes cells healthier and less vulnerable to constriction, which can elevate pressure inside blood vessels. Many of my patients who take a water-soluble form of CoQ10 have cut their use of blood pressure drugs in half, while maintaining healthy blood pressure.

• Magnesium: It's hard to get sufficient levels of this critical mineral in your diet, which is why you must supplement. Magnesium helps regulate heart health, so it's best to take 400 mg of magnesium every day. **Note: Take magnesium after meals. If you have kidney problems, don't take supplemental magnesium without your doctor's approval.

• Fish Oil: A recent study of 11,000 patients shows that fish oil promotes healthy blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels-even better than vitamin E. I'm so thrilled with fish oil that I’ve included it as part of my core program for heart health.

• Garlic: The "stinking rose" acts similarly to ACE inhibitors to promote healthy blood pressure levels. A clove a day, chopped or minced in your food, is plenty. I recommend garlic itself, because I'm not convinced that powdered garlic capsules have all the herb's active ingredients. If you really don't like garlic, 500-1,000 mg garlic in softgel form is your best defense.

• Hawthorn: Studies show that hawthorn berry promotes blood flow in smaller vessels. It acts much like ACE inhibitors, preventing production of angiotensin 2, a powerful blood vessel constrictor responsible for increasing blood pressure. It also helps to ease angina and relieve congestive heart failure. Take 500 mg 2-3 times a day until you see results.

Week Four: Mental Health and Healthy Blood Pressure

As you begin the fourth week of my blood pressure-lowering program, I want you to introduce an element overlooked by most cardiologists: your emotional and spiritual health.

Does an unresolved conflict eat away at you? Are you often short-tempered with your spouse, children, colleagues or even a driver who cuts you off in traffic? You may be thinking, "Of course I am. Isn't everybody?"

What you may not be aware of is that these responses trigger a whole physiological cascade that culminates in the release of a stress hormone called cortisol into your bloodstream. Cortisol in excessive amounts can signal your body to step up the production of blood platelets, which can then clump together to form dangerous clots.

Basically, repressed anger, frustration, and fear are all hidden risk factors for heart disease and hypertension. You should probably consider psychotherapy if your health is at stake. Without a professional's input, you may not be able to pinpoint what's really going on. I have noticed that it's often difficult for patients to realize that their physical disease may actually be an emotional symptom traveling incognito.

Other helpful action steps to take include:

• Seeing a counselor or talking to a friend, clergyman, or rabbi.

• Finding creative, healthy ways to release your anger, such as crying at sad movies, hitting tennis or golf balls, writing in a journal, painting or drawing.

• Taking up yoga, tai chi, dancing, meditation, guided visualization or deep breathing.

• Praying.

• Sitting quietly for 10-15 minutes a day.

Read more: http://www.drsinatra.com/healthy-blood-pressure-program/#ixzz35Zr7Tqv9