How Not To Die From The Effects Of High Blood Pressure?
Effects Of High Blood Pressure
It is pretty simple to know how not to die from the effects of high blood pressure. There is a strong correlation with high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease (CVD) which include heart attack, heart disease, and stroke.[1]
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of death in the United States. High blood pressure, also called hypertension, affects over 78 million U.S. adults and is major modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and stroke.
High blood pressure occurs when the heart pumps blood and excessive pressure builds in the blood vessels. The effects of high blood pressure can result in the overstretching and rupturing of arteries, scarring of arteries that trap cholesterol and lead to plaque buildup and harden arteries, increased risk of blood clots, tissue and organ damage, and increased workload on the cardiovascular system.[2]
The effects of high blood can also include memory and vision loss, lung and kidney damage, erectile dysfunction, and stoke. The American Heart Association states these are not direct symptoms of high blood pressure, but are consequences of high blood pressure if left untreated.
What Causes High Blood Pressure
There are two forms of high blood pressure, essential or primary hypertension and secondary hypertension. Essential hypertension is high blood pressure without a secondary cause.
Secondary hypertension is high blood pressure that has a secondary cause like kidney and heart disease, and also pregnancy.[3]
Science hasn’t determined the exact cause of essential hypertension but these factors play a role in its development: obesity, too much salt consumption, smoking, lack of physical activity, and alcohol consumption.
Uncontrollable factors that contribute to high blood pressure include getting older, family history, and being a black American person.[4]
How Not To Die From The Effects Of High Blood Pressure?
So how is it possible to avoid dying from high blood pressure when so many things contribute to it? Researchers have known since the 1920’s that high blood pressure doesn’t have to occur.
Though black Americans suffer dis-proportionally from high blood pressure, this isn’t the case for black people throughout the world.
This 1920 study[5] showed that the blood pressure of rural Africans who ate diets centered on whole plant foods actually went down as they aged. The elderly over 60 had an average systolic pressure of 105 compared to Europeans and Americans who averaged 140+.
The study of 1800 rural Kenyans over a 2 year period revealed 0 cases of high blood pressure and 0 cases of heart disease. Their lack of high blood pressure was attributed to their diet because in the Western world the only people to get their blood pressure that low were strict vegetarians.[6] They averaged blood pressure of 110/65.
Another study[7] showed hypertension rates dropped steadily the closer people got to consuming a vegan diet. A nice additional effect of the vegan diet was diabetes and obesity rates also declined significantly.
Remove Meat And Processed Foods And Eliminate High Blood Pressure
Researchers have easily proved this point. They fed vegetarians meat and their blood pressure went up. They removed meat and their blood pressure went down.[8]
Processed foods contribute highly to high blood pressure because they contain a lot of salt. WebMD indicated:
People living on the northern islands of Japan eat more salt per capita than anyone else in the world and have the highest incidence of essential hypertension. By contrast, people who add no salt to their food show virtually no traces of essential hypertension.
Learn more about alkaline plant based foods the best support health on the Dr. Sebi nutritional guide »
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[2] What is High Blood Pressure?
[3] Secondary hypertension: evaluation and treatment.
[4] Causes of High Blood Pressure
[5] Donnison, C. (1929). BLOOD PRESSURE IN THE AFRICAN NATIVE. ITS BEARING UPON THE ÆTIOLOGY OF HYPERPIESIA AND ARTERIO-SCLEROSIS. The Lancet, 213(5497), 6-7.
[6] Sacks FM, Kass EH. Low blood pressure in vegetarians: effects of specific foods and nutrients. Am J Clin Nutr. 1988 Sep;48(3 Suppl):795-800.
[7] Le LT, Sabaté J. Beyond meatless, the health effects of vegan diets: findings from the Adventist cohorts. Nutrients. 2014 May 27;6(6):2131-47.
[8] McDougall J, Thomas LE, McDougall C, Moloney G, Saul B, Finnell JS, Richardson K, Petersen KM. Effects of 7 days on an ad libitum low-fat vegan diet: the McDougall Program cohort. Nutr J. 2014 Oct 14;13:99.
