TIPS TO LOWERING HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

BLACK TEA A TONIC FOR HYPERTENSION

We know that drinking green tea each day can help reduce our hypertension. Green tea is not, however, to everyone’s taste. Can black tea help lower our high blood pressure?
In theory it ought to as both black and green tea are made from the leaves of the same plant. So far, black tea has not received the good press it deserves for the beneficial effects it can have on our condition.
Recent research has shown that drinking three or more cups of black tea a day has positive health benefits for us. Drinking black tea helps us in two ways:
It reduces our hypertension; and minimizes the variability of blood pressure readings taken at night.

THE BENEFITS OF TEA

The benefits of tea are largely due to the flavored content. These are antioxidant ingredients that counteract cardiac-vascular disease.
It has long been known that hypertension can significantly increase the risk of heart disease. Now, wide variations in blood pressure are also recognized as an important risk factor compared with readings that show little difference over a 24-hour period.

WHAT ARE THE NEW FINDINGS?

There is already mounting evidence that tea is good for your heart health and the research has demonstrated a link between tea and reducing a major risk factor for heart disease.
This recent research is the first time that the consumption of black tea has been shown to lower rates of blood pressure variation at night-time.

THE RESEARCH

A high blood pressure reading is one that exceeds 140/90 millimeter of mercury (mm Hg).
The first figure, the systolic pressure, corresponds to the “surge” that occurs with each heartbeat. The lower figure is when our heart is resting between beats.
In the research study 111 men and women consumed three cups of black tea daily or a flavored free, caffeine containing beverage for six months. They all had hypertension and their systolic blood pressures were between 115 and 150 mm Hg.
The rate of blood pressure variation was assessed at three time-points, on day one and after three and six months.
At these three time-points, black tea consumption resulted in 10 per cent lower rates of hypertension variability at night-time than the flavored free drink.
These effects were seen immediately on the first day of tea drinking and maintained over the six months.
Although black tea was drunk in the study, other research suggests adding milk does not affect the benefits.
Drinking tea is a convenient, refreshing way to help lower your high blood pressure. What this study demonstrates is that drinking black tea helps reduce the variability of our hypertension at night-time. What better reason is there than that for a bedtime cup of Rosy Lea?

REDUCING HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE NATURALLY WITH HIBISCUS TEA

You have hypertension don’t you?” That was how my daughter greeted me on her return from a vacation in Egypt. “Yes I do” I replied. “I thought so. I have brought you a practical gift from Egypt. It is a tea. They use it to lower blood pressure.” She said. That was my introduction to hibiscus tea.

Hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa),also known as Roselle, has been used to treat hypertension in both African and Asian traditional medicine.

In 1996, researchers in Nigeria confirmed this age-old wisdom by showing that a tea made from the calyxes surrounding the hibiscus flowers reduced blood pressure in laboratory animals. Soon after, researchers in Iran showed the same benefit in people – a 10 percent reduction in systolic pressure. That is as effective as some standard hypertension drugs.

Since then, several more studies have confirmed this effect, including two that tested hibiscus head-to-head against standard hypertension medications.

HOW DOES HIBISCUS LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE?

Recent research suggests that it is due to a combination of reasons:
it has diuretic properties
it opens the arteries, and
it acts as a natural angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, which means it slows the release of hormones that constrict blood vessels.
In addition, hibiscus boosts immune function and provides valuable antioxidants. Hibiscus is safe and, unlike most hypertension drugs, rarely causes side effects.

HOW TO MAKE HIBISCUS TEA

This was the question I had as I looked at the bag of dried flowers I had received from my daughter. There were no instructions.
My first attempt produced a deep ruby coloured liquor, but it was far too strong for my taste. After several more attempts, I found a strength that was to my taste.
Hibiscus tea is made by steeping from 1 to 5 teaspoons, according to taste, of dried “flowers” (technically, the calyxes surrounding the flowers) per cup in boiling water for 5 to 10 minutes.
You can also use your home digital BP monitor to see which strength of hibiscus tea has the most beneficial effect for you. Take your readings before different strengths and retest an hour later to see what works best for you.
Check with your doctor prior to taking hibiscus if you’re currently on medication to reduce hypertension, as often a combination of an herb and a lower dose of a pharmaceutical provides the same benefit as a higher dose of the drug.

HOW TO GET THE MOST BENEFIT FROM HIBISCUS TEA

It would be easy to believe that just drinking three cups of hibiscus tea each day will return your blood pressure to within the normal range. Effective as hibiscus is in lowering high blood pressure, it is most beneficial when taken as part of a healthy balanced diet – especially a diet designed to help reduce hypertension – such as the DASH diet – and regular exercise.
Making refreshing hibiscus tea part of your diet can make a significant contribution to lowering your high blood pressure naturally.

HYPERTENSION: TREATING HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE WITH HAWTHORN

Hawthorn has, for hundreds of years, been used throughout Northern Europe and parts of Asia as an effective natural hypertension treatment. Yet, in as little as two generations this effective natural remedy was almost forgotten having been replaced by pharmaceutical products. Following several scientific studies, the benefits of hawthorn are being recognized anew.Of the many species of the shrub, crataegus orycantholdes is most commonly used to help lower high blood pressure. Hawthorn is a hedgerow shrub related to the rose and is common across Northern Europe and parts of Asia.



WHY TREATING HYPERTENSION WITH HAWTHORN WAS ALMOST FORGOTTEN

There are a number of possible reasons for this including:

Traditionally, the leaves, berries and flowers were collected from wild hawthorn shrubs to make the extract used to treat hypertension. These are only available seasonally.

The extract was made by the local herbalist and there were inconsistencies in the quality of the end product.
Medical training in the twentieth Century leaned heavily toward allopathic medicine, which is now the prevailing norm in Western medicine. It is strongly influenced by modern pharmaceutical products, which have consistent quality. Nineteenth Century medical practitioners were more familiar with natural and herbal treatments, which their modern counterparts often viewed as unscientific and ineffective.

In recent years, there has been renewed interest in using herbs and other botanics to compliment Western medicine’s arsenal of treatments. Hawthorn extract is one such natural remedy that is coming back into popularity. Some hawthorn plantations have been established and are cultivated under strictly controlled conditions. Making the extract from the berries, flowers and leaves is also done under strictly controlled conditions to ensure a consistent and high quality product.

HOW DOES HAWTHORN LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE?

Hawthorn reduces hypertension by Dilating blood vessels by blocking an enzyme called angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE). This action improves circulation and lowers blood pressure;

Hawthorn is also a mild diuretic, which lowers blood volume, and this is another way hawthorn functions as a hypertension treatment.
Because of this, you should only use this supplement under medical supervision if you are already taking any form of hypertension medication.

If your blood pressure is in the range of 140/90 to 160/100 mm Hg, and you are otherwise healthy and free of risk factors, your doctor might suggest that, in addition to improving your diet and taking more exercise, you take a natural treatment such as hawthorn extract before considering prescribing one or more of the standard high blood pressure treatments.

Hawthorn extract is now widely available and is sometimes combined with other beneficial herbs and botanics such as ginkobiloba, passion flower and cramp bark for broader heart and circulation support.

OTHER MEDICINAL USES OF HAWTHORN

Hawthorn is not only used in the treatment and prevention of hypertension; it has also been found to be useful in treating congestive heart failure, lowering rapid pulse, improving arrhythmias, lowering cholesterol levels, and in the treatment for hardening of the arteries.
Hawthorn works by inhibiting the angiotensin-converting enzyme and also by reducing blood volume. These characteristics and combined with the lack of side effects make hawthorn an excellent natural treatment for reducing hypertension.