Vegan and high blood pressure??
Posted by ashles on Jul 13, 2011 · Member since Jan 2011 · 53 posts
Okay so I can not find anything about this on the web. I was told that I have high blood pressure which is causing me to have migraines to where I can't work. I didnt have high blood pressure 4 months ago, I'm on a vegan diet. I hate anything with salt or sodium , infact I was told that it's very low. The only major thing that has changed is my stress level has gone up.
They prescribed me propanolol. I don't like meds, any ideas on what to do to lower the HBP??
I was thinking going raw vegan or jucing.
I also have HBP and I maintain a relatively high raw diet. Does your family have a history of HBP? (Mine does and I also have thyroid disease.)
According to WebMD, factors and conditions that may play a role in the development of HBP, include:
Smoking
Being overweight or obese
Lack of physical activity
Too much salt in the diet
Too much alcohol consumption (more than 1 to 2 drinks per day)
Stress
Older age
Genetics
Family history of high blood pressure
Chronic kidney disease
Adrenal and thyroid disorders
I'm sure stress has more to do with it than you think, do whatever you can to cut it out of your life. Walk as much as possible, and if you can get rid of your car (provided you have one), or at least use it less, do that. Just try to stay as active as possible, especially aerobic stuff that can calm you down.
I had high blood pressure for about 1 year (I was also put on medication) and it was purely stress related. I was going to school full time, working full time and paying a ton of bills for non-working now ex-husband. Once that stress was gone ( ie, I got divorced, graduated and got a better paying job)my blood pressure returned to normal. I know it's not feasible to just snap your fingers and be stress free, but increase your exercise, yoga and meditation and see if that helps. Do you know how high the reading was? And certainly there are many other causes for migraines as well.
I had high blood pressure for about 1 year (I was also put on medication) and it was purely stress related. I was going to school full time, working full time and paying a ton of bills for non-working now ex-husband. Once that stress was gone ( ie, I got divorced, graduated and got a better paying job)my blood pressure returned to normal. I know it's not feasible to just snap your fingers and be stress free, but increase your exercise, yoga and meditation and see if that helps. Do you know how high the reading was? And certainly there are many other causes for migraines as well.
They didnt say how high its was for my blood pressure, it was higher then normal because I usually have low blood pressure or either its perfect. I have been look for a another job that pays better and will be less stressful. but I seem to stuck with my current one due I can't find another job that im qualify for. I will start mediation this weekend.
Also, keep a diary and take the time to write a long entry where you posit on what's stressing you out and how you can improve your situation, it should help.
Make sure your not eating anything in cholesterol.
Are your feet swollen at times?
I have been keeping a diary of when I get stressed and my family noticed that my job. Is the cause of my stress , on top of that it doesnt help that I have the unknown when I am going to get fired. With knowning this I am looking at other options.
I know this is an old thread but I had borderline high blood pressure for a while. I went vegan, lost some excess weight and make sure I include a lot of high potassium foods in my diet. MY BP has dropped from borderline to normal. Vegan foods can be abundant in them like honeydew and other melons and of course bananas and potatoes, but for extra you might try tomato juice and vegetable juices like V8, as well as coconut water.
Good luck.
Oh and I added dark chocolate. It's a sacrifice but about four or five times a week I eat a piece of the darkest of the dark, 88% cocoa. They are saying that might help with high BP as well.
Okay so I can not find anything about this on the web. I was told that I have high blood pressure which is causing me to have migraines to where I can't work. I didnt have high blood pressure 4 months ago,'m on a vegan diet. I hate anything with salt or sodium , infact I was told that it's very low. The only major thing that has changed is my stress level has gone up.
They prescribed me propanolol. I don't like meds, any ideas on what to do to lower the HBP??
I was thinking going raw vegan or jucing.
Sometimes HBP can be as simple as not getting 6-8 glasses of water a day, if the blood becomes dehydrated it will get thick and the heart will be forced to increase the BP to continue to be able to provide all the cells of your body with nutrients and oxygen.....If you are not getting enough water, be sure to increase your water intake gradually by adding one extra cup to what you normally dringk. Don't add an additional cup until you notice that your urination has increased as well......Do this until you get to six to eight cups a day, I drink 2 when I rise in the morning, two at about 10 am, two more around 3pm, and finish out the night around 8pm with two more cups.... If you havent tested your BP multiple times a day for atleast a few weeks, theres no way to know if you really have ongoing HBP....You can get a tester and get an average of where your BP is.....Normally a Doc will reccommend you do that before going straight to meds, atleast thats what I assume....HPB is normally a sign of congestion in the body, if the organs and routes of elimination are congested the hearted has to work harder to push bloood throught the body, I would look into cleansing your organs too.....
P.S. If you eat a lot of processed foods, their normally loaded with table salt.....
While dehydration increases vascular resistance, the total effect is actually low blood pressure. The heart might pump harder, but because of the lower circulating volume, the actual pressure never gets above normal. It's rare that the body will overcompensate for something like this.
Buuut getting enough water is always a good idea ;)b
Thank you for all the replys. I usually do drink alot of water due issues with being dehyrated but i did increase the water intake no difference. I don't like salty things that includes processed foods , I hate processed stuff its :(. I actaully was told to not to do salt but then i got blood work and well i had low low levels of sodium which was not good.
Fast Forward three weeks after blood work the high blood pressure medicince wasn't helping and my doctor was saying due diet or stress. So i decide that I need to cut down the stress and well I took the stressful situation out of my life. And the blood pressure went back to being semi normal just within a few days. But because of this one time thing I decide to go almost completly raw i am in the process of moving more towards that direction now that I have moved to a bigger city.
While dehydration increases vascular resistance, the total effect is actually low blood pressure. The heart might pump harder, but because of the lower circulating volume, the actual pressure never gets above normal. It's rare that the body will overcompensate for something like this.
Buuut getting enough water is always a good idea ;)b
[/quoteWater keeps the blood thin, people waste money on blood thinners that cause more damage than they are worth....Water is what keeps the blood thin.....without it blood gets thick and congested and causes the heart to have to increase pressure, theres no way around this simple truth....Low blood pressure would occur after yeaers of having high blood pressure, when the heart is fatigued, over worked, and about to fail....A strong heart would simply increase the blood pressure....
? cool story bro.
A blood thinner is something like aspirin, that is meant to prevent clotting/coagulation. Some take it to prevent heart attacks, not as a treatment for high blood pressure
A blood pressure medication would be something like furosemide or another diuretic, which causes the kidney to excrete more water & electrolytes than normal.
Blood pressure isn't about viscosity, it's about the combination of blood volume, vascular resistance, and the distribution of the blood.
I'm not saying someone has to take synthetic pharmacological agents to treat it, just that adding water isn't going to help. The kidneys will filter out excess water anyway, provided the reason for the high BP isn't kidney disease.
? cool story bro.
A blood thinner is something like aspirin, that is meant to prevent clotting/coagulation. Some take it to prevent heart attacks, not as a treatment for high blood pressure
A blood pressure medication would be something like furosemide or another diuretic, which causes the kidney to excrete more water & electrolytes than normal.
Blood pressure isn't about viscosity, it's about the combination of blood volume, vascular resistance, and the distribution of the blood.
I'm not saying someone has to take synthetic pharmacological agents to treat it, just that adding water isn't going to help. The kidneys will filter out excess water anyway, provided the reason for the high BP isn't kidney disease.
Agreed.
Blood thinning pharmacologic agents do things water can't. Aspirin helps keep platelets from sticking together for example, others disrupt the clot formation process.
Like FB points out a totally different issue than hypertension (high blood pressure).
Increased water intake might help with dehydration and dilute the blood products within the vascular system, but it doesn't necessary "thin the blood". Also there is a thing such as water intoxication that isn't good. Too much water depletes sodium levels and can cause all kinds of problems, as has been seen in athletes.
It's important to get accurate and good information. :)
oh yeah. water or sodium toxicity is some serious stuff. I used to drink a ton of water after running (not as a rule, 'cause I felt like it), until I read up more on that... everything in moderation! Even if "moderation" is a gallon.
ha, yeah I've been (probably unnecessarily) freaked out by the water intoxication stories : /
I would try incorporating Chia seeds, watermelon, and celery in your diet. Also do you workout? Besid a vegan diet you should also be exercsing. There are many different workouts that Beachbody offers (such as 10 Minute Trainer and coming soon Tai-Cheng and they are coming out with a Tropical Strawberry Vegan Shakeology. Exercising helps to relieve stress. I would also try to meditate and if you can go get a massage and invest in some aromatherapy.
www.beachbodycoach.com/kljbaker
www.myshakeology.com/kljbaker
;)bHigh Blood Pressure Update: ;)b
I haven't high blood pressure for almost now 4 months and going. I am currently on a very strict vegan diet , no processed foods, no HFCS, very little salt or sugar. I have a regmine for workouts each week 5-7 days of yoga in the morning plus cardio about three times a week. I have a special bottle for water that is marked to see how much water I am in taking each day to avoid dehydration and to insure that I am not making myself intoxication by water.
I had a family member show me how to check my blood pressure myself since I have/had high blood pressure. I found out it runs in my family so it common to get it in my family.