Skypilot56 said...
Well I was thinking I'm probably committing slow suicide by not taking blood pressure pills I'm right on the line so I guess there's two ways to look at it! What's a guy to do hey? 🤷♂️🤷♂️
20 years ago, I dropped my BP from 140/90 and steadily rising to 103/60 after dropping 40 lbs in 6 months on various low carb approaches. ( I knew if I went to a doc with that, I would be on BP meds) As I went back to my "bad" eating habits, it took me most of that 20 years to put most of that weight back on. It probably took that long because when I would see the gut expanding, I would go back to my low carb regime for a couple of weeks, and take some of it back off. But finally, after I came back from the 25th wedding anniversary celebratory Hawaiian vacation a couple of years ago ( I had quite a few sweet Hawaii style adult beverages and also desserts), I had finally come full circle. So I went on a couple of months of low carb eating, and added intermittent fasting to the scheme, and I have continued that last part, though not as often as I should. And the weight pretty quickly came back down to about
the middle of that range, good enough for me.
But here is the thing: my BP never really came back up to the steadily rising number like it had been. It's true that I might occasionally get a top number of 130 or 140(lower number stayed down in the 60s-70s), I would also just as often get a top number between 110 and 130. However, it is important to take the measurement after sitting for 5 minutes. For instance, if you jumped up from your seat in the doctor's waiting room, and they immediately slap the blood pressure cuff on and measure it, you are very likely to have a higher reading then if you had been sitting relaxing at home for five or more minutes. Simply being in the doctors office, all by itself, can generate a falsely high BP reading, this happens to my wife all the time. The term is "White coat hypertension". But add to that getting up out of the waiting room seat, sitting back down and immediately taking the reading, and you have a very good chance of reading 20+ points higher than the real number. I've also found time of day to be a factor, based on my personal measurements, but I can't find any evidence for that.
Just as in the case of type II diabetes, which is itself a risk factor for hypertension(and so many other diseases), a lot of medical ailments can be controlled or at least improved by diet and exercise, and possibly even supplements. But without question, controlled or improved by diet. Which avoids any side effects of medication. It's my personal opinion, based on personal experience and studies that I have read, that anything we do that will shrink the spare tire will also lead to an impressive improvement in blood pressure readings, as well as a host of other health improvements, even without the addition of medications. Based on my personal experiences, any expansion of my waistline tends to lead to other negative outcomes, whether it be blood pressure readings or lab results. Of course, I could just take a pill. My wife tends to lean that way. And No doubt would help the blood pressure, and I will certainly take that approach if it is ever actually required, but it wouldn't do anything about
the underlying cause of the elevated blood pressure, which also I has many negative effects on other bodily functions.
Post Edited (BillyBob@388) : 10/22/2019 8:45:38 AM (GMT-6)