This post is relatively important for people who has high blood pressure since this may significantly destruct your health. High blood pressure comes from the medical term, referring to hyper tension. The high blood pressure is one of the several risk factor that may result in developing heart attack, stroke, and some greater risk effects.


Caption: high blood pressure

The understanding of blood pressure is important. Blood pressure is also measured in mililitres of mercury (or mmHg), as two figures (the two normal figure of pressure is usually 150/95 mmHg). 150 is referred as the sytolic pressure (the pressure in the arteries when the heart contract). On the other hand, 95 is referred to diastolic pressure (the pressure in the arteries when the heart rests between each heartbeat).


Caption: a Sphygmomanometer (blood pressure measuring machine)


Caption: measuring blood pressure manually

The development of high blood pressure happens when the pressure in our arteries (we also called that as blood vessel) increased significantly over a period of time. This could refer to two possibility: either the blood pressure sustained or exceeded the 2 measurements of pressure of 150/95 mmHg (sytolic and diastolic pressure), let says 170/70 mmHg or 120/104 mmHg. The first example (170/70) shows that 170 has exceed the normal pressure unit of 150 whilst the second example (120/104) shows that 104 has exceeded the normal pressure of 95. This usually only happen when we have high blood pressure.

Some friends have asked: "what happen if our blood pressure exceeded 160/100 mmHg?". If so, the blood pressure is relatively high, and the person will usually be asked by his/her doctor to reduce it through medication. If your blood pressure is between 140/90 and 160/100 mmHg, you are usually infected by various disease / problems such as (1) high rish of developing cardiovascular disease (2) diabetes or (3) damage to the heart and / or kidney. Therefore, high blood pressure is a relatively serious health problem.


Caption: blood vessel

High blood pressure is commonly diagnosed by various symptoms: frequently anxious, stressed, people with diabetes, genetically inherited by family members and some other conditions, such as kidney or hormone problems that may also cause high blood pressure. However, the high blood pressure could be reduced through the reduction of overweight, execising regularly, healthy diet, reducing alcohol consumption, reduce/stop smoking, and low salt/caffein consumption. This risk may also be reduced when a person consume plenty of fruits and vegetables. Since high blood pressure is a risk that causes no symptoms, you are then adviced to regularly attend medical checkup (once every 3-5 years).


Caption: a picture of psychological capture for high blood pressure

There are also some solutions to reduce the risk of high blood pressure, with suppliments found from some medical articles.

Co-Q10. This nutrient is also known as Coenzyme Q10, a gem when it comes to cardiovascular problems and managing heart risk factors. People usually consume Co-Q10 when they have heart related problems. Co-Q10 is an essential ingredient for cellular energy production, but it’s also a potent antioxidant (antioxidant is potentially useful to also help reducing the risk of cancer). This ability to limit oxidative stress reduces inflammation and also enhances blood circulation. Co-Q10 is one of the supplements discovered to have shown to lower high blood pressure by up to 15 systolic points and 10 diastolic points. Nutritionist suggest to consume 100–225 mg of Co-Q10 daily in divided doses.

Magnesium. This mineral is known as remedies for high blood pressure. Magnesium has a direct impact on the ability of arteries to expand and contract, and deficiencies can cause arteries to spasm and constrict of potentially blocking blood flow. To control high blood pressure, consume 500 - 1,000 mg of magnesium daily.

Nattokinase. This supplement would help to prevent abnormal thickening of the blood, one of the main cause of high blood pressure. Nattokinase would have the potential of lowering blood pressure by 10–20 systolic points and 5–10 diastolic points. Start with 50 mg a day and increase the dose to 100 mg after a week. (Note: If you’re taking any kind of blood thinning drug (i.e. Coumadin), then try avoid consuming nattokinase. The combination of both could cause your blood to become too thin.

Fish oil. The omega-3 fats in fish oil have shown to be able to reduce blood viscosity. It was suggested by nutritionist to consume 2–3 grams daily.

B-complex. B-complex is useful to help in relaxation (i.e. stress and pressure, read more about B-complex HERE). This is why it is useful to reduce high blood pressure. First, it helps to replace the B vitamins lost in your urine if you’re taking a diuretic to control your blood pressure (all B vitamins are water soluble). Second, specific members of the B-complex family, such as vitamin B6, have antihypertensive effects. Folic acid contained in the B-complex is also helpful, particularly for women. You should always consume B complex vitamins, either in a stand-alone product or as part of a high-quality multivitamin. Just be sure consume at least 100 mg of B6 and 800 mcg of folic acid daily.

Vitamin C. Vitamin C is essential for building and maintaining healthy blood vessels. It is also a potent supporter of the body’s antioxidant system. This is why people consume vitamin C daily to help reducing the risk of flu and cough. It’s especially important for increasing levels of glutathione, a free-radical scavenger. Both of these effects support healthy blood pressure. It was suggested to consume 1,000 mg daily.

L-arginine. This amino acid is the main ingredient that your blood vessels need to make nitric acid, a substance that helps keep them properly dilated. Eating foods or taking supplements that provide 4–10 grams daily has helped lower blood pressure by 6 systolic points and up to 7 diastolic points. Foods rich in L-arginine include peanuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, soy, coconut, diary, meat, and variety of seafoods.

Quercetin. Similar to nattokinase, quercetin is usually found naturally in onions. It helps to break down blood clots and keep blood flowing properly. In many studies, people with high blood pressure who took 730 mg of quercetin daily for a month experienced a drop of 7 systolic points and 5 diastolic points.


IMPORTANT: Please follow the direction or prescription on the bottle, or get consultation from nutritionist if necessary. It is important to ensure that the nutritions you consume is appropriate and will not have any stimulant property. If they do, it may worsen the illness.