High Blood Pressure

 

Have You Tried A Natural Remedy For High Blood Pressure?

There are no medications that simply popped into existence out of nowhere.  If no one had bothered to ask Whats this mold on my cheese? we wouldnt now have penicillin.  While drugs and medications are, in the end, made in laboratories, these compounds originated in natural herbs; plants, stems, bark, seeds, leaves and roots.  The best example of this kind of natural remedy is digoxin, the drug of choice for heart maladies, made from the foxglove plant. 

When considering a natural remedy for high blood pressure, its known that herbal remedies are gentler on your body and are less likely to have nasty side effects.  However, you must talk with your physician before using a natural remedy for high blood pressure, since these products are slow-acting and their benefits make take weeks or months to take effect.  If you have uncontrolled serious hypertension, a natural remedy for high blood pressure may not be a wise choice.

What Natural Remedies Are Used For Treating High Blood Pressure?

Garlic is well-known among herbal medicine practitioners to be effective in treating a large variety of health problems such as heart disease, infections, inflammations, and hypertension.  Many people take a garlic supplement every day to increase their over-all good health.  Research indicates that three chemicals in garlic are helpful in treating hypertension: alliin, allinase, and allicin.  These three chemical cousins appear to have many beneficial effects on blood circulation explaining why garlic is a natural remedy for high blood pressure.  Caution: do not use garlic if youre taking a blood-thinning drug such as warfarin; garlic will interfere with its action.  Herbalists recommend 300 mgs of garlic (in capsules) three times a day.  To use fresh garlic, try one clove per day.

Coleus is not only a natural remedy for high blood pressure, its also used to treat asthma, eczema, psoriasis and angina.  The active ingredient in the coleus plant is forskolin, a chemical that relaxes muscles and is a natural antihistamine.  Talk with your physician before you try coleus; it should not be used in combination with prescription medications for high blood pressure.  Nor should it be used if youre taking warfarin.  It should not be taken by pregnant women as it can cause uterine bleeding and miscarriage.

Hawthorn is very popular among herbalists as a natural remedy for high blood pressure.  Its also used to treat heart disease and angina. Hawthorn contains a complex mix of chemicals that, together, improves the hearts pumping ability.  Heart action is directly related to hypertension.  Consult your physician before using Hawthorn; it may take several weeks to take effect and this may not be time you can afford to wait if your high blood pressure needs to be lowered very quickly to prevent a heart attack or stroke.  If your physician approves, try Hawthorn capsules, 100-300 mgs two or three times daily. 

To use a tincture of Hawthorn as a natural remedy for high blood pressure, take one teaspoon three times daily.  Caution: a tincture is a preparation of herbs mixed and stabilized with alcohol.  If youre in recovery from alcoholism, do NOT use a tincture.

The savory and highly-medicinal olive leaf is used as a natural remedy for high blood pressure, infections, herpes, colds, and hepatitis.  Olive leaves contain oleuropein, a chemical that has been demonstrated to kill bacteria and lower blood pressure. For more than 6,000 years, olive leaves have been prized for their medicinal properties.  They have no known side-effects. Try one 250 mg capsule twice a day for hypertension.

Stevia leaves are not only natural sweeteners, they are also used as a natural remedy for high blood pressure and high blood sugar levels in diabetics.  Herbalists believe that more research on stevia must be completed before it becomes a standard treatment. The active ingredient in stevia is stevioside, a super-sweetener that contains no calories.  For hypertension, stevia can reduce blood pressure too quickly, and you should use it only with a physicians approval.  Use no more than 1,000 mgs daily.