High blood pressure can be dangerous to many parts of your body. Eating the foods that are known to lower blood pressure is easy.
Recent research has shown that red beets can lower blood pressure. We used to eat them every week when I was a child. We stored them in the ‘root cellar’ and had them fresh. My mother was fond of making Harvard Beets and pickled beets. You can also grate fresh beets into salads or salad dressing, add them to stews and soups. Eat them raw, baked, roasted, or boiled. Cooled roasted beets make a great addition to salads.
Dr. Ahluwalia at the London School of Medicine did extensive research that was published in 2008 showing that when the patients drank 500 mL (2 cups) of fresh beet juice it reduced their blood pressure after about 1 hour and continued to do so for several hours later. After 24 hours the effects were still seen. And there were no side effects.
Beets also contain a compound called betacyanin which is known to be a cancer fighter. In Europe in the 1970s there were many cancer clinics that used a raw food diet, exercise, and a kilogram of beets juiced up before each meal.
Apples have also been known to help lower blood pressure. A fabulous salad of apples, roasted beets, and dark green leafy vegetables with a touch fresh garlic, olive oil, and lemon on it is a great tasting way to help keep blood pressure low.
Slow deep breathing can also lower your blood pressure in minutes. You have to breathe less than 10 times a minute so you will have to count the inhalation and exhalations. Try walking and breathing, use a count of about ten steps for the inhalation and 20 steps for the exhalation. You can increase the count if you want, the slower and deeper you breathe the more you can reduce your blood pressure.
I suggested this to a man I met at a trade show who actually looked gray in the face. He did the slow deep breathing for a few minutes and his blood pressure came down so much so that he actually had color in his face again, and it wasn’t gray. Every half hour or so he did a few minutes of slow deep breathing. He was like a new man. He really changed with just that few minutes of deep breathing.
If you have high blood pressure always check with your doctor before trying anything new. Please add beets and slow deep breathing to your daily routine, you’ll be surprised how much better you will feel.
Kathleen O’Bannon, CNC, is a nutritionist, speaker, product formulator, and the author of 10 books on nutrition including “The Anger Cure: A Step-by-Step Program to Reduce Anger, Rage, Negativity, Violence, and Depression in Your Life” and “Nutrition and Health in the Bible, The Smart Guide to the Bible Series.” You can reach her through her web site: http://healthaliveproducts.com
