25 Natural Ways To Lower Blood Pressure

[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

right here.
" Let s work together constructively.
" I m not going to get angry.
Don t say to yourself and the others
" I m all tensed up.
" This makes me mad.
" You ve got it all wrong.
" They are against me.
" She started this argument.
" I ll show him.
If the situation has become very tense, make use of some damage-
limiting techniques.
Do say to yourself
" Anger s a good signal; now it s time to get in control and
help myself.
" I m starting to tense up; time to slow down, take a few
deep breaths.
" What do I want to get out of this?
144 25 Natural Ways to Lower Blood Pressure
" I do not need to prove myself.
" I ll try and contain this.
" What he says may not matter at all.
" There have to be some good parts to this. What are they?
Don t say to yourself
" He can t do that.
" I ll get even.
" I ll not let him get away with that.
" I ll take it right to the top.
" He can t say that to me.
" This will be awful.
Six Steps to Controlling Anger
1. Take deep breaths. Meditate. Practice yoga. Play computer games.
2. Watch your caffeine and alcohol intake. Caffeine promotes anxiety and
irritability. Alcohol and drugs can spur you to act out aggressions.
3. Give yourself extra time when doing things; allow for things going wrong.
4. Remind yourself of the impact anger has on your health. Tirades boost blood
pressure, trigger premature heart attacks, and lead to ulcers, strokes, and
digestive problems. Besides, it never gets you what you want.
5. Don t be so easily offended by another person s actions. Where is it written you
can t be cut off on the freeway? Recognize we re all fallible; practice
forgiveness.
6. Seek out professional help. Resources include the American Psychological
Association, which has an online brochure, Controlling Anger Before It
Controls You.
Channel Anger Constructively 145
If the situation doesn t require an instant solution and anger is ris-
ing, you might propose a break. This could be the right time to take
a breather and return to discuss the issues, one by one, at a later
time.
After the situation is resolved, no matter how it turned out, go to
a quiet place and reassess what you ve been through.
Do say to yourself
" These difficult situations take time to work out. I resolve to
try and not take it personally.
" That could have been worse; or, it wasn t as tough as I
thought.
" I am definitely making progress.
Don t say to yourself
" Stuff happens.
" He never did see my point.
" That was awful. I should have said more.
" I ll win next time.
This page intentionally left blank.
19
Control Alcohol
In 1967, a study entitled The Los Angeles Heart Study established
a clear link between alcohol consumption and high blood pressure.
As alcohol consumption increases, so does blood pressure. This un-
equivocal relationship between long-term alcohol consumption and
high blood pressure has been confirmed in study after study. In fact,
the Harvard Medical School Health Letter estimates that alcohol
consumption accounts for at least 5 percent and possibly as much as
25 percent of high blood pressure!
Now, don t get the idea that everyone who has a cocktail in the
evening or a glass of wine at dinner will develop high blood pressure.
That s not the point. It s not the occasional drink; it s regular drink-
ing. About four cans of beer, two or more glasses of wine, or three
drinks with one ounce of liquor on a daily basis is enough to cause
high blood pressure in many individuals. Conversely, the same re-
search indicates that one alcoholic drink daily (one beer, one glass of
wine, or one cocktail) will not cause high blood pressure in most
people. If you drink moderately, you ll likely have no problem.
Copyright 2002 by James Scala. Click Here for Terms of Use.
148 25 Natural Ways to Lower Blood Pressure
CHARLIE S STORY
After one of my lectures on reducing high blood pressure, I got
the following letter about a month later from Charlie, a man in
Colorado.
Dear Dr. Scala:
I ve been following the advice you gave at your lecture in
Denver. I ve reduced my weight, stopped smoking, and have
been taking potassium supplements with no results.
The letter went on to describe that his doctor had prescribed the
potassium supplements. Since the doctor s prescription conflicted
with what I advise, a call was in order. Boy, did I get a different
picture.
Charlie had indeed lost 10 pounds, but at 210 pounds, he was
still 35 pounds overweight for his five-foot eleven-inch frame. And
he had retained all his bad habits. He faithfully drank three to five
ounces of Tennessee sipping whiskey each evening and had sliced
beef with gravy for lunch. His doctor, in an effort to follow my pro-
gram, had prescribed potassium in the belief that if he restored
Charlie s K-factor, it would compensate for his poor dietary habits.
But he didn t quite get the K-factor message; you don t simply add
potassium.
I called the doctor and we set up a simple plan: no more whiskey
and a good weight-loss program that followed the dietary rules in
this book to restore potassium-sodium balance. Within a week,
Charlie s diastolic reading was below 90. Two months later, his
weight was down to 195. His blood pressure was still high at [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Linki