High Blood Pressure
This article does NOT constitute medical advice.
Consult with your physician before making any changes to your medical plan.
Consult with your physician before making any changes to your medical plan.
What is high blood pressure (hypertension)? Let's define it.
According to Google, high blood pressure is a condition where the force of blood pushing against artery walls is consistently too high, forcing the heart to work harder.
Now, after reading that definition we should immediately ask what does "too high" mean. According to the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology, the threshold is 120/80 mmHg. Anything over that is supposedly too high. But, according to the International Society of Hypertension, the threshold is 140/90 mmHg when measured at a doctor's office. That's a big difference.
According to Google, high blood pressure is a condition where the force of blood pushing against artery walls is consistently too high, forcing the heart to work harder.
Now, after reading that definition we should immediately ask what does "too high" mean. According to the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology, the threshold is 120/80 mmHg. Anything over that is supposedly too high. But, according to the International Society of Hypertension, the threshold is 140/90 mmHg when measured at a doctor's office. That's a big difference.
Let's turn to the scientific literature. This study entitled Blood pressure targets in adults with hypertension showed that a blood pressure below 140/90mmHg likely does not offer any extra benefit. And this study entitled Blood pressure targets for the treatment of people with hypertension and cardiovascular disease showed that a blood pressure below 135/85mmHg likely does not offer any extra benefit. I will let you read these studies and decide for yourself what the threshold should be. In the meantime, we will turn this discussion to the root causes.
The American Heart Association says the cause is the following:
Well, that's just a bunch of cockamamie BULLSHIT. That tells you absolutely NOTHING about what is going on at the cellular and subcellular levels, and it invokes lifestyle changes that millions of people have tried that often result in no success whatsoever in reversing high blood pressure. Let's talk real biophysics, not AHA fantasy.
The human heart is NOT nearly strong enough to pump blood throughout your body. Take for example the red blood cells that must travel through very tiny capillaries. The capillaries are 3 micrometers in diameter, but the red blood cells are 6 micrometers in diameter. If the red blood cells are twice as big as the vessels then how do they get through. This has baffled cardiologists around the world for decades. How can the heart, which is located near the top of the body, push red blood cells through blood vessels that are half their size, down near the feet of the body, and then get that blood moving again to push it uphill back to the heart after it has completely stopped to exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide??? Physicists that specialize in biology calculate that it would take AT LEAST 500 hearts to push red blood cells through those tiny blood vessels and then get it moving after it has completely stopped to exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide and then get it all the way back up to the top of the body. And why would evolution put the pump at the top of the hill? Pumps ALWAYS go at the bottom of the hill. It doesn't make sense. Is there another mechanism that moves the blood???
Well, indeed there is another mechanism that moves the blood. It is electric force, and it is strong enough to bend red blood cells and force them through tiny capillaries. When a water molecule comes near a biological surface (positively charged) in the blood vessel, like the cells of the blood vessel wall, the water molecule (H2O) separates into OH- and H+. The negatively charged OH- molecules are attracted to the positively charged cell of the blood vessel wall (because positive attracts negative) while the positively charged H+ molecules are repelled by the positively charged cells of the blood vessel wall (because positive repels positive). All of the H+ molecules are pushed to the center of the blood vessels, and those positively charged H+ molecules all start repelling each other because positive repels positive. This is what causes the blood to flow....the repelling of all these H+ molecules repelling each other in the center of the blood vessel. This is a VERY STRONG force, but you need a VERY STRONG energy source to keep it going. We'll get to that energy source in a minute. But, first, I want you to truly appreciate the POWER of electric force. Imagine a thought experiment where we remove 1% of the electrons from your body and 1% of electrons from another person's body. We lay one of you on the ground and we put the other person on top of you, but, since you are both now negatively charged from removing electrons from your bodies, you will repel each other. How much weight would we have to put on the top person to keep the two people 1 meter apart? The answer is a weight equal to the weight of the Earth. That's how massively powerful electric forces are at repelling each other. I didn't calculate that. Richard Feynman, the greatest physicist of the 20th century, calculated that. So, imagine how powerful the repulsion is between the H+ molecules in your blood to keep blood flowing. Keep all of this in mind as we go to the next section on blood pressure treatments.
Well, indeed there is another mechanism that moves the blood. It is electric force, and it is strong enough to bend red blood cells and force them through tiny capillaries. When a water molecule comes near a biological surface (positively charged) in the blood vessel, like the cells of the blood vessel wall, the water molecule (H2O) separates into OH- and H+. The negatively charged OH- molecules are attracted to the positively charged cell of the blood vessel wall (because positive attracts negative) while the positively charged H+ molecules are repelled by the positively charged cells of the blood vessel wall (because positive repels positive). All of the H+ molecules are pushed to the center of the blood vessels, and those positively charged H+ molecules all start repelling each other because positive repels positive. This is what causes the blood to flow....the repelling of all these H+ molecules repelling each other in the center of the blood vessel. This is a VERY STRONG force, but you need a VERY STRONG energy source to keep it going. We'll get to that energy source in a minute. But, first, I want you to truly appreciate the POWER of electric force. Imagine a thought experiment where we remove 1% of the electrons from your body and 1% of electrons from another person's body. We lay one of you on the ground and we put the other person on top of you, but, since you are both now negatively charged from removing electrons from your bodies, you will repel each other. How much weight would we have to put on the top person to keep the two people 1 meter apart? The answer is a weight equal to the weight of the Earth. That's how massively powerful electric forces are at repelling each other. I didn't calculate that. Richard Feynman, the greatest physicist of the 20th century, calculated that. So, imagine how powerful the repulsion is between the H+ molecules in your blood to keep blood flowing. Keep all of this in mind as we go to the next section on blood pressure treatments.
High Blood Pressure Treatments:
Here is what the International Society of Hypertension says are the lifestyle modifications needed to reverse hypertension.
Again, more cockamamie bullshit.
If your blood is not moving fast enough then your brain is going to constrict your blood vessels to make the blood move faster like narrowing a hose would make the water move faster. When the brain over-constricts the blood vessels then your blood pressure will go up. So the VERY FIRST thing we need to consider when reversing high blood pressure is optimizing the speed of the blood so that the brain doesn't constrict blood vessels. This would depend on that "energy source" that I mentioned above that would force those H+ molecules into the center of the blood vessel allowing them to repel each other and make the blood flow quickly. What is that energy source? It is infrared light. You are surrounded by infrared light all day and all night. Put on a pair of infrared goggles at night and you will see infrared light everywhere. But are you getting the optimal amount of infrared light? The answer for nearly all modern humans is "no". The sun is the greatest source of infrared light, but most people are not outside all day long as we evolved to be. So the very first thing you must do to begin your journey to reverse high blood pressure is to get as much natural sunlight as possible without getting sunburn. Infrared light will go through several layers of clothing which makes is easier, especially when it's cold outside. You can supplement with infrared light inside your home with an incandescent sauna bulb like this one from Sauna Space. Just screw it into a $10 chicken lamp from Amazon and put it in your kitchen or office or wherever. I have 3 in my house. The infrared light charges the system that pushes the H+ molecules to the center of the blood vessels allowing the H+ molecules to repel each other so the blood can flow at optimum speed so the brain can then relax and allow the blood vessels to stop constricting thus lowering blood pressure. Refer to the work of Dr. Gerald Pollack at the University of Washington for the detailed studies on this topic. The experiments are easy to understand. Blood pressure will lower, but will it be enough to fully reverse your high blood pressure? Maybe, or maybe not. It depends on the person and extent of their blood pressure problem. But we're not done. We're just getting started.
There's more. There are chemicals that the body uses to dilate blood vessels so that blood pressure is optimal. One of those chemicals is nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is made in the skin and in the blood vessels. In the skin it is produced by UV light from the sun, and it is transported directly to the blood vessels where it dilates blood vessels and reduces blood pressure. Yes, the sun again. You MUST get UV light on your skin (without getting sunburn). This time, however, you must take off your clothes because UV light does NOT penetrate clothing. We'll talk about what to do during winter in a minute. The second part of this is that nitric oxide is also made in the blood vessels by the glycocalyx, which is a fuzzy lining of the blood vessels. But the glycocalyx gets destroyed by glucose in the blood, so you need to go on a ketogenic diet to keep your blood glucose low. That way you will stop destroying the glycocalyx, and you will optimize nitric oxide production in the blood vessel itself.
Now what about making nitric oxide in the skin during winter? How do we do that without moving to the tropics? You do it with cold. Yes, cold. When your skin temperature gets down to 50-55 degrees fahrenheit it signals the body to make massive amounts of an enzyme called endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) which make lots of nitric oxide so that your blood vessels will relax and dilate. Cold plunging in a tub activates this system well, and it is the quickest and most convenient way to facilitate this process. You only need a couple minutes in water that is 50-55 degrees to trigger this system, but you have to slowly progress in order to get to 50-55 degrees. You shouldn't just jump right into that temperature. Learn how to progress with cold plunging slowly and properly over a few weeks. Refer to Dr. Thomas Seager at Arizona State University. When you first get in the water your blood vessels will constrict and your blood pressure will temporarily rise. But when you get out of the water your blood vessels will dilate and your blood pressure will fall. Do this once per day and it will help lower blood pressure over the long-term. Consult with your doctor first though to make sure that cold plunging is suitable for you. There is the additional benefit that cold plunging will reduce your blood glucose (like the ketogenic diet) which will help to improve the function of the glycocalyx that will result in further nitric oxide production and lower blood pressure. And, you will likely lose considerable fat if you are over weight.
If your blood is not moving fast enough then your brain is going to constrict your blood vessels to make the blood move faster like narrowing a hose would make the water move faster. When the brain over-constricts the blood vessels then your blood pressure will go up. So the VERY FIRST thing we need to consider when reversing high blood pressure is optimizing the speed of the blood so that the brain doesn't constrict blood vessels. This would depend on that "energy source" that I mentioned above that would force those H+ molecules into the center of the blood vessel allowing them to repel each other and make the blood flow quickly. What is that energy source? It is infrared light. You are surrounded by infrared light all day and all night. Put on a pair of infrared goggles at night and you will see infrared light everywhere. But are you getting the optimal amount of infrared light? The answer for nearly all modern humans is "no". The sun is the greatest source of infrared light, but most people are not outside all day long as we evolved to be. So the very first thing you must do to begin your journey to reverse high blood pressure is to get as much natural sunlight as possible without getting sunburn. Infrared light will go through several layers of clothing which makes is easier, especially when it's cold outside. You can supplement with infrared light inside your home with an incandescent sauna bulb like this one from Sauna Space. Just screw it into a $10 chicken lamp from Amazon and put it in your kitchen or office or wherever. I have 3 in my house. The infrared light charges the system that pushes the H+ molecules to the center of the blood vessels allowing the H+ molecules to repel each other so the blood can flow at optimum speed so the brain can then relax and allow the blood vessels to stop constricting thus lowering blood pressure. Refer to the work of Dr. Gerald Pollack at the University of Washington for the detailed studies on this topic. The experiments are easy to understand. Blood pressure will lower, but will it be enough to fully reverse your high blood pressure? Maybe, or maybe not. It depends on the person and extent of their blood pressure problem. But we're not done. We're just getting started.
There's more. There are chemicals that the body uses to dilate blood vessels so that blood pressure is optimal. One of those chemicals is nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is made in the skin and in the blood vessels. In the skin it is produced by UV light from the sun, and it is transported directly to the blood vessels where it dilates blood vessels and reduces blood pressure. Yes, the sun again. You MUST get UV light on your skin (without getting sunburn). This time, however, you must take off your clothes because UV light does NOT penetrate clothing. We'll talk about what to do during winter in a minute. The second part of this is that nitric oxide is also made in the blood vessels by the glycocalyx, which is a fuzzy lining of the blood vessels. But the glycocalyx gets destroyed by glucose in the blood, so you need to go on a ketogenic diet to keep your blood glucose low. That way you will stop destroying the glycocalyx, and you will optimize nitric oxide production in the blood vessel itself.
Now what about making nitric oxide in the skin during winter? How do we do that without moving to the tropics? You do it with cold. Yes, cold. When your skin temperature gets down to 50-55 degrees fahrenheit it signals the body to make massive amounts of an enzyme called endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) which make lots of nitric oxide so that your blood vessels will relax and dilate. Cold plunging in a tub activates this system well, and it is the quickest and most convenient way to facilitate this process. You only need a couple minutes in water that is 50-55 degrees to trigger this system, but you have to slowly progress in order to get to 50-55 degrees. You shouldn't just jump right into that temperature. Learn how to progress with cold plunging slowly and properly over a few weeks. Refer to Dr. Thomas Seager at Arizona State University. When you first get in the water your blood vessels will constrict and your blood pressure will temporarily rise. But when you get out of the water your blood vessels will dilate and your blood pressure will fall. Do this once per day and it will help lower blood pressure over the long-term. Consult with your doctor first though to make sure that cold plunging is suitable for you. There is the additional benefit that cold plunging will reduce your blood glucose (like the ketogenic diet) which will help to improve the function of the glycocalyx that will result in further nitric oxide production and lower blood pressure. And, you will likely lose considerable fat if you are over weight.
In summary:
1. Get infrared light from the sun and/or from an incandescent sauna bulb.
2. Get UV light from the sun without getting sunburn.
3. Eat a ketogenic diet.
3. Do daily cold plunging after studying safety and learning techniques.
Some people experience good blood pressure lowering results from drinking hibiscus tea. This is not a root cause treatment, but it may help you in the short term as you learn to apply the other principles above.
Doctors are not taught any of the above science. In fact, if an instructor tried to teach this stuff in medical school they would likely be fired. Put in the time to learn more about the ideas above. Study, research, and try different things. You will probably know more than your doctor about reversing high blood pressure in a few months of deep investigation. Good luck!
1. Get infrared light from the sun and/or from an incandescent sauna bulb.
2. Get UV light from the sun without getting sunburn.
3. Eat a ketogenic diet.
3. Do daily cold plunging after studying safety and learning techniques.
Some people experience good blood pressure lowering results from drinking hibiscus tea. This is not a root cause treatment, but it may help you in the short term as you learn to apply the other principles above.
Doctors are not taught any of the above science. In fact, if an instructor tried to teach this stuff in medical school they would likely be fired. Put in the time to learn more about the ideas above. Study, research, and try different things. You will probably know more than your doctor about reversing high blood pressure in a few months of deep investigation. Good luck!
This article does NOT constitute medical advice.
Consult with your physician before making any changes to your medical plan.
