There are many ways to manage blood pressure and cholesterol through diet, supplementation and exercise. The following can all be done in conjunction with your medication. Do not ever discontinue a medication without consulting the doctor who prescribed them for you.  Dr. Rae is always happy to talk nutrition and supplements with her patients.  If you are unsure or would like more information on if any of the following recommendations would be good for your situation please call Attune Chiropractic at 585-385-0560 for a consult!

1st to address is the side effects of taking Statin Drugs (if you don’t take them, ignore these next few things;)

• Statin Drugs have been proven to inhibit the synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 (Ubiquinone). CoQ10 functions in every step of cell respiration (remember your Krebs cycle and electron transport chain?) It also aids in circulation.
• Statin Drugs deplete the body’s store of Vitamin A, which can be found in any veggie with an orange or yellow skin.
• Statin Drugs also compete with magnesium absorption in the body because mg is absorbed in the kidneys. A deficiency in Mg is noticeable with an increase in headaches and general muscle aches. Mg is also a cofactor for vitamin B6, which is essential to breakdown homocysteine (which has been linked to heart disease). The best source of Mg is from dark green veggies.
• A good source of B6 is bananas

Cholesterol

• B vitamins also play a very important role in energy production, cellular respiration, carb and protein metabolism etc. B1 is needed in 4 steps of the Krebs cycle, and if you eat a high carb diet or have a high intake of alcohol, your need for B1 is greatly increased. B3 is found in potatoes and has been shown to decrease cholesterol. B5 decreases serum cholesterol by enhancing the synthesis of cholesterol in the liver. B12 helps control the production of homocysteine and is found in miso soup and dark beers.
• Chromium is known to help maintain a healthy level of HDL and should be taken with Vitamin C to increase the absorption
• Bioflavinoids helps to decrease cholesterol by increasing the availability of vitamin C to decrease platelet aggregation or blood clotting tendencies. Bioflavinoids are the white stuff found on the outside of an orange… don’t peel it off!! Eat it with the orange! Also, vitamin C allows cholesterol to be converted to bile acids and excreted into the intestines.
• Be careful taking zinc supplements (like all the cold prevention stuff). Zinc can inhibit copper absorption which decreases HDL (the good cholesterol) and it also competes with iron, calcium and magnesium.
• Oat bran is very important in your diet. If you don’t get enough in your daily diet, I would definitely recommend taking a supplement. Fiber binds cholesterol and bile acids to be excreted.
• Avoid all animal fats… instead eat steamed fish, skinless turkey or chicken.
• Avoid aged cheese, aged meat, anchovies, avocados, chocolate, fava beans, sour cream, and yogurt.
• Limit coffee and alcohol.
• The following foods lower cholesterol… apples, bananas, carrots, cold-water fish, garlic, grapefruit, olive oil.
• Oral contraceptives can increase cholesterol.

Blood Pressure

• Vitamin E can help decrease blood pressure if the systolic pressure is not over 180. It functions to protect red blood cell membranes and can be found in cold pressed veggie oils…. use E with caution if you are on a blood thinning medication.
• Potassium helps regulate blood pressure by regulating the cell resting membrane potential. A diet that is low in potassium and high in sodium has been proven to increase blood pressure. The best source of potassium by far is a banana. Don’t even bother with a supplement.
• GARLIC!!! One of the best things for hypertension and hyper cholesterol. It is best to eat real garlic and not the stuff from the jar because the act of chewing releases subsets of allicin (the active ingredient), which in a jar has already been done for you. Eat 1 clove a day… put it on your chicken, stir it into rice, spread it on bread. So good for you. It decreases platelet stickiness, which decreases the potential of it to stick to plaque decreasing the potential to form a clot or an embolism. It acts as a blood thinner so careful if you are taking prescription blood thinners.
• Herbs—– many herbs are beneficial but they can be very powerful. I would recommend if you wanted to try any herbs to make a paste of it and smear it on the inside of your wrist and leave it for an hour. If it causes an irritation of your skin, don’t ingest it. That being said, Hawthorne as been linked to improving coronary blood flow and decreasing hypertension. It inhibits the angiotensin-converting enzyme, which increases your blood pressure.
• Calcium deficiencies have been linked to high blood pressure.
• Lecithin capsules emulsify fats to improve liver function and lower blood pressure. Lecithin is also found in raw nuts (not peanuts… anything else like almonds or any of the exotic nuts)
• Avoid water softeners because of the added sodium.
• It is not enough to eat a diet low in sodium, you really should cut out all sodium which is essential for lowering blood pressure… which means reading labels and eliminating anything containing salt, soda, sodium, Na, MSG, baking soda, canned veggies, over the counter meds containing ibuprofen, diet soft drinks, soy sauce etc.

It is extremely important to get 30 minutes of aerobic activity per day!! It may seem like a lot, but really just a brisk walk to get your heart rate and respiration rate up. You shouldn’t be out of breath, but it should be elevated… every day!!!