Blood Pressure Down

Blood Pressure Down: The 10 Step Plan to Lower  Your Blood Pressure In 4 Weeks Without Prescription by Janet Bond Brill

For years, society's love affair with poor dietary habits and very little exercise has contributed to a rapidly growing problem in the United States. One of the leading causes of preventable death in the U.S. is a sudden and silent killer called High Blood Pressure. Going beyond the national data that nearly two-third of the nation is obese or overweight, any sort of solution often goes ignored.

Why, you ask?

Because people live their lives accordingly. Not only are people busy, often over-worked, dealing with the stresses of a bad economy, freewill is something built into human DNA. So when human beings are faced with an overload of statistical data, restrictions, and this-is-for-your-own-good guidelines, it is natural to rebel.

The key to functional success with long term goals is not deprivation. It is knowledge.

Blood Pressure Down is the ultimate tool chest that provides a wealth of ideas and information on how to lower blood pressure and take less prescription drugs. This is not a quick fix, or band-aid, or an ultimate cure-all. It gives a straight forward way to understand what is potentially damaging and how to tweak bad habits without going to the extreme.

"When you are buying packaged foods, read and use the information on the food labels to allow easy comparison between brands. Always check the ingredient list for sodium, MSG, baking soda, and other sodium-containing compounds. You will be surprised at the tremendous difference between products in terms of sodium content. Only buy boxes, cans, and bags of food with the words "low sodium" or "sodium free" on the front."

There are sensible nuggets of wisdom that can be incorporated into daily life without ridiculous crash diets.

"...bananas are Mother Nature's sweet blood-pressure-lowering medicine because of their potassium content..."

"Coffee is... linked with reduced risk of developing a number of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's. Coffee is loaded with magnesium..."

"Eat yogurt..."

"Eat chocolate..."

"...drinking a small amount of red wine daily with food is part of the lifestyle prescription for preventing the onset of high blood pressure."

Of course, everything should be in moderation. But for those individuals needing a little more guidance, the author has produced sample weekly optimal BP-lowering strategies that combine food and exercise, all the way down to guided meal and snack suggestions, calorie counts and mineral consumption. The book also contains delicious recipes for meals, snacks and desserts, with nutritional information broken down so all the reader needs to do is cook, eat, and enjoy.

Brill's clever approach and deft knowledge has taken on both the psychological and physiological factors of a healthier lifestyle to deliver the most comprehensive, sustainable and empowering program. The approach can be personalized to each reader's needs; whether a person is already on a different plan, has a prescription or is under therapy, it is incredibly modifiable.

Never has it been easier than what is laid out in Blood Pressure Down, it's time for every individual to take responsibility and acknowledge when enough is enough.

Janet Bond Brill, Ph.D., R.D., LDN, is a nationally recognized expert in cardiovascular disease prevention. She has been a nutritionist in private practice for many years.

Blood Pressure Down by Janet Bond Brill, 2013 ISBN 978-0-307-98635-1