Posted by Aaron

In Reply to: Remedy for high blood pressure - oats, garlic, onions and olive oil posted by Mary T

True. Mostly.

Mary T wrote:
>
> A high fiber, low fat, low cholesterol, low sodium diet usually helps quite
> a bit. Oats, garlic, onions and olive oil are said to be beneficial.

This is all true. I might disagree with the "low cholesterol" part, in
that dietary cholesterol has been shown to have a negligible influence
on serum cholesterol - saturated fat intake is far more significant. Red
wines tend to help in the prevention of cardiovascular disease, so it
would probably be especially prudent in one already predisposed.

> Overweight and sedentary lifestyle are usually contributing factors. One

True, but pharmacologically induced weight loss can induce a significant
loss in blood pressure as well. A combination treatment would,
obviously, be more effective, but if compliance is a problem, and
obesity is significant, these drugs are indicated.

> also needs to remember that most artificial sweeteners are sodiums.

False. The three most commonly used sweeteners, in order, are probably
aspartame, acesulfame potassium, and saccharine sodium. While, yes,
saccharine is usually a sodium salt, aspartame - the ubiquitous
nutrasweet - is merely a methyl ester of phenylalanine and aspartate.
Acesulfame-K is, of course, a potassium salt. There was also a study put
out earlier this summer indicating that a properly balanced diet (with
adequate calcium, magnesium, &c) was more important than watching sodium
intake. Potassium salt substitutes, are, of course, widely available.

Aaron

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