US Hypertension not improving

[David3]

7 weeks ago I went from a sedentary omnivore (near carnivore) to 100% vegan exercising daily. I do see improvements in many areas but I’m surprised my blood pressure seems to have remained the same.

I’m guessing the main suggestion will be to “talk to your doctor”, which I will, but they’ll probably just tell me to continue taking my pills (which I am) or up my dose! My goal is to get off this chronic pill merry-go-round!

Thoughts?

Hi daxm, and welcome to the forum.

Whole food, plant-based dietary interventions have demonstrated the reversal of coronary heart disease, but this reversal typically takes longer than 7 weeks. The much-cited Ornish Lifestyle Heart Trial (1990, published in "The Lancet" British medical journal) put 28 cardiac patients on a regimen that included a low-fat vegetarian diet, smoking cessation, stress management, and exercise. 82% of the patients experienced regression of their cardiovascular disease, but it took up to a year for these changes to slowly occur: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PII0140-6736(90)91656-U/fulltext

Because you are addressing an existing health issue, you might find it useful to plan/follow your diet with the help of a Registered Dietitian. In the United States, you can find a local RD through the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (Eatright.org - Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics) - just click on the red "Find An Expert" button in the upper-right of their webpage. Or, your physician can also refer you to a local RD. Because you have been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease, your insurance company may cover the cost.

 

[thinman]

35 flights of stairs.

When the apartment building fitness room was open, after a weights workout 45 mins I always took the stairs (2 at a time) back to the 15th floor which is 13 flights. I'm always seeing guys my age doing very little, one goes on the reclining stationary bike on easy and reads. I see other guys that look pregnant going for a walk. I'm 67 and like to keep fit in many ways, including power yoga and tai chi chuan.

 

[poivron]

I'm almost afraid to post this, but I think that your blood pressure medication may be keeping your blood pressure high. I have no scientific basis for this statement; it's just a hunch. My husband was also on blood pressure medication, and his blood pressure was roughly where yours is, even though we had been vegan for years. He finally convinced his doctor to let him gradually stop the medication. He measured his blood pressure every morning. Halving the dose had no noticeable effect, but a week after he stopped the medication completely, his blood pressure spiked up. His highest systolic reading was 164, and his highest diastolic reading was 93. We reduced our sodium intake drastically, ate more green vegetables, walked 2-3 miles every day, and over several months, his blood pressure gradually came down to a little below where it had been when he was on the medication. It is now more or less what is considered normal. I'm not sure whether it was going off the medication or the reduction in salt, etc., that did the trick. All I can say is that his blood pressure had been stubbornly high while he was on the medication, even though our diet was quite healthy.

Since then, I developed some health problems, and we also stopped eating oils, processed vegan foods, and other high-fat vegan foods. I'm now convinced that a truly whole-foods vegan diet that is free of oils and low in salt is healthiest for humans. I wonder whether my husband would have been able to reduce his blood pressure more easily on this new, healthier diet. You might want to consider experimenting as we did, with the help of your doctor.

P.S. I agree with the person who said vitamins should be suspected as well. If you're eating whole foods as a vegan and are getting adequate sunlight, the only vitamin you need to supplement with is B12. Some vitamins can become toxic if taken in large amounts.

 

[daxm]

I too think that maybe one of the current medications I'm on is keeping my blood pressure higher than it should be. I'm slowly working on reducing them.

I think/hope that my salt intake is low. We don't salt anything while we eat and only add a pinch when the recipe asks for it.
We don't add any additional oil BUT I do eat peanut butter and an occasional handful of mixed nuts. My wife is very careful to limit adding oil to any dish that is for me.

 

[FredVegrox]

Being active enough for exercise to your body has good value. The healthiest way of eating, whole food that is from plants, avoiding processed foods, is good in a number of ways for good health, avoiding and possibly reversing various health problems, hypertension included. From the book "The Forks Over Knives Plan", the doctors authoring it wrote,
"A whole-food, plant-based diet can prevent, halt, and even reverse heart disease and diabetes. Other diseases that are also positively impacted by this type of diet include: high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, and overall mortality."

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