Effective strategies to lower your blood pressure

About one in three Canadian adults have hypertension (high blood pressure), which increases your risk for heart attack, stroke, congestive heart failure, end-stage kidney disease, and more.

Elevated insulin and leptin levels are typically the cause of hypertension, so implementing strategies to normalize these levels are the first step to resolving hypertension.

Consider intermittent fasting if you are overweight and have high blood pressure as this is a profoundly effective way to normalize blood pressure.

Avoid processed foods, as most are loaded with sugar/fructose, processed salt, and harmful fats like trans fat and damaged omega-6-rich vegetable oils.

If you're deficient in vitamin D, your arteries are likely stiffer than they should be, and your blood pressure may run high as a result. This holds true even if you're considered generally "healthy".

Dominick Hussey

Osteopath and Functional Medicine Practitioner

Osteopathy and Functional Medicine

Ottawa Health Wellness Centre

Caveman Osteopathy - The Paleo Solution

There were of course no osteopaths around in the time of the cavemen but also there were far fewer chronic diseases either. What cavemen osteopathy refers to is not treating your bad back by bashing it with a big club but getting you to eat more like a cavemen. Probably the main root cause of my clients health problems is their diet.

The caveman or paleo diet is becoming more popular in main stream media. I myself have been Paleo for the last year in which time I have lost 30 pounds and my blood pressure is now a perfect 120/70 compared to 140/90. I have also seen positive results in a number of my clients who I have encouraged to follow the same diet helping to rid their bodies of chronic pain.

While many detractors may say this is just another fad diet I would argue it a lifestyle choice which has proven successful for 250,000 million years, which is as long as our ancestors have roamed the earth. It is only since the introduction of agriculture and grains that most of our modern health problems have emerged.

The paleo lifestyle is simply about:

1. Eating more whole foods that provide better food for your body, and
2. Avoiding processed, refined foods, nutrient-poor factory foods.

This means avoiding all grains, legumes (beans) refined sugar and pasteurized dairy products.

Put simply: JUST EAT REAL FOOD!

Many people see eating real foods as hard work and time consuming, but it really is not. It may be an adjustment, but for many who have made that leap back in time, the effect on their health and general wellbeing is will worth the sacrifice.

The driving principle behind Caveman Osteopathy is about treating the root cause of disease. While there are many other root causes getting a person eating real food can only help to make their body stronger and more resistant to the challenges of the modern world. I will be writing much more about this subject but you are interested in reading more about the science behind this way of eating, I recommend the following books:

• The Paleo Diet - Dr Loren Cordain.
• Practical Paleo - Diane Sanfillippo.
• The Paleo Solution - Robb Wolf, Biochemist.