High Blood Pressure and Metabolic Syndrome

Hypertension- a canary in the coal mine

Hypertension, otherwise known as high blood pressure, is a very common problem. About a
third of the US adult population has hypertension. It is not a problem that most of the time can be felt at all. Only when it rises suddenly might a person actually feel it. High blood pressure is associated with heart attacks and other forms of coronary artery disease and strokes. That is one reason it is important to recognize high blood pressure and take steps to bring it down.

Without checking it, high blood pressure can be present for many many years while organ
damage silently and slowly accrues. Usually elevated pressure does not exist in isolation. It
usually travels with one or several other signs of chronic disease. Together this five pack of risks is called The Metabolic Syndrome , a widely recognized condition that signals poor metabolic health and future diabetes, heart problems, strokes and cancer. (The five are: Blood pressure >130 over 85, Low HDL cholesterol, high triglycerides, above normal fasting blood sugar, and a big waistline. (National Cholesterol Education Program, ATP III 2005)

The quick fix for most blood cases of high blood pressure is medications. Blood pressure
medications do work simply and usually without detectable side effects. Observational studies suggest having lower blood pressure correlates with fewer cardiovascular events and longer life. This, however, is different from saying that drug therapy used to achieve lower levels is universally beneficial. Instead, it shows that having naturally low blood pressure from genuine good health is beneficial. That can be achieved through healthy lifestyles. Unfortunately the pills do not do anything to address the other elements of metabolic syndrome.

A critically important step to address all of the Metabolic Syndrome is to make meaningful diet changes. For years, that was thought to mean cutting down on sodium and there still is some truth to that. Extreme salt reduction does result in a small blood pressure reduction although it does so by raising heart rate and increased work on the kidneys. Another dietary change also reduces blood pressure and it does so much more than salt restriction.That diet change is sugar and carbohydrate restriction. Carbohydrates which are found in starchy foods induce the pancreas to secrete insulin. While insulin is essential for many metabolic functions, too much of it is a very bad thing. Chronically elevated insulin causes high blood pressure in several ways.

It causes the kidneys to retain sodium & water in the blood. It also thickens & stiffens the walls of arteries. Eating foods that are low in carbohydrate and sugars is frequently a quick way to lower fasting insulin and thus, also blood pressure without resorting to pills. Carbohydrate reduction simultaneously addresses the entire metabolic syndrome. Nice, huh?

Reducing sugars and starch also controls diabetes and shrinks dangerous abdominal fat, both associated with more severe COVID-19 disease. In summation, a quality diet can improve blood pressure, weight, blood sugar and keeps immunity in fighting shape. Now is the best time ever to eat right.

Eric J. Sodicoff, MD