54 Years Old Female Chronic Hypertension

[TreasureVibe]

Hello everyone! My name is Richard and I am here to ask for advice regarding my 54 year old mother. Ever since she gave birth to me 21 years ago as her first child she has had suffered from chronic hypertension with in the last 8 years it has become more stubborn and higher on a daily basis. She has had 5 babies in total including my younger brother and sister with 1 miscarriage and 1 pre-emptive abortion. As my concerns for her health grew I decided to convince her to use several dietary supplements in order to make a difference. This grew into a plethora of different supplements all helping her in a different way. These are them with her daily intake:

L-Arginine 5 grams and L-Citrulline 200mg combined (as ProArgi-9+)
Vitamin D3 3000 IU
Nascent Iodine 1,950 mcg (3 drops)
Magnesium Chloride (Zechstein Magnesium) 5 grams foot baths together with 2 grams Sodium Bicarbonate
2 Liters tap water spread out over the day and 1/4th teaspoon Celtic Sea Salt in water (Based on the Water cure by Dr. Batmanghelidj)
2 softgels Vitamin B Complex (probably cheap synthetic ingredients, using these since she can't swallow most pills and capsules)
30 mg Zinc Picolinate (most days she takes these with some random days leaving them)
1 softgel Super K by LifeExtension
1 softgel Astaxanthin 12 mg
3 Minami Platinum Omega 3 fish oil softgels (around 3 grams of Omega 3)
2 tablespoons of Cod liver oil
200 to 300mg Jarrow Formulas natural Ubiquinol
1000 to 2000 mg Vitamin C as a effervescent tablet in 2 glasses of water

She is 54 years old, has a midlight tanned skin from natural genetics, is of Dutch and mixed Indonesian (South East Asian) descent and also has a lot of other descents mixed in her blood like English, Chinese. She weighs 62Kg and is around 1,66metres long. She uses her home cycle trainer each day to bicycle while watching tv for around a hour even though she does it in a slow place and on a setting which makes her to cycle quite heavy. She also has a tanning bed which she goes under once in a while. And also now she goes walking on her treadmill for around a hour on about 3 days in her week. She eats a lot of greens and avoids fried foods and tries to eat not too much meat. Also she has cut back her salt intake completely. She eats alot of bread with margarine butter throughout the day which I have told her is unhealthy, and she stopped eating grains for 1 week which resulted in her craving bread and sweet food so she went back to eating bread. This resulted in no big changes in blood pressure measurements the last day of her stopping grains.

1 year ago she has been prescribed Nifedipine Retard 30mg per day which is a Calcium Channel Blocker, and a timed release version of Nifedipine. Nifedipine is a Dihydropyridine variant of Calcium Channel Blockers. Even though the side effects have lessened she still does not like taking this medicine, because of the bad stories we read on the internet about it too. She has tried stopping them cold turkey for a day a while ago and what happened is that she had heavy edema in her face and legs the day after and she felt tense and sick and had lots of headache which after we decided to continue the Nifedipine Retard again.

In the beginning around a year ago when she did not start medication or supplements or therapy yet she had bloating water edema in her face and arms and legs, and her blood pressure measured around 176/115 which is quite high. Later on with medication after 6 months it lowered to a stable 156/110, from which on I started giving her the supplements and therapy named above. With this, having given her all of the above for 2 months straight we have managed to lower her blood pressure to a steady 137/80, yet I have made the mistake of letting her take Swanson Sunflower Lecithin these last 2 days, which she had taken according to the recommended intake, yet after these 2 days I could see her body detoriate somehow, and I think this is the TMAO's doing their work. So she has quitted the Sunflower lecithin. Her eyes are always slightly blueish and at times a bit yellowish and have a lot of cracks so it seems and they seem watery, and red veins running through them. A few days ago she had sudden leg edema which we pointed Iodine to be the culprit of and that was the moment she started taking Ubiquinol which clears out the edema.

I am asking here for any advice at how she could reach a healthy stable blood pressure of 120 systolic pressure without Nifedipine Retard, and how she can quit this medicine and any medicine for good. And what she could do or take to accomplish this, as it is quite frustrating having her take and do all these things and yet still have a lingering 137 systolic pressure and these stressed out looking damaged eyes (from the high blood pressure probably) and also this slight puffy appearance and red flushing (the latter was only today noticable after the Sunflower Lecithin).

Also as I have read on here before Vitamin E could be really useful to persons with high blood pressure, would this be the case for her aswell? And which brand and product would you recommend as the best anno Juli 2016? I have a feeling that even though she could be salt sensitive, salt is not the culprit since she completely avoids it and yet with all of these supplements she still reads a blood pressure of border 140 systolic pressure.

Your advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[marikay]

Hi.

Since I am near your mom's age I will start the conversation. I've never had hypertension, but I feel I know enough about Ray Peat to comment. Here is what I would get rid of in your mom's diet in order of importance:

Cod Liver Oil
Fish Oil (all of it) Replace these oils with refined coconut oil (one or two tablespoons a day chased with OJ) or just cook with it, or butter
Arginine
Vitamin C
Astaxanathin
Water (that's way too much and without any sodium is probably causing the edema)
Zinc (you get enough of this from food)

Ray has written fairly extensively about hypertension and sodium intake. Increasing both salt and baking soda can make all the difference. I know this is hard to believe at first since the common wisdom is that salt (sodium) causes hypertension but the exact opposite is usually the case. It is the lack of sodium in the blood that causes hypertension and increasing the amount a person gets can make a pretty big and pretty fast difference. Water intake with no sodium is likely the cause of her edema. Stop the water and start the sodium. Drink juice (OJ is great) or regular coke or milk. My rule is to only drink a liquid if it has calories in it.

And she should stop the bicycling and the treadmill until she feels like she has too much energy to just sit around. Forcing exercise is a huge mistake. Walking around outside is vastly better than bringing her heart rate up with exercise. Again, I realize this sounds radical but this will seem common sensical once you (and she) see the difference a Peatarian approach can do for a middle age woman. I am living proof of that.

If the tanning bed has UVB rays then it might be OK during the winter months. if no uvb rays, then throw out the bed or replace the bulbs with bulbs that have UVB in them. Sunshine during the summer months when the sun rises high in the sky is the best was to get vitamin D. You don't need a lot but if you wear sunscreen all the time or never go out into the sun, you'll likely be deficient in vitamin D.

There is a good thread here on the forum for persons new to Ray Peat. I think it is call a Ray Peat Primer. And then there is always Ray's site with the articles as well.

ProgestE (a few drops a day) might make your mom feel 25 again. It really really works.

And sugar, sugar, sugar is my motto.

Hope this helps.

 

[ecstatichamster]

i would suggest yes, cutting out the l-arginine and fish oil. And I'd add progest-e and magnesium and perhaps calcium. Progest-e not only antagonizes estrogen. It helps the body absorb magnesium and calcium and those may help her blood pressure really fall.

 

[TreasureVibe]

Thank you for replying so fast Marikay and ecstatichamster :) I will order the Progest-e drops and give it a shot. I forgot to mention by the way she also uses 100mg Pycnogenol daily. Should she remain to use this or also get rid of it? We will ditch the fish oil in favor of raw coconut oil first, and progressively stop all others you named aswell.

And I will let her follow your advices Marikay! Thank you for your commitment! The tanning bed she uses has no UVB I suspect, so I will talk to her about replacing the bulbs or getting it out.

May I ask what do you suggest as the best form of calcium and magnesium supplementation (bysglicinate, citrate etc)? And what is the dosage you recommend with the Progest-E?

And I have been thinking of getting Cardio-C for her to clear her arteries. This has Proline, Lysine and high grade vitamin C all mixed in a powder form. According to the work of Pauling. Do you recommend this or give this a negative advice?

Thanks!!

 

[Atalanta]

This thread about high blood pressure has some interesting advice that may be helpful:

Blood Pressure. Arrrrgggg!

 

[TreasureVibe]

Thanks Atalanta I will check that thread out :)

 

[marikay]

Thank you for replying so fast Marikay and ecstatichamster :) I will order the Progest-e drops and give it a shot. I forgot to mention by the way she also uses 100mg Pycnogenol daily. Should she remain to use this or also get rid of it? We will ditch the fish oil in favor of raw coconut oil first, and progressively stop all others you named aswell.

And I will let her follow your advices Marikay! Thank you for your commitment! The tanning bed she uses has no UVB I suspect, so I will talk to her about replacing the bulbs or getting it out.

May I ask what do you suggest as the best form of calcium and magnesium supplementation (bysglicinate, citrate etc)? And what is the dosage you recommend with the Progest-E?

And I have been thinking of getting Cardio-C for her to clear her arteries. This has Proline, Lysine and high grade vitamin C all mixed in a powder form. According to the work of Pauling. Do you recommend this or give this a negative advice?

Thanks!!

Glad I could be of help. As for pycogenol, I would also drop that. Ray hasn't said anything that I am aware of on pycogenal but it isn't in any of his articles so at best it is probably a waste of money, and at worst it might be hurting your mom, so I would drop it along with the other things.

The coconut oil should be refined (not raw). Ray says many persons are allergic to virgin (raw) coconut oil so the refined (cooked) coconut oil is best. the refined oil has no smell or taste and as a bonus it is usually cheaper then the virgin oil. So to repeat, refined (not raw) coconut oil is best.

I don't usually need any calcium supplements because I drink a lot of milk (at least a quart and often a half gallon a day). Eggshell or oyster shell calcium is best. Avoid calcium citrate. Start with small dosage and work up to whatever makes her feel the best. Or just drink milk.

I have a lot of trouble getting enough magnesium even though I drink a lot of orange juice. So I take a lot of Epsom salt baths (incredibly relaxing) and put some baking soda in the bath as well. The usual recipe is 2 cups of Epsom salt and 1/2 cup of baking soda in a warm (almost hot) bath and soak for 15 minutes or so. It works like a charm and you don't need to use soap, just a gentle washcloth. If your mom wants to supplement magnesium, then magnesium chloride or magnesium carbonate is best. Again no citrate. Not sure on the dosage, maybe start with 200mgs and go from there. Also remember that coffee has magnesium (as does chocolate).

In my opinion ProgestE is the greatest gift Ray Peat has given the world (and that is really saying something since Ray has given all of us too many gifts to even begin to count). If your mom has any arthritis, she can use three small drops every ten minutes till the pain goes away. Otherwise the best way to use ProgestE is three small drops twice a day for two weeks and then take a week or two off. You don't really need to take a break from the ProgestE, but I do so anyway in order to mimic the usual menstrual cycle of a young woman. I also occasionally use ProgestE under my eyes since it is the greatest thing I have ever found to get rid of dark circles. I don't need to do this too often anymore though because since following Ray's advice I no longer have dark circles under my eyes.

Proline and lysine are good aminos, but the vitamin C is not, as we say around here, Peaty. I think I'd try to get the amino acids your mom needs from the Peaty foods that you'll see discussed on this site. And if she likes coffee, then this is her lucky day. Coffee is great for middle age ladies. Ray has written a whole lot on the benefits of coffee, it works almost like a vitamin. And if your mom drinks a cup or two when she has red meat, she can still enjoy a steak or a cheeseburger every now and then. Gelatin is big around these parts as well, though I have trouble with the arginine in gelatin so I may buy my first isolated amino supplement, glycine, which is found in gelatin and is beneficial, and take the glycine supplement at night, after the Epsom salt bath.

And finally, even though you didn't mention this, sometimes women my age suffer from dry skin. Coconut oil works for many as a lotion but most of us find it too heavy. So, with the help of a member of this forum, I discovered refined olive oil. The refined olive oil, as opposed to the virgin olive oil, has no smell. It works amazingly well for body lotion, lip balm, and even as a leave-in hair conditioner for dry ends. And best of all it is about 1/10th the price of the commercial versions of these products.

Please keep us posted as to how the sodium increase helps your mom with her hypertension.

Cheers.

 

[mujuro]

I noticed when I started drinking tea, I began urinating A LOT more than just drinking coffee. My grandfather has severe hypertension. When he isn't on an ACE inhibitor, his systolic can reach 200mmHg - extremely dangerous. But he has also been a tea drinker for his whole life. He drinks between 5 and 10 cups of black tea a day, and he's a farmer so I know he is physically active. It occurred to me that perhaps his hypertension is an adaptive response to chronic sodium loss. Chronically elevated aldosterone for years and years. I always believed adaptive hypertension in this context to be a rather rapid response, but perhaps it is a much longer process and more resilient to change.

 

[marikay]

I noticed when I started drinking tea, I began urinating A LOT more than just drinking coffee. My grandfather has severe hypertension. When he isn't on an ACE inhibitor, his systolic can reach 200mmHg - extremely dangerous. But he has also been a tea drinker for his whole life. He drinks between 5 and 10 cups of black tea a day, and he's a farmer so I know he is physically active. It occurred to me that perhaps his hypertension is an adaptive response to chronic sodium loss. Chronically elevated aldosterone for years and years. I always believed adaptive hypertension in this context to be a rather rapid response, but perhaps it is a much longer process and more resilient to change.

very possible that your explanation for the possible cause of hypertension is spot on, and that may be one of the reasons Ray doesn't recommend drinking tea, along with too many toxins…and coffee has many benefits besides the magnesium. cheers.

 

[Atalanta]

Glad I could be of help. As for pycogenol, I would also drop that. Ray hasn't said anything that I am aware of on pycogenal but it isn't in any of his articles so at best it is probably a waste of money, and at worst it might be hurting your mom, so I would drop it along with the other things.

The coconut oil should be refined (not raw). Ray says many persons are allergic to virgin (raw) coconut oil so the refined (cooked) coconut oil is best. the refined oil has no smell or taste and as a bonus it is usually cheaper then the virgin oil. So to repeat, refined (not raw) coconut oil is best.

I don't usually need any calcium supplements because I drink a lot of milk (at least a quart and often a half gallon a day). Eggshell or oyster shell calcium is best. Avoid calcium citrate. Start with small dosage and work up to whatever makes her feel the best. Or just drink milk.

I have a lot of trouble getting enough magnesium even though I drink a lot of orange juice. So I take a lot of Epsom salt baths (incredibly relaxing) and put some baking soda in the bath as well. The usual recipe is 2 cups of Epsom salt and 1/2 cup of baking soda in a warm (almost hot) bath and soak for 15 minutes or so. It works like a charm and you don't need to use soap, just a gentle washcloth. If your mom wants to supplement magnesium, then magnesium chloride or magnesium carbonate is best. Again no citrate. Not sure on the dosage, maybe start with 200mgs and go from there. Also remember that coffee has magnesium (as does chocolate).

In my opinion ProgestE is the greatest gift Ray Peat has given the world (and that is really saying something since Ray has given all of us too many gifts to even begin to count). If your mom has any arthritis, she can use three small drops every ten minutes till the pain goes away. Otherwise the best way to use ProgestE is three small drops twice a day for two weeks and then take a week or two off. You don't really need to take a break from the ProgestE, but I do so anyway in order to mimic the usual menstrual cycle of a young woman. I also occasionally use ProgestE under my eyes since it is the greatest thing I have ever found to get rid of dark circles. I don't need to do this too often anymore though because since following Ray's advice I no longer have dark circles under my eyes.

Proline and lysine are good aminos, but the vitamin C is not, as we say around here, Peaty. I think I'd try to get the amino acids your mom needs from the Peaty foods that you'll see discussed on this site. And if she likes coffee, then this is her lucky day. Coffee is great for middle age ladies. Ray has written a whole lot on the benefits of coffee, it works almost like a vitamin. And if your mom drinks a cup or two when she has red meat, she can still enjoy a steak or a cheeseburger every now and then. Gelatin is big around these parts as well, though I have trouble with the arginine in gelatin so I may buy my first isolated amino supplement, glycine, which is found in gelatin and is beneficial, and take the glycine supplement at night, after the Epsom salt bath.

And finally, even though you didn't mention this, sometimes women my age suffer from dry skin. Coconut oil works for many as a lotion but most of us find it too heavy. So, with the help of a member of this forum, I discovered refined olive oil. The refined olive oil, as opposed to the virgin olive oil, has no smell. It works amazingly well for body lotion, lip balm, and even as a leave-in hair conditioner for dry ends. And best of all it is about 1/10th the price of the commercial versions of these products.

Please keep us posted as to how the sodium increase helps your mom with her hypertension.

Cheers.

There are women who do not have positive results with progest-E. Progesterone is not a magic bullet and there are many healthy women who do not use supplemental progesterone.

I don't think you can promise that a 50+ year old woman will feel like 25 again if she uses progest-E or any other progesterone.

@RichardDobson should be very careful with his mother making too many changes to her diet all at once and adding in a whole bunch of new Peat supplements.

We are all different and many people here have not done well following certain Peaty dietary recommendations and supplements. I think a woman in her fifties should go slowly and keep track of the dietary changes and supplements.

 

[Atalanta]

Hi.

Since I am near your mom's age I will start the conversation. I've never had hypertension, but I feel I know enough about Ray Peat to comment. Here is what I would get rid of in your mom's diet in order of importance:

Cod Liver Oil
Fish Oil (all of it) Replace these oils with refined coconut oil (one or two tablespoons a day chased with OJ) or just cook with it, or butter
Arginine
Vitamin C
Astaxanathin
Water (that's way too much and without any sodium is probably causing the edema)
Zinc (you get enough of this from food)

Ray has written fairly extensively about hypertension and sodium intake. Increasing both salt and baking soda can make all the difference. I know this is hard to believe at first since the common wisdom is that salt (sodium) causes hypertension but the exact opposite is usually the case. It is the lack of sodium in the blood that causes hypertension and increasing the amount a person gets can make a pretty big and pretty fast difference. Water intake with no sodium is likely the cause of her edema. Stop the water and start the sodium. Drink juice (OJ is great) or regular coke or milk. My rule is to only drink a liquid if it has calories in it.

And she should stop the bicycling and the treadmill until she feels like she has too much energy to just sit around. Forcing exercise is a huge mistake. Walking around outside is vastly better than bringing her heart rate up with exercise. Again, I realize this sounds radical but this will seem common sensical once you (and she) see the difference a Peatarian approach can do for a middle age woman. I am living proof of that.

If the tanning bed has UVB rays then it might be OK during the winter months. if no uvb rays, then throw out the bed or replace the bulbs with bulbs that have UVB in them. Sunshine during the summer months when the sun rises high in the sky is the best was to get vitamin D. You don't need a lot but if you wear sunscreen all the time or never go out into the sun, you'll likely be deficient in vitamin D.

There is a good thread here on the forum for persons new to Ray Peat. I think it is call a Ray Peat Primer. And then there is always Ray's site with the articles as well.

ProgestE (a few drops a day) might make your mom feel 25 again. It really really works.

And sugar, sugar, sugar is my motto.

Hope this helps.

Not necessarily true. Too much milk and calcium can create a zinc/magnesium deficiency.

There is some evidence that non-whites are more sensitive to sodium than whites, so too much sodium can raise their blood pressure.
His mother is mixed race so maybe she should not assume that excess sodium will be beneficial. She should start off by salting her food to taste, limiting plain water and not go overboard by adding salt and baking soda to everything just because Ray Peat says sodium is good,

Potassium and magnesium have been shown to lower blood pressure in some people with hypertension so it is dangerous to assume that everyone with hypertension needs extra sodium.

When I was a fruitarian/vegan, I had low blood pressure and I did not add salt to my food. But I was getting a lot of magnesium and potassium from my diet.

 

[TreasureVibe]

Well yesterday she used quite some Celtic sea salt on her baked potatoes as to increase sodium which I suggested her. And today she is making a quite relaxed impression, but in contact with business associates (we run a family business at home) she can become a bit agitated real soon, something which I don't recognize in her as her true self. Her skin however and eyes all look quite healthy, so I have suggested to her to be sparingly with the Celtic sea salt, yet make sure that she atleast get some intake, just to be on the safe side. And perhaps in the coming weeks we can gradually work on increasing this. My bets are on a hormone imbalance, which I hope and think from what I have read of the works of Ray Peat and his citations will be solved with the Progest-E. The symptoms that the Progest-E description speaks of that Progest-E manages, are some typical ones that my mother suffered before our agressive-approach supplement protocol while on Nifedipine Retard. In that period she suffered from hot flashes a lot almost everyday, combined with sometimes a flushed face but not always. Always she would ask if the room she was in was hot, with us always telling her it wasn't.

Does perhaps someone has experience how an elevated estrogen or low estrogen with a high testosterone or vice versa or any other (perhaps typical) hormone imbalance could exhibit itself in the behavior of a woman with the age of my mom? Perhaps I could make an early assumption already that it is an hormone imbalance, because I have thought all other options out quite well, and I figured there must be something wrong with the regulation of the minerals like magnesium and calcium in the body or perhaps a deficiency in calcium (as we have been thoroughly supplementing topically with magnesium for quite a while with short term success already) which is caused by this hormone imbalance which was suggested by a medical study cited by Ray Peat I can't find the direct article anymore but last night I've read it and it made a lot of sense if this would be the case.

It is painful to see my mother not being her self like this and behavioral abnormalities in a person are lots of times caused by messy hormones I think! She really looks healthy otherwise, much better then in the past few days.. Tonight I will take her BP and I will keep you all updated. Thank you!

 

[marikay]

Not necessarily true. Too much milk and calcium can create a zinc/magnesium deficiency.

There is some evidence that non-whites are more sensitive to sodium than whites, so too much sodium can raise their blood pressure.
His mother is mixed race so maybe she should not assume that excess sodium will be beneficial. She should start off by salting her food to taste, limiting plain water and not go overboard by adding salt and baking soda to everything just because Ray Peat says sodium is good,

Potassium and magnesium have been shown to lower blood pressure in some people with hypertension so it is dangerous to assume that everyone with hypertension needs extra sodium.

When I was a fruitarian/vegan, I had low blood pressure and I did not add salt to my food. But I was getting a lot of magnesium and potassium from my diet.

I did not say anyone should add salt or baking soda to everything. And of course salting to taste is the best way to start. But it is clear if you read the original post that salt had been eliminated from the diet. So that is what prompted the add sodium to the diet recommendation. And if you read through my recommendation I clearly said that magnesium would help.

 

[marikay]

There are women who do not have positive results with progest-E. Progesterone is not a magic bullet and there are many healthy women who do not use supplemental progesterone.

I don't think you can promise that a 50+ year old woman will feel like 25 again if she uses progest-E or any other progesterone.

@RichardDobson should be very careful with his mother making too many changes to her diet all at once and adding in a whole bunch of new Peat supplements.

We are all different and many people here have not done well following certain Peaty dietary recommendations and supplements. I think a woman in her fifties should go slowly and keep track of the dietary changes and supplements.

I did not suggest that anyone "add in a whole bunch of new Peat supplements." If you read the original post and my response you can clearly see that the post asked about ProgestE and a lot of other supplements. I recommended they get rid of most of the supplements, not add them.

And once again I never said, let alone promise, that ProgestE would make a 50+ woman feel like a 25 year old. I said it might. (Please read my posts more carefully if you are going to take issue with them.)

From your confident declarations on what is and is not good for a 50+ year old woman, I have to assume you are also a woman in her fifties since you see fit to challenge my experience. Like the woman whose son was asking for help for, I am woman in her fifties and therefore saw fit to be the first one to comment. I made it clear from the beginning that I was writing about my experience, nothing else.

In the future, please take more care in reading my posts before commenting on them, or refrain from commenting on my posts all together and I will do the same for yours.

 

[Ella]

Well yesterday she used quite some Celtic sea salt on her baked potatoes as to increase sodium which I suggested her. And today she is making a quite relaxed impression, but in contact with business associates (we run a family business at home) she can become a bit agitated real soon, something which I don't recognize in her as her true self.

Her skin however and eyes all look quite healthy, so I have suggested to her to be sparingly with the Celtic sea salt, yet make sure that she atleast get some intake, just to be on the safe side. And perhaps in the coming weeks we can gradually work on increasing this. My bets are on a hormone imbalance, which I hope and think from what I have read of the works of Ray Peat and his citations will be solved with the Progest-E. The symptoms that the Progest-E description speaks of that Progest-E manages, are some typical ones that my mother suffered before our agressive-approach supplement protocol while on Nifedipine Retard. In that period she suffered from hot flashes a lot almost everyday, combined with sometimes a flushed face but not always. Always she would ask if the room she was in was hot, with us always telling her it wasn't.

Does perhaps someone has experience how an elevated estrogen or low estrogen with a high testosterone or vice versa or any other (perhaps typical) hormone imbalance could exhibit itself in the behavior of a woman with the age of my mom? Perhaps I could make an early assumption already that it is an hormone imbalance, because I have thought all other options out quite well, and I figured there must be something wrong with the regulation of the minerals like magnesium and calcium in the body or perhaps a deficiency in calcium (as we have been thoroughly supplementing topically with magnesium for quite a while with short term success already) which is caused by this hormone imbalance which was suggested by a medical study cited by Ray Peat I can't find the direct article anymore but last night I've read it and it made a lot of sense if this would be the case.

It is painful to see my mother not being her self like this and behavioral abnormalities in a person are lots of times caused by messy hormones I think! She really looks healthy otherwise, much better then in the past few days.. Tonight I will take her BP and I will keep you all updated. Thank you!

My mother's doctor called me into her clinic 37 years ago. I was 21 years old and she lectured me, that if I didn't make my mother take her blood pressure medication, I would be the carer of a stroke victim. I am 58 now and my mother is 84 and climbs her fruit trees to prune them and digs her garden every day. Her blood pressure is crazy 220/110 at times which is plenty scary for me. She refuses to take medication, lives on coffee, bread and vegetables and will work in her garden all day and wonders why she is ready to faint at the end of the day. You can imagine, she experiences adrenaline spikes during the night and sleeps poorly. She tells me that nothing can fix her blood pressure, however when she comes to stay with me and eats regular (peatish) mineral rich meals her blood pressure normalises to about 120/80. I think this is considered high normal but I think its bloody good. I joke with her asking why does she prefers to own the higher blood pressure rather than the normal one. Like everyone, she is too lazy to feed herself but quite happily eats when it is placed in front of her. I suggest to not bother with all those supplements. They are not needed. Ray has spoken many times that they can be more problematic than beneficial. Besides how do you know what she is missing. You are just taking a stab in the dark and many times, even experienced people get it wrong.

I have proven this to work time and time again; every time my mother visits. I give her freshly squeezed orange juice, cheese and milk. Milk and sugar, really brings her alive and she is like a Nanna on speed - just go, go go - unbelievable. Lots of gelatin-rich broths and soups, liver and seafood and we are looking at a completely different mindset. However, I need to drag her crying and screaming until we achieve normal blood pressure. No supplements, just good mineral rich food. I would not do progest - E but focus on those anti-estrogenic foods and get the liver working optimally. I find women that eat well, rarely experience hot flushes. I never did, but my mother suffered terribly and typically she has always had terrible eating habits and hates cooking, possibly the reason why I am so pendantic about food. My mother has had a pathological relationship with food all her life. Menopause and stress is a recipe for disaster with high cortisol, insulin resistance, hormonal imbalances which results in feeling totally alienated from your body, mind and emotions.

Your mum is blessed to have such a caring and concerned son. Your mum needs to be supported, reassured and nurtured with lots of nourishing foods. Calcium deficiency is normally associated with hypertension. Milk not only contains calcium but also magnesium, sodium and potassium. A complete cocktail of alkaline minerals. It helps to stabilise the system when there is much instability occuring during stressful hormonal times.

Calcium and Disease: Hypertension, organ calcification, & shock, vs. respiratory energy

Some people who know about the involvement of calcium in aging, stress, and degeneration suggest eating a low calcium diet, but since we all have skeletons, dietary calcium restriction cant protect our cells, and in fact, it usually intensifies the process of calcification of the soft tissues. Statistics from several countries have clearly shown that the mortality rate (especially from arteriosclerotic heart disease, but also from some other diseases, including cancer) is lower than average in regions that have hard water, which often contains a very large amount of either calcium or magnesium.
Many studies have shown that dietary calcium (or vitamin D, which increases calcium absorption) can have very important antiinflammatory effects.
About 25 years ago, David McCarron noticed that the governments data on diet and hypertension showed that the people who ate the most salt had the lowest blood pressure, and those who ate the least salt had the highest pressure. He showed that a calcium deficiency, rather than a sodium excess, was the most likely nutritional explanation for hypertension.

If her Vitamin D levels are adequate and she is getting adequate calcium in the diet, then I would add vitamin K2. The first five years of entering menopause is the time when most of the bone lose occurs. Having a strategy in place to prevent bone lose during these years is prudent to avoid mobility issues and broken bones in the later years. I would do the magnesium extract from kale and green vegetable alla Peat style as she will also be getting plenty of folate also.



I found pregnenolone beneficial but my blood pressure has always been on the low side and never high. Pregnenolone is great for women that has been burnt out by stress entering menopause. There are concerns that it can increase cortisol. I know it makes me feel normal and back in charge of my life. I can't do too much progesterone and have only just started to combined pregnenolone with progesterone ocassionally. If you are thinking about introducing hormones I strongly recommend you monitor as many times just like supplements you can get it wrong by taking a stab in the dark.

One hormone that needs to be given priority is thyroid hormone as menopause and estrogen dominance can really make a mess of women. Check Reverse T3 as this will give a good indication on energy availablity and the conversion to T4 to T3.

You may need to monitor her meals and even prepare them for her until she makes the connection between the stabilising influence of certain foods. Menopause is really a time for women to stop thinking about others and focus on their needs. The body demands that you pay attention to its needs. This is the time to correct mineral deficiencies and toxicities. I can't emphasise this enough. I know too well what happens when living a stressful life coincides with menopause. Complete breakdown of the body. It took me nine months to be able to walk again after my breakdown and quite a few years to be pain-free.

Best,

 

[tca300]

My grandmother has had high blood pressure for several decades. Taking small amounts of thyroid dropped it down to normal. Ray has mentioned k2 and bag breathing I think.