Joel Fuhrman - Eat To Live

Eat to Live 157

Studies have shown controlling sodium intake and weight loss to

be effective in reducing blood pressure, even in the elderly." How

can you implement these interventions into your lifestyle? It's sim-

ple. Eat many more fruits, vegetables, and legumes; eat less of every-

thing else; and engage in a moderate amount of exercise. High blood

pressure is relatively simple to control.

Though it took a full two years, Rhonda Wilson dropped her weight from

194 to a slim 119. She was also able to come off blood pressure medica-

tion as a result of her newfound commitment to a healthful lifestyle. When

she first came to me, she was on two medications to control her high blood

pressure. These two medications were not sufficient, as her blood pressure

was still excessively high, Rhonda did not see normal blood pressure read-

ings for a long time and was not able to stop her blood pressure medication

until she became relatively thin. Her story illustrates a common dilemma. It

is not unusual for some people to lose some weight, yet still have high

blood pressure. Some individuals develop high blood pressure and dia-

betes even from a small amount of excess body fat. For these individuals, it

is even more important to maintain an ideal weight.

I encourage my patients to do what it takes to normalize their

blood pressure so they do not require medication. Prescribing med-

ications for high blood pressure has the effect of a permission slip.

Medication has a minimal effect in reducing heart attack occurrence

in patients with high blood pressure because it does not remove the

underlying problem (atherosclerosis), it just treats the symptom. Pa-

tients given medication now falsely believe they are protected, and

they continue to follow the same disease-causing lifestyle that caused

the problem to begin with, until the inevitable occurs — their first

heart attack or stroke. Maybe, if high blood pressure medications were

never invented, doctors would have been forced to teach healthful

living and nutritional disease causation to their patients. It is possible

that many more lives could have been saved.

Only You, Not Your Physician, Must Take Full Responsibility

Do not expect to receive valuable health advice from your typical

doctor. Physicians usually do not help; they rush through their pa-

tient appointments, especially in the current HMO climate, because

they are paid so poorly for each visit and are pressured to see as