HYPERTENSION – CAUSES AND CURE
Ayurveda, Yoga, Meditation, Life style change, and Diet changes
Hypertension is one such disease whose causes are usually unknown and hence very few patients are able to get rid of it permanently. 90% -95% patients suffer from Essential Hypertension implying that no specific reason or cause for Hypertension is present in such patients.

In present times the number of people suffering from Hypertension is rising rapidly. Today’s fast paced and stressful lifestyle along with improper diet and eating disorders are significant causes for the substantial rise. In the following article we shall look at the causes and cure of Hypertension from Ayurvedic point of view. Ayurveda is known to be a great Indian ancient science for curing with natural herbs and plants.

What is blood pressure

The pressure at which the circulating blood flows against the walls of the arteries is blood pressure. Normally, the blood flows at a steady rate. The blood flowing in the arteries during contraction of heart is called Systolic blood pressure. The normal systolic blood pressure is between 110mm Hg- 130mmHg. While the pressure of blood flow in the arteries in between two heart contractions is called Diastolic blood pressure. Its normal pressure level is between 70mm Hg – 90mm Hg.

Causes of Hypertension

According to the prime premise of Ayurveda, the flow of blood in the body is regulated through air which means that the blood circulates to all the arteries and veins through the medium of air. If the level of air increases in the body due to any reason, the speed of blood flow also increases causing hypertension. Dry and stale food, extra spicy food, alcohol and other drugs add to the amount of air in the body. Late nights, excess physical labour or workout, increased sexual activity, stress and tension and long exposure to cold winds also cause higher air level in the body. Apart from these, bitter, sour and tangy food products also lead to higher air in the body. With advancing age, the walls of arteries become less flexible and the pressure of blood over them rises, leading to hypertension. Hence it is clear that whenever there is consumption of such diet that increases air or other natural causes like old age, the increased air makes the arteries and veins rigid, losing their flexibility and thus causing difficulty in the expansion and contraction of heart and leading to higher blood pressure. Excess intake of salt and salty food also increases the liquid element in blood resulting in high blood pressure. Hence patients of hypertension are advised to minimize salt intake. The linings of fats on the walls of arteries also cause hypertension.

Symptoms of Hypertension

Headaches, blackening in front of eyes, heaviness in chest or chest pain and irritability are the usual symptoms of hypertension. Sometimes none of the symptoms are present and suddenly grave conditions like brain hemorrhage, heart attack or paralysis take place. Apart from this, at times hypertension is also found as one of the symptoms in various heart diseases, renal disorders, diabetes, colitis and other psychiatric disorders. It is extremely important to be alert against hypertension. If for a month or two you are feeling weak or feel exhausted after little physical workout or the heart beats faster after climbing steps or there is heaviness in head or trembling sensation in fingers or pain in hands, legs or neck, you must immediately get your blood pressure checked.

Treatment

For the treatment of hypertension, medicines that regulate heart beats, vaso-dilators and diuretics medicines are used. But the problem is that despite regular use of these medicines, the patient’s condition doesn’t normalize and gradually he is infected with lot of side effects which occur due to both diseases and its medicine.
Apart from the deciding the medicinal treatment for it, if the patient is provided with adequate information about his diet and lifestyle, it will not only help in controlling the blood pressure but also supplement the nutrients in the body which become deficient during this condition. By following a balanced diet and lifestyle, it is possible that patient’s hypertension be controlled by natural herbs and medicines alone and he can be spared from the side effects caused by constant intake of allopathic medicines. In effect, by following a balanced and model diet and lifestyle, 25% to 50% patients’ dependence on medicines can be gotten rid of.

Following are the rules of a model diet and lifestyle for control of hypertension:

1. If you are obese shed the extra weight and gain prescribed body weight.

2. Cleanse the blood vessels of all impure particles.

3. Consume such elements in the diet that help in control of blood pressure.

4. Giving up of such products and habits that increase blood pressure.

5. Making the digestive system strong and well functioning.

6. Living a mentally healthy lifestyle.

1). Shedding obesity:

Hypertension is directly related to body weight. Due to hypertension the weight of body increases and the heart has to put in extra effort to supply blood to the blood vessels which leads to increase in blood pressure. Thus if you are already overweight, then acquiring proportional body weight is the first step in controlling hypertension, without which it is not possible to regulate blood pressure. Hence by reducing body weight, the blood pressure falls and chances of having heart and blood circulation related problems decreases substantially. With increase in body weight, the amount of useful high density lipoprotein i.e. Cholesterol HDL decreases in the body and the harmful low density lipoprotein i.e. Cholesterol LDL increases in the body due to which fats get deposited in the arteries increasing the danger of Arteriosclerosis and thereby causing rise in blood pressure and presence of impurities in blood like tryglosrides, cholesterol, etc.

2). Removal of impure particles from the arteries:

From the point of view of control of blood pressure the presence of three particles namely sodium, cholesterol and tryglosrides, in excess amount is extremely harmful. The element sodium is highly influential in increasing blood pressure whose main source of entering body is through the form salt present in the food. There is no doubt in the fact that salt not only causes increase in blood pressure in already suffering patients but if normal people also start consuming extra quantities of salt, there will be rise in their blood pressure as well. Fibrous food articles contribute maximum in reducing the salt level in the body. Cereals like wheat, maize, bajra, etc, pulses like grams, masoor, moong, etc, spices like coriander powder, fenugreek, cumin, black pepper, cloves, etc, fruits like guava, raw mango, apricot, apple, cucumber, pear, etc, vegetables like potato, gourd, brinjal, etc, and soya beans are high in fiber content. These fibers reduce the speed of absorption of elements which reduces the speed of secretion of digestive juices and insulin. As the insulin level decreases the excretion of sodium from the body increases and blood pressure falls. Refined food articles like refined flour and sugar have no fibers and hence do not help in reducing high blood pressure.

To reduce the level of tryglosrides and cholesterol in the body, it is important to avoid non vegetarian food because the amount of tryglosrides is quite high in non vegetarian food which is also difficult to digest and hence due to intake of non vegetarian food the amount of cholesterol keeps rising and blood pressure cannot be controlled. Vegetarian food is free of cholesterol and its tryglosrides are also not hard so it gets digested as soon as it reaches the body. Hence cholesterol and tryglosrides do not get deposited in arteries through vegetarian food. Some vegetable oils like groundnut oil destroy the bad cholesterol in the blood and maintain the level of good cholesterol in it. The use of sunflower and soybean oil does not let the level of cholesterol rise in the body. Vegetable protein like soybean’s protein is especially beneficial because this protein and that of oil, both are helpful in control of blood pressure. But excess intake of oil even if it is unsaturated, will increase the amount of cholesterol and tryglosrides in the blood. Thus out of the total energy requirement of the body, only 1/4^th should come from oil and that too healthy oil like groundnut, sunflower or soybean.

3). Acquiring useful and gainful minerals through food:

a. Potassium: Intake of food rich in potassium is beneficial for control of blood pressure. Research has shown that with deficiency of potassium in the body the process of sodium excretion is stopped and blood pressure rises. Banana, potato, tomato, unpolished rice, carrots, orange juice, spinach, etc are good sources of potassium whose intake can control blood pressure to a great extent.
b. Calcium: calcium is helpful in control of blood pressure. The deficiency of it causes high blood pressure. The best sources of calcium are milk, pulses, leafy vegetables, spices, etc.

4). Giving up bad habits:

a. Smoking: Smoking causes high blood pressure. Due to smoking, nicotine enters the body and increases the secretion of adrenaline hormone which makes the blood pressure rise.
b. Alcohol: Regular consumption of alcohol is also one of the reasons for high blood pressure. Almost 10% to 15% blood pressure can be increased only due to alcohol.
c. Tea/ coffee: Elements like caffeine and tannin found in tea or coffee increase the pressure of blood in the arteries and intensify blood circulation; this intensifies renal functions of the body thereby reducing its functional ability.

5). Strengthening the digestive system:

The digestive system contributes greatly in improving the quality of blood. By continuous munching of food especially fast food, or processed and preserved food, the digestive system gets no rest which is highly harmful in the hypertension condition. Due to this a number of toxic particles enter the body and due to weak digestion these cannot be ejected from the body worsening the patient’s condition.

6). Mental Health:

These days’ people are mentally unhealthy. Mental strain, stress and extreme competitiveness results in fear, acrimony, violence and jealousy among people due to which they are never at peace and the body never gets complete rest. Even in their sleep their subconscious mind is occupied with problems of life and mind is never calm. Following a good mental health is in our own hands which alone will take care of hypertension. As they say it‘s all in the Mind. A strong Mind with positive thinking attitude can really work wonders.

Handle mental stress and tension by following ways:

1. Always be alert to such circumstances and situations which cause anxiety and stress.

2. Do not make a sudden change in your lifestyle.

3. Once or twice a day forget about all your worries and give your mind and body complete rest by doing Yoga and Meditation. This can give complete rest to the Mind Body N Soul.

4. Drink lot of Water during the day. As yogic breathing and water are very important contributors to cleansing the entire Body’s system strengthening the immune system. The oxygen we inhale, 80% of it goes to the Mind. The Mind gets its full quota of fresh oxygen. Here the yogic breathing helps.

5. Walk you must, at least 5 days a week for 45 to 60 minutes each time at your comfortable speed. No egos required in it. You can slowly increase the speed of Walking.

6. Take advice from family members, friends and well wishers in stressful times or see a Doctor.

Pranayam

It has a very important contribution in maintaining normal blood pressure because through pranayam lot of life giving air enters our body and removes impurities from it which strengthens lungs and heart and the entire blood circulatory system is efficiently working. At the same time, pranayam is also very useful in maintaining good mental health.

In a nutshell, a patient of hypertension must take care of the following points.

1. Less consumption of salt and salty food items.

2. Light and easily digestible food eaten timely.

3. Control over anger, worry, fear and sadness.

4. Try to be self content and develop feelings of patience, joy and peace in yourself.

5. Introduce yourself to spiritual literature and such activities.

6. Use the following medicines:

• Ashwagandha capsule – 1 capsule in morning and evening

• Sarpgandhawati – 2 tablets every morning and evening

• Sarsvatarisht – 4 spoons (20 ml) every morning and evening diluted with normal water after meals.

7. Gaushuradi goggle :

2-2 tablets every morning and evening.
The above medicines should be used under the prescription of an Ayurvedic doctor.