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The book is predictably divided into 25 chapters:
Understand High Blood Pressure
Keep score
Establish a Family History
Understand and take care of your kidneys
Balance Potassium and Sodium
Reduce Sodium
Keep a food diary
Balance fat
Modulate sugar absorption
Increase dietary ... Read review
Presents ways to control irritable bowel syndrome, which affects 10 to 20 per cent of all ... more
adults in America. This book covers vitamins, herbs, supplements, and visualization and relaxation techniques and shows how exercise and a balanced diet can lead to a cessation of symptoms.
Advantages: Easy to follow guidance with good explanations Disadvantages: You do have to put the effort in when you have read it
...book is predictably divided into 25 chapters:
Understand High Blood Pressure
Keep score
Establish a Family History
Understand and take care of your kidneys
Balance Potassium and Sodium
Reduce Sodium
Keep a food diary
Balance fat
Modulate sugar absorption
Increase dietary fibre
Eat more garlic and onions
Be smart when dining out
Assess your weight and ... ...and control stress
Change Type A to type B behaviour
Channel anger contrcutively
Control Alcohol
Avoid tobacco, caffeine and cocaine
Take a basic daily supplement
Get enough calcium and magnesium
Take more viatmin B complex, C and E
Use meditation and biofeedback
Use herbs for support
But this book is about far more than a list of ideas. It is about a lifestyle change which ... more
Around a quarter of all adults will develop high blood pressure in their lifetime. In the UK doctors are taking this problem seriously and more and more people are being diagnosed because of better monitoring (and because the government in incentivising doctors to look for it.) Sadly I am one of the people with blood pressure on the high side but I am trying to find a way to control it without going on to medication for the rest of my life. I have tried a few 'snake oil' remedies which didn't work, and I am still keen to find something which will help which is why I ordered this book from Amazon recently as if there is a 'Natural Way' to control blood pressure I want to know what it is.
In his introduction James Scala says that about 85% of all high blood pressure can be controlled by diet, food and lifestyle. He is also points out that there is little we can do in life that will give us an 85% favorable result so he suggests if you follow his recommendations you will have about an 85% probability of controlling your blood pressure. Sounds good to me and as he points out there will be benefits for your general health too - I was hooked, I read on.
The book is predictably divided into 25 chapters:
Understand High Blood Pressure Keep score Establish a Family History Understand and take care of your kidneys Balance Potassium and Sodium Reduce Sodium Keep a food diary Balance fat Modulate sugar absorption Increase dietary fibre Eat more garlic and onions Be smart when dining out Assess your weight and fitness level Lose weight sensibly Exercise Understand and control stress Change Type A to type B behaviour Channel anger contrcutively Control Alcohol Avoid tobacco, caffeine and cocaine Take a basic daily supplement Get enough calcium and magnesium Take more viatmin B complex, C and E Use meditation and biofeedback Use herbs for support
But this book is about far more than a list of ideas. It is about a lifestyle change which is carefully explained. He takes the time to explain how the body works and why we get high blood pressure in the first place which for me is an enormous help in understanding the changes I need to make.
The thing I like most about this book is that it makes a great deal of sense the way in which it is presented. In essence there is nothig about the suggestions that is difficult and his suggested dietary changes are not onerous in my view. Lots of fresh fruit and vegetables and a really sensible eating plan with helpful lists and charts about the nutritional values in a range of foods. It should be relatively easy to follow in practice and I am certainly going to give it a try. Even if it doesn't lower my blood pressure I am sure I will feel better for it anyway. Add into the mix some sensible exercise and a few supplements and it would seem you are well on the way to a healthier life.
This is not a book with lots of quick fix ideas, there is no 'wonder cure'. However he does point out that if you can control your blood pressure by taking diuretic tablets from your GP you should be able to control it by improving your diet alone.
Would I recommend it? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yes I would, if you have high blood pressure or have a family member with the problem. There is nothing in the book which is difficult to do and to be honest it is all about things we probably already know we should be doing. I thought it might be a difficult book to read but it isn't and I found I quite enjoyed learning from it - I got through half the book in a single evening. To be honest there are a few bits where the science got a little complex and I wasn't sure I needed it anyway but in general it was a simple and easy read and everything in there made sense. An excellent book in my view.
laramax 28.07.2007 (28.07.2007)
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Review of 25 Natural Ways to Lower Blood Pressure - James Scala
