Consultant, Nature Healing Alternatives, Lagos, Mr Leye Popoola answers the first question; a natural healer and Medical Director, Lamdebs Clinic, Lagos, Dr Lambo Adebisi answers the second.
Hypertension also known as high blood pressure (HBP) is becoming more common in Nigeria and indeed, across the world particularly in developing countries, where there is industrialisation.
Artisans, office workers and drivers are worse hit. However, this condition can be cured, through regular exercise, consumption of water and essential nutrients, among other therapies.
Hypertension refers to a condition where too much pressure is exerted on the arteries when the blood is pumped by the heart.
The heart of a high blood pressure patient pumps blood through the circulatory system with greater force, thereby causing additional strain to the entire cardiovascular system.
If your blood pressure is greater than 140 over 90, it is considered high, it is important to note that people cannot determine their body pressure as high just because of one reading. Except they have a reading that is exceptionally high , with systolic blood pressure, reading of 200 and above and diastolic reading of 120 and above. People need to take their blood pressure for not less than three times before they can say it is high.
Hypertension can be mild, moderate and severe. When it is mild, the blood pressure usually reads: systolic 140 to 159 while diastolic is 90 to 99. And moderate hypertension can be 1660 to 179 for systolic and 90 to 99 for diastolic. For severe, it is greater than 180 for systolic and greater than 110 for diastolic.
However, it is important to note that blood pressure is not static throughout the day. It rises and falls. The reason it fluctuates is due to physical activities that people are involved in. Also, the food eaten or drinks taken are the cause.
People need to be concerned about their blood pressure because the cardiovascular system is composed of the heart and blood vessels with each heartbeat blood is released from the left ventricle into the aorta, which is a very large blood vessel, that then transports the blood throughout the body.
The blood delivers oxygen and essential nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and proteins. Others are essential fats, sugar and hormones, to all the cells of the body. The blood is also responsible for removing waste products from the cells. The blood is then returned back to the heart through the veins. After that, it is sent to the lungs to receive fresh supply of oxygen. The process starts all over again.
There are two types of high blood pressure. They is essential hypertension which results for no apparent reasons and the secondary hypertension, a complication of another condition. Essential hypertension comprises 95 per cent of all diagnosed cases of high blood pressure.
Secondary hypertension can be the result of arteriosclerosis, atherosclerosis, congestive heart failure, kidney disease, diabetes, hormonal disorder, taking birth control pills, pregnancy and exposure to heavy metals such as lead and cadmium. Secondary hypertension can be cured in most cases; if the root cause is removed then the propensity of a cure is very high.
Since most high blood pressure falls under the essential hypertension, we shall focus on essential hypertension.
The exact cause of essential hypertension still remains a mystery. The following factors may make one to be predisposed to essential hypertension.
Water is the most important nutrient in our body. It is also the main transport media of the body; it delivers nutrients to all the cells of the body. Your body can exist without food for six weeks or more, but an average person can only live about five days without water.
Please note the following facts about water.
The body is about 60 per cent water.
The body muscles are about 75 per cent water.
The human brain is about 75 per cent water.
Human blood is about 82 per cent water.
Human bones are approximately 25 per cent water.
Many of us take too much salt. My friend Abbey, when eating usually puts salt in a different plate and adds it to his food as he eats. Salt preserves our foods but can be dangerous when taken out of proportion. A lot of it is in the processed foods like hot dogs, satis, ham, beacon and sausage, among others.
However salt is a dead food that people must not take in excess. Most processed foods have salt in them for preservation purpose. What I usually advise is people should not add salt to their soup while eating. Beside the fact that salt triggers HBP, it also makes the body retain water, thereby causing oedema.
People should drink lots of water. For an average male adult, three litres of water a day and two and a half for female should be drunk. The water should be spread out in a way that one litre will be consumed in the morning, another in the afternoon and then another at night.
People should stop drinking alcohol and hard drinks. They affect people’s blood level negatively.
Tea and coffee can cause a rise in blood level. When somebody has low level blood, as experts, we usually advise the person to take tea or coffee with some medications to increase it.