0 Alpha Lipoic Acid Lowers Blood Pressure and Reduces Stroke Risk

(Article first published as Super Nutrient Lowers Blood Pressure and Reduces Stroke Risk on Technorati.)

Slowly rising blood pressure as we age places millions of Americans at increased risk for heart attack and stroke. Medical practitioners and Big Pharma think the answer is prescribe a host of different pharmaceuticals until a magical number is achieved artificially. Research has rapidly emerged to demonstrate that reaching a normal blood pressure using drugs is not the same as lowering blood pressure naturally.

In fact, using drugs to lower blood pressure can contribute to a host of damaging side effects including death. Fortunately you can take advantage of nature`s treasure of antioxidants from fruits and vegetables and supplement with lipoic acid to dramatically lower your risk of heart attack and stroke.

Protein Damage Contributes to High Blood Pressure

For the first time, researchers have discovered the actual underlying cause of high blood pressure and the best way to alleviate the problem at its source. The result of a study published in the journal Nature demonstrated that a key regulatory protein that controls blood pressure is damaged by the normal wear and tear caused by free radicals. The protein angiotensinogen becomes damaged through free radical assault and leads to hypertension.

Researchers found that a low antioxidant status was indicative of increased blood pressure. Insufficient circulating antioxidants allow damage to angiotensinogen protein molecules and loss of blood pressure regulation. The study determined that simply increasing antioxidant status was not enough to fully lower blood pressure readings and found that other mitigating factors such as stress, being overweight, and insulin resistance generated high levels of free radical damage. When these factors were addressed and controlled, increased intake of antioxidants from natural food sources and supplementation effectively lowered blood pressure levels.

Antioxidants Lower Risk of Stroke by 60%

Stroke is a leading cause of disability and mortality in western society, largely due to damage to the delicate vascular network and the movement of blood clots through the body. Free radicals cause the endothelial lining of delicate blood vessels to become unstable and inflamed, greatly increasing the risk of an ischemic stroke. A study released in the Journal of Nutrition found that individuals with the highest antioxidant status were 60% less likely to suffer from a stroke. Vitamin C alone was found to lower the risk by 40%.

Lipoic Acid Rejuvenates Antioxidant Status During Aging

The human body functions at an advanced metabolic rate and our cellular mitochondria generate large amounts of free radicals that wreak damage in the process. Mitochondria are the energy producing structures in each cell and are particularly vulnerable to free radical damage. Details of a study published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Science demonstrated how lipoic acid is able to prevent damage to the mitochondria by providing a powerful antioxidant shield to the cellular structure. They found the `R-lipoic acid` form to be most effective.

Energy production within our body generates large numbers of free radicals that are known to be the cause of aging and chronic conditions including heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke. In addition to controlling external factors such as stress, weight and insulin resistance, increasing antioxidant status from raw foods and supplements is shown to slow the aging process and dramatically lower the risk of disease.

0 Sugary Drinks and Blood Pressure

The new study involved 810 adults aged 25 to 79 with prehypertension or early stage 1 hypertension who were taking part in an 18-month study designed to prevent or reduce high blood pressure with weight loss, exercise, and diet.

Prehypertension is defined as a systolic blood pressure reading between 120 and 139 or a diastolic blood pressure of 80 to 89. Stage 1 hypertension is defined as a systolic blood pressure between 140 and 159 or a diastolic blood pressure between 90 and 99. Systolic blood pressure is the upper number in a blood pressure measurement and ers to the pressure when the heart beats. Diastolic blood pressure, the lower number, is the pressure between beats. A blood pressure reading of less than 120/80 is considered ideal.

Most people in the study drank an average of 10.5 fluid ounces of sugar or high fructose corn syrup-sweetened beverages a day including non-diet soft drinks, fruit drinks, lemonade, and fruit punch when the study began.

Halving their soda intake resulted in a 1.8 point reduction in systolic blood pressure and a 1.1 point drop in diastolic pressure.

The public health benefit is “substantial,” she says. A 3-point reduction in systolic blood pressure should reduce risk of death after stroke by 8% and heart disease mortality by 5%, according to information cited in the new report.

Americans drink about 2.3 servings or 28 ounces of sugar-sweetened beverages each day, and one in three adults in the U.S. has high blood pressure, according to the American Heart Association.

“Soda consumption is so popular and high blood pressure is a very significant health problem, and if you reduce sugary drinks, you will reduce your blood pressure in the short term and reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke over the long term, Sodium, Uric Acid Affect Blood Pressure

Although weight loss accounted for some of these blood pressure-lowering effects, cutting back on sweetened drinks also had an independent effect on blood pressure levels.

Sodium, Uric Acid Affect Blood Pressure continued...

Exactly what accounts for this independent effect is not known, but several theories exist. For example, these beverages are often loaded with sodium, which can increase blood pressure, and the sugar in the drinks may increase levels of hormones known as catecholamines, which can cause blood pressure to rise.

George Bakris, MD, a professor of medicine and director of the Hypertension Center at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, says that uric acid also plays a role.

“High fructose corn syrup increases uric acid levels, which has been shown to increase high blood pressure,” says Bakris, who is also the president of the American Society of Hypertension.


“Read labels because high fructose corn syrup has to be listed on the label,” he says. “If you even reduce what you are taking in by 50% over time, you will see a benefit,” he says.

It’s not just soft drinks either. “It’s in ketchup and a lot of condiments and sauces that people eat and don’t appreciate,” he says.
More Fuel for the ‘Soda Tax’

“There is a mile-long list of studies that show the negative impact of consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, and this study is more proof that something needs to be done to change the disease burden caused by these drinks," says Kelly Brownell, PhD, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. He advocates a tax on these beverages.

As it stands, up to 20 cities and states are considering imposing such a levy on soda. “None of the taxes have passed yet, but it is just a matter of time,” he says.
Beverage Group Responds

“This study does not show that there is anything unique about drinking sugar-sweetened beverages that leads to increased blood pressure, or that there is something unique about reducing their consumption that leads to reduced blood pressure,” says Maureen Storey, PhD, senior vice president of the American Beverage Association in Washington, D.C.

“We know that losing weight by decreasing total calories consumed from all foods and beverages and increasing total calories burned through physical activity has the greatest effect on blood pressure, not the specific foods or beverages that are decreased,” she says in a written response.

“It’s important to recognize that this particular study is a secondary analysis of another study designed to look at the impact of weight loss -- not reducing or eliminating specific foods or beverages -- on blood pressure,” she says. “This study only further supports that weight loss is a critical factor to lowering blood pressure. And the key to losing weight involves either decreasing total calories consumed or increasing total calories burned or a combination of the two."

0 2 Pressure Points that Can Relieve Your Stress

The fortunate thing about stress is that there always seems to be a way for somebody to be able to deal with it.  Although not every natural way of dealing with stress is going to work for each individual, it always helps for you to be experimenting with different ways of successfully overcoming the stress or at least helping yourself to cope with it for awhile.  One of the things that you may be interested in trying is acupressure.  This is something that is very similar to acupuncture, as it uses the same basic principles, but you will not be inserting any needles into your skin whenever doing it.

There are two natural acupressure points that can help you to overcome your stress in many cases.  The first of these is located directly between the eyes in a soft region that you will be able to feel with the tip of your finger.  The second one is on the crown of your head, a small soft spot that is also easy to identify once you reach the right point.  You can help to overcome stress by applying light pressure to each of these points and holding it for 30 seconds or longer.  It helps to release chemicals into the body and to allow free energy to flow so that the stress can be alleviated to a certain extent.
You can do this at any time that you are feeling stressed out but it may be difficult for you to do it in a public area.  If you find that you are stressing out in public, perhaps you could try pressing on each of these points separately, as I can also help to give you a free flow of energy.  It may take a little bit of practice, but once you get the right touch you can use it easily to overcome a stressful situation.

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