High blood pressure? Read on ...

Prior to detailing the cure for hypertension, Kowalksi comprehensively relates its nature and its causes. He explains many aspects of hypertension including: the significance of the condition in children (especially in families where there is a history of cardiovascular disease); women’s attitude to hypertension, where he holds that women are generally focused on breast and ovarian cancer and not on heart disease, even though heart disease will claim more female victims than breast cancer; and, in the case of senior citizens, the relationship between elevated blood pressure and dementia.

Throughout the book, Kowalski makes claims for and against foods, minerals and supplements. He follows his claims with citations of research from the United States, Australia, Israel, Taiwan and the Netherlands. And while he urges the reader to exercise, he is a realist, explaining a 30-minute walk (most days) is good enough, and there’s no need for a sweaty work out at the gym. Lucky for me.

While on his soap box, Kowalski reiterates not only that we should eat less, but that we should eat better. And he draws into focus just how easy it is to make healthy food choices. Granted, not quite as easy as making unhealthy ones, but easy enough. He spotlights four electrolytes: sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium.

Sodium and salt substitutes: cutting back on salt is a good idea assuming you are salt sensitive. Many are not salt sensitive, yet many follow this directive, even when it has no effect on them. He explains that salt and other sodium compounds are involved in a chemical sequence initiated in the kidneys that ends with the production of a substance, angiotensin that raises blood pressure. Some BP medication blocks the action of the angiotensin. The greater one’s sensitivity to sodium, the more angiotensin is made in the kidney, the more sodium stored in the body, and the more water is retained in the body’s tissues. All of this elevates BP.

Should everyone restrict salt and sodium? Yes, if you’re salt sensitive. Bearing in mind that the salt you add from the shaker is paltry compared to what is found in packaged and processed foods, Kowalksi suggests you measure your BP over a few days on your current diet and then stop all salt. Add no salt to your cooking and meals. Desist from processed foods including takeaways, terminate between meal snacks and while he doesn’t say so, I assume stop visiting restaurants. If your BP improves significantly then, congratulations. Keep it up. If you see no improvement, don’t worry. There are other ways of lowering your BP.

He relates the twin benefits of potassium chloride. Not only does it function as a salt substitute, but it packs a whopping amount of potassium. Use it when cooking in place of salt and you won’t even taste it! A Taiwanese study comparing salt (sodium chloride) eaters and salt substitute (potassium chloride) eaters showed that the latter had 40 per cent less chance of dying from cardiovascular disease than the salt eaters. Research suggests the difference was not due to less sodium being consumed by the latter group but rather because of that group’s higher potassium intake.

Potassium: too much sodium in the body signals the kidneys to raise blood pressure. Too little potassium does the same thing.

According to Kowalski, too many Americans (and I wonder … Australians?) consume insufficient potassium. A 1991 study where participants were restricted potassium for 10 days resulted in rises in BP whether the participants had normal or elevated pressure to start with. A 12-year Californian study suggested that a high potassium intake protected against strokes, the worst result of hypertension.

Potassium restriction was also associated with sodium retention and with calcium depletion in various studies. The converse is also true. Potassium causes the body to excrete more sodium in the urine, the very same mode of action achieved with anti-hypertensive drugs called thiazide diuretics.

Calcium: the third electrolyte was proven to be (when consumed in insufficient amounts) at least as important as consuming too much sodium. So how does calcium work its wonders? It lowers the concentration of parathyroid hormone in the blood. This is the hormone that regulates calcium metabolism. In turn, that may reduce calcium concentrations in the body’s cells and slow the calcium from entering the arteries. Calcium in the arteries affects the tone of the vessels, thus potentially leading to higher blood pressure as the arteries stiffen.

One study showed that toddlers whose mothers took prenatal calcium supplements had lower blood pressure than those whose mothers did not.

Magnesium: the fourth electrolyte needed by the body. Like calcium and potassium, we consume far too little of this mineral. Magnesium aids in proper nerve function and assists in energy metabolism. It is involved in muscle activity, activates certain enzymes and is used by the body to make cell protein, fats and carbohydrates. Study after study indicates that the more magnesium that is consumed the greater the decline in BP.