According to the American Heart Association, over 73 million people in the United States have high blood pressure. High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a common disorder that occurs when the heart has difficulties pumping blood through the arteries and veins due to blockages or
damage to the circulatory system. High blood pressure can cause a variety of medical problems from heart disease to stroke. It can also affect all systems of the body, including the digestive system.
Recently I’ve seen more hypertension in my baby-boomer clients, even those who eat and live healthy and have never had hypertension previously…click here to continue reading…
Kidneys
Most people do not understand the vital role of their kidneys – they just know they’re filters and that we don’t necessarily need two of them to live. The kidneys are what filter waste that passes throughout your body. When they don’t, it causes a cascade of health-depleting conditions, some
life-threatening.
High blood pressure takes a serious toll on your kidneys by narrowing and thickening blood vessels – causing less fluid to pass through the kidneys, and in turn, makes the kidneys work harder than they are designed to do. This over-worked condition can ultimately cause complete kidney failure.
Stomach
When you eat, your body naturally shuts off some of the blood supply to other areas of the body – increasing blood supply to your stomach and intestines so they are able to perform their respective jobs.
However, with those suffering from high blood pressure, everything from the arteries to the capillaries can become damaged. This allows less blood than is needed to make it to the stomach and intestines. Without this added blood, the digestive system is not able to perform at a normal level and can lead to a variety of digestion problems – some serious.
Medications
Not only can high blood pressure affect your digestive system, but the drugs that you may be put on to control high blood pressure can also cause several digestive problems. The most common of these problems is heart burn. Calcium channel blockers and beta-blockers are both common medications used to help control blood pressure. Unfortunately, these drugs cause many digestive side effects including heart burn, constipation and nausea.
Digestion is a complex process that begins in your mouth, runs the length of several organs and ends with the excretion of wastes. In some individuals, the emptying of the digestive system can be delayed, a condition known as gastroparesis (also called delayed gastric emptying – a medical condition consisting of a paresis (partial paralysis) of the stomach). This condition can be associated with other health problems such as diabetes and low or high blood pressure. High blood pressure, known as hypertension, occurs when the force of blood against the walls of your arteries is too high.Slow digestion can also lead to other health conditions that can contribute to
hypertension.
Causes of Slow Digestion
Slow digestion is most often found in people who have Type 1 or juvenile diabetes. Individuals with Type 2 or adult-onset diabetes are also at higher risk for slow digestion, although not as often as those who are born with diabetes. In addition, slow digestion can occur in conditions such asanorexia, impaired smooth muscle movement and from taking certain medications.
The physical cause of slow digestion in all of these conditions is the malfunction of the vagus nerve, which is the control center for the process of digestion.
Health Effects of Slow Digestion
Complications of slow digestion, according to the Mayo Clinic, include weight loss, nutritional deficiencies, rapid fluctuation of blood glucose levels and susceptibility to bacterial infections.
Additionally, food that remains in the digestive tract for longer than normal can accumulate into a ball-like mass known as a bezoar. This mass can cause gastric upset, nausea and vomiting and can cause serious blockage of the digestive tract. Consistently fluctuating blood glucose levels caused by slow digestion can also lead to organ and tissue damage or dangerously low blood sugar levels that can lead to coma and death.
Slow Digestion and Blood Pressure
Slow digestion does not itself raise blood pressure; however, it can occur as a result of other
conditions that cause gastroparesis. As much as 65 percent of all adults living with diabetes (any form of it) also have hypertension, according to the American Diabetes Association. Additionally, frequent straining, vomiting and gastric distress associated with slow digestion can raise blood pressure in people who are at risk for developing the condition. Damage to the vagus nerve is not associated with hypertension, however, and instead predisposes you to hypotension, or low blood pressure.
Slow digestion can be medically diagnosed using a complete physical accompanied by tests such as an endoscopy or barium swallow. That said, the easiest method I’ve found is to learn to “listen to your body”.
In my practice I’ve observed that when a digestive enzyme blend is added at each meal that includes specific ingredients like red beet root extract, lipase, L-taurine, dandelion root and ox bile extract, that help break-down food and lessen the stress on the liver and gallbladder as well, the blood pressure begins to decline to healthy levels. Allow me to elaborate. Not all digestive enzyme blends are for the same purposes. Yes, a full-spectrum digestive enzyme blend is recommended for most people over age 50 as our natural digestive processes begin to slow. However, when hypertension “sneaks in”, it is best to use a blend that provides broad digestive support for the liver and gallbladder. When doing so, it helps support complete digestion that then manifests as healthier blood pressure. We have arranged with the nutraceutical company for my blog subscribers to purchase direct. You simply go to my website at www.gloriagilbere.com click on the bar marked “Biogenesis Nutraceuticals” in the lower right and then when prompted, enter your password “WSBR” and then click “C-G” and order Chole LVR. This specialized digestive enzyme blend is only sold to professionals (not available over-the-counter). In addition, I recommend you consume smaller meals more frequently, giving your stomach less to digest at any one time.
If you are a victim of hypertension and also have blood sugar imbalances (metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, borderline diabetic, etc.) please email me at research@gloriagilbere.com as to the benefits
you notice after taking the supplement with each meal for 90 days.
NOTE: Always take a couple mouthfuls of food and swallow one enzyme, and then take a second
enzyme at the end of the meal – this forces a type of time-released action to ensure the entire meal has support for complete digestion.