Q: I’ve just recently had high readings on my blood pressure, now that I’m in my 40’s and pre-menopausal. I’ve recently added CoQ10, fish oil and coral calcium to my regular vitamin supplements each day. I’ve been taking all of it for several months now. I can’t tell if it’s doing me any good or not. Vitamins are extremely expensive and I hate to spend the money if they aren’t doing anything to protect or improve my health. I even worry they could be working against me somehow. I am not on any other medications. Any advice?
A: In my opinion, it is smarter to eat a healthy diet than to take supplements. More and more medical studies are suggesting supplements are not needed and may be harmful. You should discuss your diet and the need for supplementation with your doctor. For example, a recent review on the need for Vitamin D and Calcium can be found at this page at the Institute of Medicine site.
Loading ...
Loading ...
What a statement! There are plenty of studies that contradict the view that supplements are harmful. Of course one should do research before self treatment, but they can be very helpful, particularly with helping lower blood pressure. If youre unsure, see a nutritionist or. ND. But dont throw the baby out with the bath water. Supplements can be helpful. Look up Arginine. While you can’t take it if you have a history of heart disease, it can be helpful for lowering bp,as well as magnesium,calcium just to name a couple.
What a statement is right! Once again Dr.? Rowena puts her foot in her mouth. She cites a study about Vitamin D & Calcium (after saying that more studies are suggesting that supplements are not needed and may be harmful, & in that study’s words: “However, a strong body of evidence from rigorous testing substantiates the importance of vitamin D and calcium in promoting bone growth and maintenance.”
On this website it is more important to listen to the community replies than to pay any attention to Rowena.
Amen! supplements are vital!, it’s just knowing where to get them. there is plenty of quacks out there whether it be Doctor’s or Naturalist.
I use Vibrant Health Community because it just makes perfect sense, and I can not believe the changes I have made. you do however need to make changes in the way you eat. not all that is good, is good for you. eat right 4 your blood type is another one that works. the purer the better. home grown organic is the best. that way you can pick it right off the vine yourself and not have to eat things picked green before they get their nutrient, which is done even with our so called organic’s. if you can’t then this Vibrant Health Community is for you! Best wishes to all who reads this!
what is good for high blood presser
Omega 3s (fish oil) have brought down my blood pressure.
i have no insurance so i couldn’t afford to go back to the doctor for my appt. i researched many different options to lower my blood pressure and time and time again fish oil came up. when i first started taking them i only took 2 a day for the past several weeks though i have increased my dosage to 4 then last week 6 pills a day . it seems to be working!!
Supplements are just that, a supplement. With the decreasing minerals, vitamins and other important nutrients in our food supply it becomes increasingly important to get use a supplement to try offset this deficiency. There is a reason most people are low on many important vitamins and contrary to media preachings, it’s not because everyone eats bad diets. Even those who eat as directed are being found to be deficiante, thus supplements.
Hi Rex yes i just started a supplement & i think it’s supported with the high blood pressure meds
I’m taking so i think you right good blessings to us keep taking care of youself i’m.reply back please.
Cindy!
It never seem to amaze me on how much doctors do not know about nutrition. While eating a healthy diet is always the best thing you can do for yourself, most of us do not eat well. For the most part the western diet most of us eat is not really good for you. We eat too much sugar and artificial ingredients.
Supplements are just that to supplement your diet. So when a doctor suggest you don’t need vitamins I suggest you do your own research or consult an ND.
Very little education in med school on the subject! They are trained to be drug pushers! AND YOU give me on drug that dosen’t rob Peter to pay Paul. Many,,,, many bad drugs out there thanks to the FDA, (who work for the drug companies in my opinion)! Natural works for MANY!!!
i found this supplement at the vitamin store that is called pressure lo … my dr. said it shouldnt be a prob. while taking my bp-med
Many supplements do lower high blood pressure; but if yours is over 160 over 100 consider the drugs. Regular use of the Resparate or regular Tai Chi practice works. Taking the ubiquinol form of CoQ10 works. For many, taking omega 3 oil works and is also health protective and can help prevent harm from high blood pressure. Arginine can help and other supplements might help but you would need to see if they work for you.
About supplements: I take a few, and I also try to eat wholesome fresh foods, organic when I can find it or afford it. But frankly, most doctors seem to know next to nothing about nutrition or the value of supplements. If they know anything, it’s probably something they heard from Big Pharma, hardly an objective source. But I think some care must be taken with a mix of supplements, especially with prescribed medications, and I wish we had more assurance about purity of the various supplements. But most doctors routinely disparage food supplements, and I seriously question if they know what they’re talking about, or if they’re taking their function as “pill-pushers” a little too seriously.
I take supplements every now and then, although I too am being told it is not necessary when considering the food we eat. I know what is in supplement (or hope what’s listed is actually in there) but I don’t know what exactly is in even fresh vegetable and fruit. I have never seen fresh fruit and vegetable analysed. I could imagine the supply of vitamins and minerals from food is very variable depending on the soil the food grows. Much of the soil is so depleted that it makes me wonder what exactly we are getting and how much is lost during long-term storage before it hits the shelves. Some may remain the same, other may have not much nurtients left by the time it is in the kitchen. Once frest fruit and vegetable is in the kitchen, much of some nutrients will get lost through unsuitable preparation and cooking methods. Some food must be cooked as it is easier absorbed when cooked. Eating has become a science!
My cardiologist gave me 3 months to lower my pressure to an acceptable level not requiring medication. I was successful through a reduction in salt intake, increasing my intake of water and the daily use of Resperate, CoQ10, fish oil and a naturopathic clinically tested product, Alistrol. My blood pressure has remained at an acceptable level for well over a year. The DASH diet is also recommended.
I think it’s great that so many people here are well versed in nutrition. As others have stated, I find it astonishing how many MD’s have absolutely no knowledge of proper nutrition or it’s benefits. To state that “studies” show supplements do no good or are harmful is patently false. My dear Doctor, what about those blood pressure drugs you are so fond of? How about exposing how harmful they can be?
Steve,
You are so right! Those b/p meds nearly killed me. Such horrendous side-effects. This cardiologist is so biased it’s revolting!
V.Parrish
I agree! In 2010 was hospitalized twice with severe reactions to bp meds. Doctor tried 5 or 6 different ones and each one caused horrendous reactions. I thought I was done for. Still have some residual muscle problems from ordeal. How did you resolve your bp issues? I take supplements and watch my diet and exercise. Still would like to get it lower runs about 138/78, sometimes a little higher.
Of course “Dr. Rowena” is against supplements. She is a sales “person” for Resperate and in the back pocket of Big Pharma. All the supplements you are taking have been proven to be beneficial. For high blood pressure , I have found that taking Hibiscus capsules and drinking hibiscus tea has allowed me to cut my meds in half. Do a web search for hibiscus and blood pressure and you will find scientific articles on it. My doctor suggested I take fish oil and red rice yeast to lower my cholesterol and triglycerides. Those are both supplements that “Dr Rowena” does not recommend. “Dr Rowena” is probably not a doc at all by responses are from a pharmaceutical business that manufacters Resperate.
Be careful with supplements. It’s tempting to want to take many of them but they are not the cure-all. Too many health food stores are mostly bottles of pills.
I remember a conversation in europe with a woman who had eaten a whole pommegranate and passed out. her blood pressure was naturally low, and she then remembered (she studies pharmacy) that pommegranate lowers BP.
maybe the juice would do it, cause the fruit, as good as it is, takes a long time to eat…
What a statement from the doctor! Fish oil brought my bp down from 150/95 to 140/85 in 5 years.
It is often mentioned that to get the required nutrition from our current food supplies a person would need to eat approximately 20,000 calories a day an impossible/improbable amount. Our soils have become deficient in almost all minerals and current agricultural practices only add nitrogen, potassium and phospherous to the soil. So much of the food we eat is also deficient. Supplements taken in responsible amounts are beneficial and the reports/studies that state that they are not beneficial are done to downplay supplements and push drugs which definitely come with a lot of side effects.
I have Found that Supplementation helps greatly. I had a Doctor that wanted to put me on medication. Knowing better I took Calcium supplements, exercised and made corrections to my “eating habits” no diet. Guess What? No more high blood pressure. A person must also be aware of the effects of alcohol, sugar and salt. Supplementation can help balance whatever is missing from our daily nutrition.
GPs in the UK are generally not well informed on nutritional matters or in preventive measures for common Western ailments including osteoporosis (for which progesterone supplements may help post-menopause), high blood pressure and mental health for which there are established non-medical strategies as many commentators here have pointed out. There seems to be little incentive for busy GPs to keep up to date with research which is not ‘approved by’ pharma companies or the Department of Health. Having had a bit of a shock with slightly raised BP in the mid 1980’s I started taking Kwai garlic pills and subsequently have had no more than the ‘normal for my age (65)’ slight uplift. Also with self monitoring over 24 hours and many days my BP is well within healthy limits except when I visit the GP surgery (where my own device concurred with the GPs own reading) – i.e. ‘white-coat syndrome’. I would therefore urge self monitoring with a reliable device before following advice based on readings in the GP surgery. I suffered from regular migraine attacks until taking a Feverfew capsule morning and evening (another example of my self administered intake). The ‘medical model’ which predominates throughout the healthcare system inclusive of the powerful and sometimes questionable influence of the pharma companies – who are almost certainly behind the ‘attack’ on herbal and homeopathic remedies – has enormous limitations as well as its many successes. The over use of antibiotics has demonstrated the hazards associated with an over-dependence on the medical model. I apparently ‘eat healthily’ but shall continue to responsibly take supplements (including vitamin & mineral supplements) as long as I am able to buy them or until the pharma companies in league with the Government and EU regulators misguidedly impose a ban or expensive legislation which makes production and or purchase of non-medical self-administered remedies too expensive. I am a retired health care worker with 40 years experience in the NHS at a senior level.
I agree with Paul. You simply cannot get all the nutrition,vitamins,and mineral from the food you eat today. I had read in one health newsletter that you get only 25% of the vitamins and minerals you need today from the griund as compared to 50 years ago. I take a multi vitamin plus COQ10. I don’t take fish oil but eat more fish,salmon and sardines,and also more fruits and vegestables. Added blueberries recently.
i’ve been on caduet ( cholesterol & BP) for about 4 years but all along i feel something wrong with my chest/ heart. my specialist just advised me to do a regular at least 30 minutes daily exerercise but it doesn’t eliminate the problems ttally. one time I went to a Chemist ( pharmacy) buying Caduet, the pharmacist asked if i am taking CoQ10, I said no, he said well your specialist should advuse you take it becayse you are on caduet so I started taking it and to my surprise that feeling of like weak heart muscles. are gone..i never go back to my specalist for quite sometime now and I am planning to go to another one
I think the Doctor’s comments are reasonable. The high levels of supplements offered in the nutrition stores have never been part of the human diet until recently. We do not really know what such high levels will do or if they are beneficial. And the supplement industry is not regulated so the purity is unknown. A healthy diet sounds like a smart move to me.
My BP is 120/70 (down from the usual 150-160/90-100)by Vegan diet and low to moderate exercise and a barley green drink as a supplement (take glucosomine sulfate for arthritis).This is without Meds. or Resperate (resperate is great for insomnia). Now if I blow the diet for a few days to a week I go to the Meds. since BP goes back up. I would be glad to do the resperate, but for me it is a matter of discipline and waiting 2 weeks for results. The diet is easier for me and I feel better. Consistent exercise is harder than consistent diet. Fresh raw fruit, vegetables and juicing them along with about 15-20% cooked food (veg/rice, etc) will give you most all vitamins and minerals (including plenty of wonderful protein)you need. Such a diet WILL eliminate most all illnesses within 6 months to a year. If we go the medical industry route, plan on high BP, diabetes, a bypass or two, stroke, cancer, etc. People that hang out in the health food store and do not seriously change to a very healthy diet and exercise lifestyle, will experience sicknesses also. We all want to get it from a pill of some sort, but they will not get rid of diseases. They will only (like doctors) treat symptoms. I would agree with Dr. Rowena that a healthy diet trumps supplements but disagree that it should be to the exclusion of them.
My friend recommended I start taking supplements to help lower my blood pressure so I can get off some of my expensive BP drugs. I found such easy help reading what helped each of you. Thanks very much. I already have some arginine and CoQ10 and take some fish oil, Vit. D and fresh raw garlic. I added more fish oil because it helps with my allergies and had to stop the fresh garlic because I am bruising so much. I try to strengthen my skin and blood vessel walls and heal faster by taking MSM (mixed with powdered Vit. C and sometimes Zinc for better taste and more help with healing) but apparently I’m not taking enough to prevent bruising with heavy cleaning (stuffing leaves into a plastic trash bag in a tall trash can, recycling and cleaning the oven and refrigerator). I also have had many cuts from my cleaning and cooking. I guess it just wasn’t enough especially with my nose raw and bleeding. I will add the Alistrol and some fresh barley and other fresh juiced fruits and vegetables. I also have some Hibiscus tea and will make an extra effort to make some. Thanks for the note about black tea for BP regulation also. I will substitute it for any coffee I would normally drink. I have some capsules containing almost caffiene free coffee berry juice with lots of nutrients. I like to make smoothies so I will make more of them and start using my juicer again. Oregano leaf, olive leaf, mushroooms, thyme,and Colloidal silver improve immune function. Cheyenne pepper packed in a gangrene wound will cure it. It is a painkiller too as are cloves. Both help dialate blood vessels so they lower BP.
Sandy, I recommend going more slowly and possibly switching to a finer head piece. This might help you deal with this particular tricky issue.