Beating High Blood Pressure with Vitamin C

Wanting to fit into that gorgeous dress or slim-fitting dress shirt is a great reason to lose weight, but there’s a major health danger you should REALLY be worried about.

That health danger? High blood pressure, a problem that affects nearly one third of Americans.

With such a high rate of high blood pressure among Americans, odds are either you or someone you know has it. Keep reading to learn information that could potentially save your life or the life of someone you care about.

Dangers of High Blood Pressure

Beating High Blood Pressure With Vitamin CHypertension – commonly known as high blood pressure – has a long list of problems associated with it. Here’s what the Mayo Clinic had to say about complications associated with hypertension:

  • Heart attack or stroke. High blood pressure can cause hardening and thickening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), which can lead to a heart attack, stroke or other complications.

  • Aneurysm. Increased blood pressure can cause your blood vessels to weaken and bulge, forming an aneurysm. If an aneurysm ruptures, it can be life-threatening.

  • Heart failure. To pump blood against the higher pressure in your vessels, your heart muscle thickens. Eventually, the thickened muscle may have a hard time pumping enough blood to meet your body’s needs, which can lead to heart failure.

  • Weakened and narrowed blood vessels in your kidneys. This can prevent these organs from functioning normally.

  • Thickened, narrowed or torn blood vessels in the eyes. This can result in vision loss.

  • Metabolic syndrome. This syndrome is a cluster of disorders of your body’s metabolism — including increased waist circumference, high triglycerides, low high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or “good,” cholesterol, high blood pressure, and high insulin levels. If you have high blood pressure, you’re more likely to have other components of metabolic syndrome. The more components you have, the greater your risk of developing diabetes, heart disease or stroke.

  • Trouble with memory or understanding. Uncontrolled high blood pressure may also affect your ability to think, remember and learn. Trouble with memory or understanding concepts is more common in people who have high blood pressure.

(from High blood pressure (hypertension) complications – MayoClinic.com )

With such serious complications, watching your blood pressure and keeping it in a safe range should be one of your most important health priorities.

Factors That Contribute to High Blood Pressure

“But high blood pressure is for stressed out businessmen! I’m great at relaxing, so I don’t need to worry about high blood pressure, right?”

WRONG.

There are a lot of reasons someone experiences high blood pressure, and there are some risk factors you can’t do anything about. Ask yourself the following questions:

  • Are you early middle age or older?

  • Are you African-American in your ethnic heritage?

  • Does hypertension run in your family?

  • Are you overweight or obese?

  • Do you use tobacco products?

  • Do you consume a lot of salt or sodium in your diet? (Fast food and soda – even diet – are high in sodium, as well as canned foods.)

  • Do you have a potassium deficiency?

  • Do you drink alcohol regularly?

  • Do you have a vitamin D deficiency?

  • Do you experience high levels of stress?

  • Do you have diabetes, kidney problems or sleep apnea?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you are at high risk for hypertension and should get your blood pressure checked. You should also start taking steps to make sure your blood pressure gets in a safe range.

How Vitamin C is a MUST for Low Blood Pressure

Beating High Blood Pressure With Vitamin CThough the benefits of Vitamin C on your overall health have been known for years, the information that Vitamin C can reduce your blood pressure is relatively new. In April 2012, a study was published that indicated Vitamin C reduced hypertension by several points. Accoring to WebMD:

Across all the studies — some included healthy adults and others had people with high blood pressure — taking vitamin C supplements at a dose of about 500 milligrams a day appeared to reduce systolic blood pressure by nearly 4 points and diastolic pressure by about 1.5 points in about two months.

Fruits and vegetables, especially red pepper, oranges, grapefruits, and kiwi, are the best dietary sources of this antioxidant-rich vitamin.

(From Extra Vitamin C May Reduce Blood Pressure)

With the dangers of high blood pressure, anything you can do to reduce your risk of hypertension is absolutely necessary. Fortunately, the fruit with the highest amount of Vitamin C is completely HCG-Diet approved . . .

HCG Diet-Approved Fruits that are High in Vitamin C

You’re probably wondering, “What does the HCG Diet have to do with my blood pressure?” In addition to helping you lose weight and thereby decrease your risk for hypertension, the HCG Diet-approved foods themselves can decrease the risk of blood pressure.

As a reminder, here’s the list of HCG-Diet approved fruits:

  • Apples

  • Grapefruit

  • Strawberries

  • Oranges

Notice something? That’s right – grapefruit and oranges are among the fruits with the highest amounts of Vitamin C! By choosing oranges or grapefruit as your fruit portion instead of apples or strawberries, you’ll significantly increase the amount of Vitamin C in your diet.

A Secret to Making Oranges and Grapefruit Even Sweeter

If you’ve ever had a grapefruit, you know they aren’t always the sweetest fruit. Here’s a secret to make your grapefruit (and even your oranges) even sweeter: add Stevia!

Because Stevia is an all-natural sweetener and doesn’t contain aspartame, it’s 100% safe for dieters, diabetics, and anyone looking for a sweet way to improve the flavor of their food. Plus, you’ll get the other benefits of Stevia, including more dietary fiber, lowered blood cholesterol, improved gastrointestinal health and more.

Fruits high in Vitamin C can help lower your blood pressure, and fruit is even more delicious with Stevia! Take steps to decrease your risk for hypertension today by increasing your Vitamin C intake.

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