3700 mg of potassium per day in the form of potassium citrate lowered blood pressure in one (1) week by 13/5 mm Hg from 151/93 to 138/88 mm Hg according to a study from researchers in the Blood Pressure Unit at 
St. George’s Hospital Medical School in London, England.

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3700 mg of potassium per day in the form of potassium chloride lowered blood pressure in one (1) week by 11/5 mm Hg from 151/93 to 140/88 mm Hg according to a study from researchers in the Blood Pressure Unit at 
St. George’s Hospital Medical School in London, England.

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Older women with hypertension who were taking blood pressure drugs were 31% were more likely to die from cardiovascular disease alone than women with hypertension not taking blood pressure drugs even though their average systolic pressure was 12 points lower (137 vs 149 mm Hg) according to a 2004 study.

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95% of cases of high blood pressure are called “Essential Hypertension”, which, by definition, is high blood pressure of “unknown cause”.

What better excuse to give you a drug or two or three or four than to say, “We have no idea what is causing your high blood pressure!”

I believe that Essential Hypertension is complete and total NONSENSE!

I believe that 99.9% of cases of Essential Hypertension are caused by a potassium deficiency.

Here is how I came to realize this.

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There were 10% MORE deaths in people with mild hypertension (140-159 / 90-99 mm Hg) who were taking blood pressure drugs during a median follow-up of 5.8 years (4.49% died vs 4.08%) than people of the same age and same blood pressure who were NOT taking blood pressure drugs according to a 2018 study.

This study suggests to me that blood pressure drugs INCREASE the risk of death in people with mild hypertension.

Data from a 2004 study of older women showed the same thing, that older women with hypertension, and my guess is that most of them had mild hypertension, were MORE likely to die from cardiovascular disease alone in 7 of 8 drug groups (data was only given for death from cardiovascular disease, but not given for total mortality) than women with hypertension who were NOT taking blood pressure drugs.

I believe that this is because mild hypertension is NOT a disease and does NOT increase your risk of death, so giving drugs to lower blood pressure cannot possibly lower your risk of death, and instead can only INCREASE your risk of death.

In 2000, Sidney Port, PhD, a statistician from UCLA, found that our beliefs about blood pressure, the idea that there is a linear relationship between blood pressure and the risk of death, that every little increase in blood pressure increases the risk of death, is WRONG.

Sid Port found that with blood pressure, there is a threshold effect, and only above a certain threshold, which depends on your age and your gender, does the risk of death increase.

Sid Port found that below this threshold, there is NO increased risk of death (except when blood pressure is too low).

Sid Port found that the threshold is very roughly similar to the old rule-of-thumb, that systolic pressure should not exceed 100 plus your age.

So if you are 50 it should not exceed 150.

If you are 60, it should not exceed 160.

If you are 70, it should not exceed 170.

(Sid Port’s calculations are somewhat different than this, but it is close enough, and this is the easiest way to remember it.)

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People with with mild hypertension (140-159 / 90-99 mm Hg) who had no cardiovascular disease and no cardiovascular disease risk factors who were treated with blood pressure drugs were 9% MORE likely to develop cardiovascular disease during a median follow-up of 5.8 years than people of the same age and blood pressure who were NOT taking blood pressure drugs according to a 2018 study.

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People with with mild hypertension (140-159 / 90-99 mm Hg) who had no cardiovascular disease and no cardiovascular disease risk factors who were treated with blood pressure drugs were 34% MORE likely to develop congestive heart failure during a median follow-up of 5.8 years than people of the same age and blood pressure who were NOT taking blood pressure drugs according to a 2018 study.

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People with with mild hypertension (140-159 / 90-99 mm Hg) who had no cardiovascular disease and no cardiovascular disease risk factors who were treated with blood pressure drugs were 37% MORE likely to develop acute kidney injury during a median follow-up of 5.8 years than people of the same age and blood pressure who were NOT taking blood pressure drugs according to a 2018 study.

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People with with mild hypertension (140-159 / 90-99 mm Hg) who had no cardiovascular disease and no cardiovascular disease risk factors who were treated with blood pressure drugs were 72% MORE likely to develop electrolyte abnormalities during a median follow-up of 5.8 years than people of the same age and blood pressure who were NOT taking blood pressure drugs according to a 2018 study.

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Three servings of hibiscus tea (H. sabdariffa) per day for six weeks lowered blood pressure by an average of 7 mmHg systolic and 3 mmHg diastolic in people with mild hypertension or prehypertension according to a study from researchers at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Each serving was 8-ounces (240 mL).

Blood pressure dropped in those given hibiscus tea from an average of 129/79 mmHg to 122/76 mmHg after six weeks compared to an average drop in those given a placebo from 130/80 to 129/79 mmHg.

The authors of the study noted that other studies have found that hibiscus tea lowered blood pressure about twice as much in people with higher blood pressures.

“Daily consumption of 3 servings of H. sabdariffa (hibiscus) tea, an amount readily incorporated into the diet, effectively lowered [blood pressure] in pre- and mildly hypertensive adults,” the authors of the study concluded.

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In people with mild hypertension, hibiscus tea (H. sabdariffa) lowered blood pressure by roughly 15 points systolic and 11 points diastolic from an average blood pressure of 139/91 mmHg to 124/80 mmHg after four weeks.

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In people with mild hypertension, hibiscus tea (H. sabdariffa) lowered blood pressure, both systolic and diastolic, by roughly 11% within twelve days of starting treatment which would mean a drop of roughly 16 points systolic and 10 points diastolic.

In other words, if someone had a blood pressure of 150/90 mmHg, their blood pressure would be lowered to 134/80 mmHg.

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People with type 2 diabetes and hypertension who were given one ounce (25 grams) of dark chocolate per day had a 6 mm Hg drop in systolic blood pressure (dropping from 137 to 131 mm Hg), a 6 mm Hg drop in diastolic blood pressure (dropping from 85 to 79 mm Hg), and an 8 mg/dl drop in fasting blood sugar (dropping from 138 to 130 mg/dl) over two months compared to people who given the same amount of white chocolate according to a study from the Iran University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran.

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The one-third of elderly men, 65- to 84-years-old, who consumed the most cocoa had an average systolic blood pressure that was 3.7 mmHg lower and an average diastolic blood pressure that was 2.1 mmHg lower than the one-third of men consuming the least cocoa (none) according to The Zutphen Elderly Study.

The one-third of men who consumed the most cocoa consumed an average of 4.2 grams per day which is the amount found in 10 grams of dark chocolate (0.35 ounces of dark chocolate).

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Vegans are 63% less likely to have hypertension than non-vegetarians according to the Adventist Health Study-2.

After adjusting for body mass index (BMI), vegans had a 47% lower risk of hypertension than non-vegetarians.

In other words, part of the reason for the lower risk of hypertension was due to lower body weight.

Vegans eat no animal products.

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Lacto-ovo vegetarians are 43% less likely to have hypertension than non-vegetarians according to the Adventist Health Study-2.

After adjusting for body mass index (BMI), lacto-ovo vegetarians had a 14% lower risk of hypertension than non-vegetarians.

In other words, a large part of the reason for the lower risk of hypertension was due to lower body weight.

Lacto-ovo vegetarians eat vegetables, eggs, and dairy products, but who do not eat meat.

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Semi-vegetarians are 8% less likely to have hypertension than non-vegetarians according to the Adventist Health Study-2.

After adjusting for body mass index (BMI), semi-vegetarians had a 22% greater risk of hypertension than non-vegetarians.

In other words, the reason for the lower risk of hypertension was due to lower body weight.

Semi-vegetarians eat primarily a vegetarian diet, but occasionally eat meat, poultry or seafood.

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Giving people cocoa, an average of 3.5 ounces (100 grams) of dark chocolate per day, for a median of two (2) weeks lowered blood pressure by an average of 4.7 mm Hg systolic (the upper number) and 2.8 mm Hg diastolic (the lower number) compared to those who were not given cocoa according to a meta-analysis of five (5) randomized controlled studies of cocoa administration involving a total of 173 subjects.

“Current randomized dietary studies indicate that consumption of foods rich in cocoa may reduce blood pressure,” the authors of the paper concluded.

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“Aiming for blood pressure targets lower than 140/90 mmHg is not beneficial,” concludes a 2009 review by the Cochrane Collaboration.

“Using more drugs in the lower target groups did achieve modestly lower blood pressures, however, this strategy did not prolong survival or reduce stroke, heart attack, heart failure or kidney failure.”

“More trials are needed, but at present there is no evidence to support aiming for a blood pressure target lower than 140/90 mmHg in any hypertensive patient.”

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The one-fifth of people consuming the most potassium were 35% less likely to die from coronary heart disease than the one-fifth of people consuming the least.

The top one-fifth consumed an average of 3363 mg of potassium per day versus 1720 mg per day for the bottom one-fifth.

The one-fifth of people consuming the most sodium versus the one-fifth consuming the least were:

• 42 percent more likely to have cardiovascular disease


• 55 percent more likely to have a stroke of any kind


• 104 percent more likely to have an ischemic stroke (2X as likely).

The top one-fifth consumed 6523 mg of sodium per day versus 2322 mg per day for the bottom one-fifth. Read the entire article | Email this article

People given beta blockers were:

• 10 to 24 times more like to dropout of studies due to fatigue
• 5 times more like to dropout of studies due to sexual dysfunction.

Beta blockers only prevent:

• one stroke per year out of every 1400 patients given these drugs.
• one heart attack per year out of every 1400 patients given these drugs.
• one death per year out of every 2500 patients given these drugs.

This was noted in a Letter to the Editor in JAMA by cardiologist, Franz Messerli, MD who has written several papers about the ineffectiveness of beta blockers.

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Type 2 Hypothyroidism can cause high blood pressure (hypertension) according to Mark Starr, MD author of the wonderful book Hypothyroidism Type 2: The Epidemic. Read the entire article | Email this article

Potassium bicarbonate reduced my blood pressure by about 20 points from roughly 140/70-something to 121/72 mm Hg.
Potassium chloride is the more commonly-recommended form, however, the research suggests to me that potassium bicarbonate is superior to potassium chloride for many reasons. Here's why. Read the entire article | Email this article

Thirty (30) grams of milled flaxseed per day, the amount found in 3 Tablespoons of flaxseed, lowered systolic blood pressure by 15 mmHg, from an average of 158 mmHg to 143 mmHg, and lowered diastolic blood pressure by 7 mmHg, from an average of 82 mmHg to 75 mmHg, compared to placebo over six (6) months according to a recent study.

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A table of obesity rates for each U.S. state is attached.

This if from the 2013 report titled “F is for Fat” by Ryan Masters, PhD who conducted research as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholar at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.

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“Nine of the 10 states with the highest rates of type 2 diabetes and hypertension are in the South,” according to the 2013 report titled F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America, 2013 from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation who has been publishing this report for 10 years.

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The average drop in blood pressure in people on a low-carbohydrate diet was 5 mm Hg systolic and 3 mm Hg diastolic according to a analysis of 17 low-carbohydrate studies which involved a total of 1,141 obese patients.

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Weight loss on a low-carbohydrate diet was associated with improvements in a number of cardiovascular risk factors including:

• 5 mm Hg decrease in systolic blood pressure
• 3 mm Hg decrease in diastolic blood pressure
• 1 mg per deciliter drop in fasting blood sugar
• 2.2 micro IU per millileter drop in fasting insulin
• 30 mg per deciliter drop in triglyceride levels
• 0.2% drop in glycated haemoglobin
• 1.7 mg per deciliter decrease in C-reactive protein
• 2.5 inch decrease in waist circumference
• 1.7 mg per deciliter increase in HDL levels

“Low-density lipoprotein [LDL] cholesterol and creatinine did not change significantly, whereas limited data exist concerning plasma uric acid,” the paper noted.

This according to a analysis of 17 low-carbohydrate studies which involved a total of 1,141 obese patients.

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Dr. Sanjay Gupta: What are all these various diseases that you say are linked to sugar?

Dr. Robert Lustig: Obesity, type II diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease itself.

Lustig says the American lifestyle is killing us.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta: And most of it you say is preventable?

Dr. Robert Lustig: Seventy-five percent of it is preventable.

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Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Is it worse than just table sugar?

Dr. Robert Lustig: No. 'Cause it's the exact same. They are basically equivalent. The problem is they're both bad. They're both equally toxic.

Since the 1970s, sugar consumption has gone down nearly 40 percent, but high fructose corn syrup has more than made up the difference. Dr. Lustig says they are both toxic because they both contain fructose -- that's what makes them sweet and irresistible.

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Reducing body fat lowers blood pressure even without a change in body weight according to a 1998 study.

People who reduced their percent body fat by 2 percent reduced their blood pressure by 8/6 points after one year from 149/92 to 141/86 mm Hg.

However, in patients who had a similar reduction in body fat without a change in body weight had a similar reduction in blood pressure of 11/6 from 151/93 to 140/87 mm Hg.

This suggests that it is excess body fat rather than body weight that causes elevated blood pressure. Read the entire article | Email this article

Men who were given 200 grams of fructose per day for two weeks had an average increase in blood pressure from 128/78 to 135/84 mm Hg, an increase of 7/6 mm Hg according to a new study. Read the entire article | Email this article

For those of us who enjoy the use of weasel words and non-scientific rubbish dressed up as fact, this is indeed a grand territory to explore….

I have written about hypertension a couple of times. So I thought that I should throw my hat into the ring about the controversy surrounding the ALLHAT trial. A trial which wins my official tortuous acronym award? ALLHAT stands for the Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering treatment to prevent Heart Attack Trial.

(This article was written by Malcolm Kendrick, MD, author of the wonderful, eye-opening, paradigm-shifting book The Great Cholesterol Con: The Truth About What Really Causes Heart Disease and How to Avoid It .) Read the entire article | Email this article

I write this before I have read all the details on the new Heart Lung and Blood Institute guidelines on raised blood pressure [as of 2003]. But there has been enough information flying around to know what they are saying. Frankly, I knew what these guidelines were going to say before the committee met for the first time. Before, in fact, the members of the committee even knew they were going to be on the committee.

Now we are all to be officially ill.

(This article was written by Malcolm Kendrick, MD, author of the wonderful, eye-opening, paradigm-shifting book The Great Cholesterol Con: The Truth About What Really Causes Heart Disease and How to Avoid It .) Read the entire article | Email this article

Let’s suppose that one day you went to the doctor and she decided to take your temperature, just to see what it was. To your surprise it was two degrees higher than normal. As we all know, a high temperature is associated with a higher than normal level of mortality, so the doctor decided to use a drug to get your temperature down, along with advice to wear less clothes and take cold baths.

Time passes and you have been on this drug for five years. The baths and chilly walks are getting to be a bit of a pain. On the bright side, at least the temperature is back to normal.

I think you would agree that such a scenario is, quite frankly, nuts.

(This article was written by Malcolm Kendrick, MD, author of the wonderful, eye-opening, paradigm-shifting book The Great Cholesterol Con: The Truth About What Really Causes Heart Disease and How to Avoid It .) Read the entire article | Email this article

The prevalence of hypertension increases as body weight increases as found in a study of 56784 men aged 18-25 years, entering the Swiss army.
The prevalence of obesity by weight category was as follows:

• 12.5% in underweight men with BMI less than 18.5


• 23.9% in normal weight men with a BMI less than 18.5 to 24.9


• 37.6% in overweight men with a BMI of 25 to 29.9


• 49.7% in obese men with a BMI of 30 to 34.9


• 56.7% in obese men with a BMI of 35 to 39.9


• 54.2% in underweight men with a BMI of 40 or greater

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"[H]igh blood glucose in diabetes is NOT the cause of the pathology," wrote Richard Moore, MD, PhD, professor and research scientist, and author of the book "The High Blood Pressure Solution".

In other words, health problems associated with diabetes are NOT caused by high blood sugar. Read the entire article | Email this article

“[T]hiazide diuretics lower blood pressure because they get sodium out of the body (through the kidneys)," notes wrote Richard Moore, MD, PhD, professor and research scientist, and author of the book "The High Blood Pressure Solution". Read the entire article | Email this article

"[A blood pressure study called the ALLHAT study found that three newer blood pressure drugs] had far worse health outcomes than the original, cheap thiazide diuretics," wrote Richard Moore, MD, PhD, professor and research scientist, and author of the book "The High Blood Pressure Solution".

"As one author of the paper wrote, 'We cant say whether the diuretics were better than -- or not as bad as -- the other groups of drugs."

"Since it is well established that thiazide diuretics often cause diabetes, it well may be the later." Read the entire article | Email this article

“In my book, 'The High Blood Pressure Solution', you will find that [there] is no evidence that antihypertensive drugs save lives,” wrote Richard Moore, MD, PhD, professor and research scientist,

"[In fact,] the very best study ever done of drug treatment of 17,000 hypertensives over a five year period found 'no overall reduction in death rate' in those treated with drugs." Read the entire article | Email this article