WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:03.100 Prepare to have your health questions answered 00:00:03.100 --> 00:00:07.059 here on Safe, Effective Natural Solutions with 00:00:07.059 --> 00:00:10.419 Dr. Todd Binkley, owner of Binkley Healing Center 00:00:10.419 --> 00:00:15.160 in downtown Ventura. Now, here's Dr. Todd. Good 00:00:15.160 --> 00:00:17.199 afternoon. I'm Dr. Todd Binkley, board -certified 00:00:17.199 --> 00:00:19.239 doctor of non -force chiropractic and practitioner 00:00:19.239 --> 00:00:21.449 of... Functional Medicine. Today, we're going 00:00:21.449 --> 00:00:23.489 to talk about hypertension, high blood pressure, 00:00:23.530 --> 00:00:26.870 and the importance of nitrous oxide in regulating 00:00:26.870 --> 00:00:29.190 blood pressure. And I'm going to talk about a 00:00:29.190 --> 00:00:31.149 couple of case studies, people that have gotten 00:00:31.149 --> 00:00:33.570 great results that weren't being helped by standard 00:00:33.570 --> 00:00:36.469 medicine and who are great examples of what's 00:00:36.469 --> 00:00:39.670 possible without becoming dependent on pharmaceuticals 00:00:39.670 --> 00:00:42.130 for the rest of your life. That being said, I 00:00:42.130 --> 00:00:44.409 always caution people. I'm the guy that people 00:00:44.409 --> 00:00:46.649 go to who want to get off all of their medications. 00:00:47.500 --> 00:00:50.280 Quotes, unquotes. And, you know, sometimes that's 00:00:50.280 --> 00:00:52.640 possible. Sometimes it isn't. But one of the 00:00:52.640 --> 00:00:55.539 major exceptions to when you don't want to mess 00:00:55.539 --> 00:00:59.039 with just randomly stopping medication. And to 00:00:59.039 --> 00:01:01.240 be clear, I never tell anyone to stop taking 00:01:01.240 --> 00:01:03.420 medication that was prescribed by some other 00:01:03.420 --> 00:01:05.840 physician. If that is your goal, I'm going to 00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:08.459 encourage you to talk to that physician and explain 00:01:08.459 --> 00:01:11.719 what you're doing instead. and let him know that 00:01:11.719 --> 00:01:13.459 you're doing what you're going to do. But the 00:01:13.459 --> 00:01:16.420 most important example of when you shouldn't 00:01:16.420 --> 00:01:18.359 do that, especially shouldn't do that without 00:01:18.359 --> 00:01:20.780 coming up with some alternatives, is with blood 00:01:20.780 --> 00:01:22.579 pressure. If you're on blood pressure medication, 00:01:22.920 --> 00:01:26.040 if you're not doing something else to keep your 00:01:26.040 --> 00:01:28.500 blood pressure low and regularly measuring your 00:01:28.500 --> 00:01:31.299 blood pressure to confirm that it is within a 00:01:31.299 --> 00:01:34.920 healthy, safe range, which is 120. over 80. High 00:01:34.920 --> 00:01:37.099 blood pressure has traditionally always been 00:01:37.099 --> 00:01:41.959 diagnosed as 140 over 90. The latest research 00:01:41.959 --> 00:01:44.340 is now confirming that we really need to keep 00:01:44.340 --> 00:01:47.969 it to 130. over 80. So the lower number should 00:01:47.969 --> 00:01:51.010 still be 80 or less. The top number should really 00:01:51.010 --> 00:01:53.930 be 130 if you want to live long and live well 00:01:53.930 --> 00:01:57.629 and stay healthy. Even 140 is not low enough 00:01:57.629 --> 00:02:01.090 if you want to optimize yourself of living a 00:02:01.090 --> 00:02:04.469 long, natural, healthy life and dying peacefully 00:02:04.469 --> 00:02:06.629 in your sleep as opposed to being suddenly struck 00:02:06.629 --> 00:02:10.030 down in your prime by a heart attack or a stroke 00:02:10.030 --> 00:02:13.719 that gave you no warning. So high blood pressure 00:02:13.719 --> 00:02:16.219 is one of the places where functional medicine 00:02:16.219 --> 00:02:19.599 practitioners and regular medical doctors, the 00:02:19.599 --> 00:02:23.219 whole professions, cardiologists, everyone has 00:02:23.219 --> 00:02:25.960 a fairly common point of view because you only 00:02:25.960 --> 00:02:28.800 get one heart. Of course, okay, you could get 00:02:28.800 --> 00:02:31.080 a heart replacement, but most people don't want 00:02:31.080 --> 00:02:33.539 to get a heart transplant and it's pretty difficult 00:02:33.539 --> 00:02:36.439 to get them currently. So yeah, keep your heart, 00:02:36.479 --> 00:02:38.379 keep your blood vessels healthy, keep the pump 00:02:38.379 --> 00:02:40.800 strong, keep the pressure low and keep the pipes 00:02:40.800 --> 00:02:44.069 clear. Those are the three things that are the 00:02:44.069 --> 00:02:47.009 main points of the whole talk that I do on preventing 00:02:47.009 --> 00:02:49.349 cardiovascular disease. But here's what we're 00:02:49.349 --> 00:02:52.050 going to start with today. Another headline published 00:02:52.050 --> 00:02:54.849 in the Journal of American College of Cardiology, 00:02:55.050 --> 00:02:58.900 more Americans need blood pressure meds. updated 00:02:58.900 --> 00:03:02.520 guidelines say. So these updated guidelines were 00:03:02.520 --> 00:03:05.060 proposed a few months ago. I mentioned them in 00:03:05.060 --> 00:03:09.180 a previous show and they are now officially adopted 00:03:09.180 --> 00:03:11.719 and basically confirming what I mentioned previously, 00:03:11.919 --> 00:03:14.580 which is that we really should be controlling 00:03:14.580 --> 00:03:18.860 blood pressure to 130 instead of 140 for the 00:03:18.860 --> 00:03:21.080 top number. The bottom number is the same, 80 00:03:21.080 --> 00:03:26.020 or lower is the goal. The top number should be 00:03:26.020 --> 00:03:30.629 130. or lower. And so this new recommendation 00:03:30.629 --> 00:03:34.389 is that people should start medication. Well, 00:03:34.469 --> 00:03:36.509 obviously I don't necessarily agree with that. 00:03:36.569 --> 00:03:38.569 There's lots of other ways to control your blood 00:03:38.569 --> 00:03:41.569 pressure, but I do agree. And I tell all my patients 00:03:41.569 --> 00:03:44.490 that if you're not doing that, two things need 00:03:44.490 --> 00:03:46.530 to always happen regarding blood pressure. You 00:03:46.530 --> 00:03:48.770 need to check it. Most people don't check their 00:03:48.770 --> 00:03:51.490 blood pressure. You can get a top of the line 00:03:51.490 --> 00:03:53.569 Omron. There's a couple of other good brands 00:03:53.569 --> 00:03:56.530 that are really good. Home, blood pressure cuff, 00:03:56.770 --> 00:03:59.189 automatic, battery powered, easy to use. Not 00:03:59.189 --> 00:04:00.789 one that goes around your wrist or your finger, 00:04:00.849 --> 00:04:03.430 but one that goes around the upper arm for about 00:04:03.430 --> 00:04:06.870 40 bucks. And they even keep all your previous 00:04:06.870 --> 00:04:09.270 readings so you can chart it. They come with 00:04:09.270 --> 00:04:11.689 apps that you can use your phone to interact 00:04:11.689 --> 00:04:14.009 with. Really simple thing to do. Sometimes people 00:04:14.009 --> 00:04:16.689 just, well, a lot of times people just say, oh, 00:04:16.790 --> 00:04:19.779 I don't want to know. Yes, you do. You want to 00:04:19.779 --> 00:04:22.019 know. Even if you don't want to know, you should 00:04:22.019 --> 00:04:24.720 know because you need to know whether or not 00:04:24.720 --> 00:04:26.199 you're going to get blindsided. You don't want 00:04:26.199 --> 00:04:28.600 to be blindsided. That's much worse than not 00:04:28.600 --> 00:04:31.420 knowing if you're in trouble, especially when 00:04:31.420 --> 00:04:33.279 there's something simple you can do about it. 00:04:33.279 --> 00:04:35.180 There are lots of ways you can lower your blood 00:04:35.180 --> 00:04:37.899 pressure without medication. But of course, the 00:04:37.899 --> 00:04:41.220 main ways that modern medicine does it is with 00:04:41.220 --> 00:04:43.620 medication. So the recommendations, the current 00:04:43.620 --> 00:04:48.459 recommendations, now official. for anyone who 00:04:48.459 --> 00:04:51.319 has an average blood pressure where the top number 00:04:51.319 --> 00:04:57.800 is over 130. And after three months, sorry, after 00:04:57.800 --> 00:05:00.300 three to six months of lifestyle intervention 00:05:00.300 --> 00:05:05.500 without any change, In individuals who are estimated 00:05:05.500 --> 00:05:08.920 to have a 10 -year cardiovascular risk of less 00:05:08.920 --> 00:05:11.680 than 7 .5%, we'll come back to that. That's a 00:05:11.680 --> 00:05:14.160 little bit technical. But basically, most people, 00:05:14.279 --> 00:05:18.300 if the number is, most adults in America on a 00:05:18.300 --> 00:05:20.699 standard American diet living with the normal 00:05:20.699 --> 00:05:24.199 stresses that people have, if your blood pressure, 00:05:24.240 --> 00:05:28.579 if the top number is above 130, and this is the 00:05:28.579 --> 00:05:30.620 part that you probably don't hear from your doctor. 00:05:31.040 --> 00:05:32.879 This is the official recommendation. It says 00:05:32.879 --> 00:05:36.620 it right here. After three to six months of lifestyle 00:05:36.620 --> 00:05:39.360 intervention. Did your doctor tell you that part 00:05:39.360 --> 00:05:41.100 or do they just write your prescription for blood 00:05:41.100 --> 00:05:43.420 pressure medication if you're on it? So that's 00:05:43.420 --> 00:05:46.240 the part that still gets left out. And it's exciting 00:05:46.240 --> 00:05:50.019 that for the first time it is in. clear print 00:05:50.019 --> 00:05:52.800 in the official recommendations. What does that 00:05:52.800 --> 00:05:55.399 mean? Three to six months of lifestyle intervention. 00:05:55.819 --> 00:05:58.360 That means doing things that I'm going to talk 00:05:58.360 --> 00:05:59.980 about more in a minute, but it's something as 00:05:59.980 --> 00:06:02.779 simple as doing deep breathing exercises. And 00:06:02.779 --> 00:06:04.699 it always starts with checking your blood pressure 00:06:04.699 --> 00:06:07.399 to see if you need to do lifestyle interventions 00:06:07.399 --> 00:06:10.459 and then see the results of those. So for example, 00:06:10.600 --> 00:06:13.620 if you're in a stressful situation, you go home, 00:06:13.699 --> 00:06:16.279 you take your blood pressure, we should talk 00:06:16.279 --> 00:06:18.329 about... how to take your blood pressure tube. 00:06:18.470 --> 00:06:20.629 I'll come back to that. You don't just sit down 00:06:20.629 --> 00:06:22.589 when you're stressful, slap the cuff on, and 00:06:22.589 --> 00:06:24.810 immediately start pumping. That's going to create 00:06:24.810 --> 00:06:27.189 the same white coat syndrome that you get when 00:06:27.189 --> 00:06:29.250 you go into the doctor's office. You need to 00:06:29.250 --> 00:06:31.430 be relaxed when you're taking your blood pressure. 00:06:31.449 --> 00:06:33.230 Put the cuff on and leave it on for a few minutes 00:06:33.230 --> 00:06:36.250 and become relaxed before you push the button. 00:06:36.689 --> 00:06:38.649 And then, for example, you can do something as 00:06:38.649 --> 00:06:41.410 simple as lying on the floor and doing some specific 00:06:41.410 --> 00:06:44.149 type of deep breathing exercises for 10 or 15 00:06:44.149 --> 00:06:47.139 minutes. and then get up and recheck your pressure. 00:06:47.319 --> 00:06:50.300 And you'll reliably notice that it goes dramatically 00:06:50.300 --> 00:06:53.660 lower. 5, 10 points, sometimes 15, 20, even 30 00:06:53.660 --> 00:06:56.399 points lower, depending on how high it was and 00:06:56.399 --> 00:06:58.980 how effectively you did whatever you were attempting 00:06:58.980 --> 00:07:01.339 to do to reduce it. So it's not deep breathing, 00:07:01.519 --> 00:07:04.319 basically any way to reduce your stress. And 00:07:04.319 --> 00:07:06.120 there are lots of ways to do that. But I must 00:07:06.120 --> 00:07:07.620 stress again, because I know I have a lot of 00:07:07.620 --> 00:07:10.180 listeners who are taking responsibility for their 00:07:10.180 --> 00:07:12.100 own health. That's great. That's what I hope 00:07:12.100 --> 00:07:14.259 listeners to my show do. That's what I love. 00:07:14.509 --> 00:07:16.050 helping people with. That's what I'm good at 00:07:16.050 --> 00:07:18.750 helping people with. And that's what people who 00:07:18.750 --> 00:07:22.430 choose to take action are also good at prolonging 00:07:22.430 --> 00:07:24.670 their lives and reducing dependency on drugs. 00:07:24.790 --> 00:07:26.930 But this blood pressure is different. Blood pressure 00:07:26.930 --> 00:07:28.930 is different than cholesterol. A lot of people 00:07:28.930 --> 00:07:31.310 know that the standard medical line that everyone 00:07:31.310 --> 00:07:33.389 needs to be on statin drugs is nonsense. There 00:07:33.389 --> 00:07:35.709 are lots of other effective ways to reduce your 00:07:35.709 --> 00:07:37.430 risk of heart disease that don't involve taking 00:07:37.430 --> 00:07:39.949 statin drugs. Well, there are lots of ways that 00:07:39.949 --> 00:07:41.569 you could lower your blood pressure, but a lot 00:07:41.569 --> 00:07:44.370 of people don't do it. A lot of people don't 00:07:44.370 --> 00:07:46.649 even measure their blood pressure. So just know 00:07:46.649 --> 00:07:49.870 that this part, in this area of taking care of 00:07:49.870 --> 00:07:52.149 your own health, you cannot assume that you're 00:07:52.149 --> 00:07:54.290 fine if you feel fine. High blood pressure and 00:07:54.290 --> 00:07:57.970 its consequences have no symptoms. The most common 00:07:57.970 --> 00:08:01.350 first symptom of severe underlying heart disease. 00:08:02.040 --> 00:08:04.500 is sudden death from a heart attack. So you want 00:08:04.500 --> 00:08:06.839 to avoid that. The only way you know that you're 00:08:06.839 --> 00:08:09.680 going to avoid that is by taking your blood pressure 00:08:09.680 --> 00:08:12.699 in a relaxed way in the privacy of your own home, 00:08:12.800 --> 00:08:16.439 charting the numbers, keeping a log of them so 00:08:16.439 --> 00:08:18.500 that you know how you're doing. Daniel Jones, 00:08:18.779 --> 00:08:20.980 MD of the University of Mississippi Medical Center 00:08:20.980 --> 00:08:23.519 in Jackson, said in their press release, quote, 00:08:23.560 --> 00:08:27.000 by addressing individual risks earlier. And offering 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:29.379 more tailored strategies across the lifespan, 00:08:29.459 --> 00:08:33.779 these new 2025 guidelines aim to aid clinicians 00:08:33.779 --> 00:08:35.899 in helping more people manage their blood pressure 00:08:35.899 --> 00:08:37.740 and reduce the toll of not just heart disease, 00:08:37.820 --> 00:08:41.419 but also kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, and 00:08:41.419 --> 00:08:44.580 dementia. Anything that affects your risk of 00:08:44.580 --> 00:08:46.899 heart disease dramatically affects your risk 00:08:46.899 --> 00:08:50.360 of dementia, but also... kidney disease and type 00:08:50.360 --> 00:08:52.120 2 diabetes. If you have those things, they'll 00:08:52.120 --> 00:08:55.000 make them much worse. Most people with diabetes 00:08:55.000 --> 00:08:58.519 die of a heart attack or a stroke. So all of 00:08:58.519 --> 00:09:01.139 these things are connected. And these new guidelines 00:09:01.139 --> 00:09:04.120 use a tool called the American Heart Association 00:09:04.120 --> 00:09:07.340 PREVENT, Predicting Risk of Cardiovascular Disease 00:09:07.340 --> 00:09:11.080 Events. It's a risk calculator. So you can go 00:09:11.080 --> 00:09:13.399 to their website and look it up and you fill 00:09:13.399 --> 00:09:15.940 in a little form and it'll give you, and it's 00:09:15.940 --> 00:09:19.529 a percentage. Is it 5%, 10 %? Or more, the old 00:09:19.529 --> 00:09:21.870 guideline was a 10 % number. The new guideline 00:09:21.870 --> 00:09:24.970 they're looking for, 7 .5 % or less, is bad enough 00:09:24.970 --> 00:09:27.610 to start taking medication. Well, anytime you 00:09:27.610 --> 00:09:30.870 hear that, know that what it really means is 00:09:30.870 --> 00:09:33.509 you need to do something to reduce those risk 00:09:33.509 --> 00:09:35.730 factors. I'm going to get to them in just a second, 00:09:35.769 --> 00:09:38.809 but there's other ways to reduce most of these 00:09:38.809 --> 00:09:41.409 risk factors so you can still avoid taking the 00:09:41.409 --> 00:09:43.009 medication. But you've got to check your pressure 00:09:43.009 --> 00:09:45.039 and make sure. that you're doing what you need 00:09:45.039 --> 00:09:46.720 to do. So here's the list of things that you 00:09:46.720 --> 00:09:48.500 fill in. If you go to this tool, email me, I 00:09:48.500 --> 00:09:53.059 can send you the link. Your gender, age, total 00:09:53.059 --> 00:09:54.779 cholesterol, you can't modify those two, but 00:09:54.779 --> 00:09:58.480 total cholesterol, HTL good cholesterol, blood 00:09:58.480 --> 00:10:02.279 pressure, BMI, all of those things you can alter 00:10:02.279 --> 00:10:06.240 dramatically with the things that you eat. the 00:10:06.240 --> 00:10:08.559 way you manage your stress levels, things that 00:10:08.559 --> 00:10:10.539 I can help you with, things that you may be aware 00:10:10.539 --> 00:10:12.860 of, some things you may not be aware of but that 00:10:12.860 --> 00:10:15.340 are available and perhaps easier to do than you 00:10:15.340 --> 00:10:17.919 may think. BMI is on the list. A healthy BMI 00:10:17.919 --> 00:10:23.080 is 18 .5 to 24. Overweight is 25 to 29 and obese 00:10:23.080 --> 00:10:28.159 is 30. or more and if you most people know that 00:10:28.159 --> 00:10:31.019 bmi is not by itself not a great measure of your 00:10:31.019 --> 00:10:33.679 health because it doesn't take into account different 00:10:33.679 --> 00:10:36.940 types of bodies if you're thick boned or thick 00:10:36.940 --> 00:10:40.940 generally then It's okay to have a higher BMI 00:10:40.940 --> 00:10:45.720 and still be healthy. Your kidney tests and diabetes 00:10:45.720 --> 00:10:48.860 and whether or not you smoke and whether or not 00:10:48.860 --> 00:10:51.519 you're on medication for blood pressure or cholesterol 00:10:51.519 --> 00:10:54.159 are the other criteria on this American Heart 00:10:54.159 --> 00:10:57.460 Association preventing your cardiovascular risk 00:10:57.460 --> 00:11:01.940 disease. So in addition to gender, age, total 00:11:01.940 --> 00:11:04.500 and good cholesterol, blood pressure, BMI, they're 00:11:04.500 --> 00:11:09.419 also asking you to enter your average glomerular 00:11:09.419 --> 00:11:12.000 filtration rate, which is a standard kidney test. 00:11:12.120 --> 00:11:13.580 And so you won't know that unless you've had 00:11:13.580 --> 00:11:15.600 a blood test that tells you that. But it's just 00:11:15.600 --> 00:11:18.679 one of the measures of kidney function. And are 00:11:18.679 --> 00:11:21.340 you diabetic or not? Do you smoke? Are you on 00:11:21.340 --> 00:11:23.659 blood pressure medication or cholesterol medication? 00:11:23.759 --> 00:11:26.360 Those are the things that are now used for the 00:11:26.360 --> 00:11:30.179 latest, greatest predictor risk factor for cardiovascular 00:11:30.179 --> 00:11:33.659 disease. So most of those things you can. you 00:11:33.659 --> 00:11:36.259 can do something about yourself and avoid becoming 00:11:36.259 --> 00:11:39.960 dependent on drugs. But it is a good measure. 00:11:41.059 --> 00:11:43.100 They've put in the time. They've done the data. 00:11:43.559 --> 00:11:46.700 This is a good measure of your risk of developing 00:11:46.700 --> 00:11:50.559 cardiovascular disease with one proviso. So the 00:11:50.559 --> 00:11:52.830 assumption... is that if you have high cholesterol, 00:11:52.990 --> 00:11:55.029 it guarantees that you're at risk. That's the 00:11:55.029 --> 00:11:57.750 one weakness. High cholesterol doesn't cause 00:11:57.750 --> 00:12:00.450 heart disease. It is very strongly associated 00:12:00.450 --> 00:12:04.250 with it. They do go together, but they're not 00:12:04.250 --> 00:12:07.470 causatively linked. You can have high cholesterol 00:12:07.470 --> 00:12:10.190 and be at low risk of heart disease, and you 00:12:10.190 --> 00:12:12.789 can have normal cholesterol and be at high risk 00:12:12.789 --> 00:12:16.129 of cardiovascular disease. I'm Dr. Todd Binkley. 00:12:16.129 --> 00:12:18.049 You're listening to Safe, Effective, Natural 00:12:18.049 --> 00:12:20.870 Solutions to Almost Any Health Challenge. Today 00:12:20.870 --> 00:12:23.509 we're talking about high blood pressure, and 00:12:23.509 --> 00:12:27.049 I promise I go over some case studies. So I want 00:12:27.049 --> 00:12:28.809 to make sure that I don't forget to do that. 00:12:28.870 --> 00:12:30.850 I always tend to run out of time early. So here's 00:12:30.850 --> 00:12:34.409 just an example. Here's a common example. A 57 00:12:34.409 --> 00:12:38.460 -year -old obese man. His average blood pressure 00:12:38.460 --> 00:12:41.899 was 170 over 95, had been that way for several 00:12:41.899 --> 00:12:44.039 years. He tried some blood pressure medication, 00:12:44.279 --> 00:12:47.379 didn't like the way it made him feel. And he, 00:12:47.480 --> 00:12:50.840 you know, he was a big, strong man. And he just, 00:12:50.879 --> 00:12:52.679 he said, I'm not going to take this anymore. 00:12:53.120 --> 00:12:56.600 I feel fine. Well, I told him, you know, it doesn't 00:12:56.600 --> 00:12:58.259 matter how you feel. You need to get your blood 00:12:58.259 --> 00:13:00.370 pressure down. He said, okay, well, how are we 00:13:00.370 --> 00:13:02.190 going to do that? So one of the main things I 00:13:02.190 --> 00:13:05.889 gave him was a product called Citronox by Ortho 00:13:05.889 --> 00:13:09.110 Molecular Products. The main ingredient is citrulline. 00:13:10.070 --> 00:13:13.250 And the reason that that works is because it 00:13:13.250 --> 00:13:17.230 supports the production of nitric oxide. So one 00:13:17.230 --> 00:13:20.330 of the main ways your body regulates blood pressure 00:13:20.330 --> 00:13:24.399 is through the production of nitric oxide. And 00:13:24.399 --> 00:13:27.379 so I gave him a supplement that directly increases 00:13:27.379 --> 00:13:31.840 the effectiveness of that. And he was also taking 00:13:31.840 --> 00:13:33.559 some of the basic things that I recommend for 00:13:33.559 --> 00:13:35.919 everyone. A good multivitamin to supply minerals 00:13:35.919 --> 00:13:39.220 that are necessary cofactors for enzymatic reactions 00:13:39.220 --> 00:13:42.879 in every part of your body. He was taking a high 00:13:42.879 --> 00:13:45.720 dose, a good high dose, three grams of a high 00:13:45.720 --> 00:13:48.159 quality fish oil, which reduces inflammation. 00:13:49.080 --> 00:13:52.299 in the entire cardiovascular system. He was taking 00:13:52.299 --> 00:13:54.960 some seropeptase, which is a systemic enzyme 00:13:54.960 --> 00:13:58.700 for joint health, joint inflammation, but also 00:13:58.700 --> 00:14:02.080 reduces inflammation in the vasculature, which 00:14:02.080 --> 00:14:04.440 will indirectly lower blood pressure. And he 00:14:04.440 --> 00:14:08.899 was taking glutathione support to reduce inflammation 00:14:08.899 --> 00:14:12.399 throughout the body. It was also taking betaine 00:14:12.399 --> 00:14:15.559 HCL to maintain stomach acid levels. I mentioned 00:14:15.559 --> 00:14:18.519 this last week or the week before, I think. There 00:14:18.519 --> 00:14:21.460 was a study showing that people who take acid 00:14:21.460 --> 00:14:26.139 -blocking drugs, PPIs, protonics, Prevacid, Nexium, 00:14:26.179 --> 00:14:29.460 drugs like this, when they take these drugs, 00:14:29.580 --> 00:14:32.000 they're deliberately lowering their stomach acid 00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:36.399 levels. And a normal amount of stomach acid is 00:14:36.399 --> 00:14:39.720 essential for nitric oxide production in the 00:14:39.720 --> 00:14:41.960 stomach. So to regulate your blood pressure, 00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:45.179 you need adequate nitric oxide. The main way 00:14:45.179 --> 00:14:48.200 you get it is by converting nitrates and nitrites 00:14:48.200 --> 00:14:51.580 in your stomach into nitric oxide, which requires 00:14:51.580 --> 00:14:55.039 adequate acid. So lots of people don't have enough 00:14:55.039 --> 00:14:57.950 of that as they get older. And so anyway, these 00:14:57.950 --> 00:14:59.889 other nutrients he was taking for other reasons, 00:15:00.049 --> 00:15:01.950 they're good things for anyone to take. I recommend 00:15:01.950 --> 00:15:04.769 that everyone take a good four capsule a day 00:15:04.769 --> 00:15:07.009 multivitamin, mainly for the minerals you don't 00:15:07.009 --> 00:15:09.190 get from your food. I recommend that everyone 00:15:09.190 --> 00:15:11.370 who wants to be healthy take a good dose of a 00:15:11.370 --> 00:15:13.870 high quality fish oil and that everyone take 00:15:13.870 --> 00:15:16.610 vitamin D. And a lot of people I find benefit 00:15:16.610 --> 00:15:19.889 from systemic enzymes for arthritis and joint 00:15:19.889 --> 00:15:23.470 inflammation and vascular inflammation. And a 00:15:23.470 --> 00:15:25.450 lot of people are deficient in hydrochloric acid 00:15:25.450 --> 00:15:27.070 in the stomach as they get older. So he was taking 00:15:27.070 --> 00:15:30.090 these things. But then we added citrulline to 00:15:30.090 --> 00:15:34.639 directly support nitric oxide. Citrulline, a 00:15:34.639 --> 00:15:36.679 lot of people have heard of arginine, and there's 00:15:36.679 --> 00:15:39.460 a lot of data on arginine to support nitric oxide 00:15:39.460 --> 00:15:42.220 production, but arginine passes through your 00:15:42.220 --> 00:15:44.039 system very quickly. It has a very temporary 00:15:44.039 --> 00:15:48.240 effect on increased nitric oxygen production, 00:15:48.360 --> 00:15:52.379 and citrulline is further up the chain in that 00:15:52.379 --> 00:15:55.299 same pathway of... producing nitric oxide, and 00:15:55.299 --> 00:15:58.220 so it has a longer -lasting effect. So he took 00:15:58.220 --> 00:16:01.000 that. This 57 -year -old obese man reduced his 00:16:01.000 --> 00:16:04.220 average blood pressure from 170, the top number, 00:16:04.379 --> 00:16:08.679 to 135. That's huge. From 135 points, top number, 00:16:08.759 --> 00:16:12.490 from 170 to 135. This is over several months. 00:16:12.629 --> 00:16:14.769 And the bottom number, which was 95 before, too 00:16:14.769 --> 00:16:17.809 high, reduced it down to 85. Still a little bit 00:16:17.809 --> 00:16:20.049 higher than ideal, but a dramatic improvement. 00:16:20.529 --> 00:16:23.210 And the dramatic reduction, much more dramatic 00:16:23.210 --> 00:16:27.269 reduction in the top number, is a cause to celebrate. 00:16:27.350 --> 00:16:31.110 And he was very excited. So that is a very common 00:16:31.110 --> 00:16:34.289 example. I've had scores of patients, probably 00:16:34.289 --> 00:16:37.909 hundreds of patients that had some similar circumstance 00:16:37.909 --> 00:16:41.049 like that where maybe they already have a good 00:16:41.049 --> 00:16:44.970 exercise program. They feel like and can demonstrate 00:16:44.970 --> 00:16:47.889 to a certain level of my confidence that they're 00:16:47.889 --> 00:16:50.409 managing their stress well. They don't seem super 00:16:50.409 --> 00:16:52.889 stressed out by something. And they are, most 00:16:52.889 --> 00:16:55.529 importantly, actively checking their blood pressure 00:16:55.529 --> 00:16:58.389 and logging it so they know whether or not what 00:16:58.389 --> 00:17:01.850 they're doing is working. And sometimes you just 00:17:01.850 --> 00:17:04.769 need a little something extra. So supporting 00:17:04.769 --> 00:17:09.049 nitric oxide production and a few basic nutrients 00:17:09.049 --> 00:17:11.950 can often make the huge difference. Well, here's 00:17:11.950 --> 00:17:15.069 another case that I always love to talk about. 00:17:15.150 --> 00:17:18.869 This is an 82 -year -old woman. whose blood pressure 00:17:18.869 --> 00:17:22.089 for many years, 15 years or more, had been averaging 00:17:22.089 --> 00:17:26.650 157 over 90. So the top number is way too high. 00:17:26.769 --> 00:17:29.210 The bottom number is right on the border of what's 00:17:29.210 --> 00:17:31.809 considered high blood pressure. And she refused 00:17:31.809 --> 00:17:34.529 to take medication. She was thin, fit, had an 00:17:34.529 --> 00:17:38.170 amazing life. She was a concert violinist and 00:17:38.170 --> 00:17:41.549 an orchestra conductor. She organized and produced 00:17:41.549 --> 00:17:45.230 a Christmas play every year with children at 00:17:45.230 --> 00:17:47.940 her church. She was a force of nature. So it 00:17:47.940 --> 00:17:51.200 was easy to see why she refused to take these 00:17:51.200 --> 00:17:52.640 medications. But also the main reason she didn't 00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:53.980 want to take it is because they made her dizzy. 00:17:54.359 --> 00:17:56.480 So if you're not checking your pressure regularly 00:17:56.480 --> 00:17:59.140 and if you're not interacting with your physician 00:17:59.140 --> 00:18:03.619 regularly, which she wasn't on this point, the 00:18:03.619 --> 00:18:06.319 drugs made her dizzy. And so it's not hard to 00:18:06.319 --> 00:18:08.900 see why she wouldn't want to take them. And that 00:18:08.900 --> 00:18:11.200 is not uncommon, especially in people in their 00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:15.079 80s, for a physician to give somebody too much. 00:18:15.549 --> 00:18:18.450 to overzealously dose the blood pressure medication, 00:18:18.690 --> 00:18:21.230 which results in someone feeling dizzy, especially 00:18:21.230 --> 00:18:23.269 when they stand up quickly. So if that's happening, 00:18:23.349 --> 00:18:26.430 then you shouldn't be taking that much medication. 00:18:26.490 --> 00:18:28.809 But it doesn't mean you shouldn't take any. And 00:18:28.809 --> 00:18:32.250 it definitely still means you should do something 00:18:32.250 --> 00:18:34.170 to get that pressure under control. So I asked 00:18:34.170 --> 00:18:35.630 her, I said, have you taken, she was a pretty 00:18:35.630 --> 00:18:38.210 sophisticated customer. She had been trying various 00:18:38.210 --> 00:18:40.490 things for many, many years before she came to 00:18:40.490 --> 00:18:43.029 me. She was referred to me by a naturopath who 00:18:43.029 --> 00:18:44.809 had been helping her with a number of things. 00:18:45.310 --> 00:18:47.690 So I asked her, I said, have you taken a good 00:18:47.690 --> 00:18:49.589 dose? Well, what's a good dose? Three grams, 00:18:49.789 --> 00:18:52.589 three to four capsules of a high quality official. 00:18:52.750 --> 00:18:54.750 Oh yeah, I tried that. It didn't work. I said, 00:18:54.769 --> 00:18:56.869 are you taking 5 ,000 units of vitamin D every 00:18:56.869 --> 00:19:00.150 day? To get your blood level up to between 50 00:19:00.150 --> 00:19:02.789 and 90. She said, well, no, not that much. But 00:19:02.789 --> 00:19:05.509 there's vitamin D somewhere in the stuff I take. 00:19:05.549 --> 00:19:07.509 I know I'm taking my vitamin D. Well, she hasn't 00:19:07.509 --> 00:19:09.690 tested it. And I said, are you taking a good 00:19:09.690 --> 00:19:12.009 multivitamin to get all the minerals and bioavailable 00:19:12.009 --> 00:19:14.990 forms that your body needs to catalyze all the 00:19:14.990 --> 00:19:18.470 chemical reactions required for healing and repairing? 00:19:18.789 --> 00:19:21.240 No. I mean, yes, no, I did that. It didn't work. 00:19:21.359 --> 00:19:23.579 Have you taken natto kinase, the systemic enzyme 00:19:23.579 --> 00:19:26.660 from the Japanese food natto that was identified 00:19:26.660 --> 00:19:29.019 several decades ago to be a chief cause of the 00:19:29.019 --> 00:19:31.119 much lower incidence of cardiovascular disease? 00:19:31.759 --> 00:19:35.000 In the Japanese, no. She tried that once briefly, 00:19:35.259 --> 00:19:38.519 didn't work. Has she tried any form of citrulline 00:19:38.519 --> 00:19:40.240 like the product I was just talking about? Yeah, 00:19:40.259 --> 00:19:41.619 she tried it, it didn't work. I said, are you 00:19:41.619 --> 00:19:44.680 taking coenzyme Q10 to keep your heart strong 00:19:44.680 --> 00:19:47.240 so that it doesn't have to work so hard when 00:19:47.240 --> 00:19:48.920 you're active, even though your blood pressure 00:19:48.920 --> 00:19:51.480 is too high and you can still do everything you 00:19:51.480 --> 00:19:53.720 want without the pressure spiking? She says, 00:19:53.740 --> 00:19:55.400 yeah, I tried that for several years, didn't 00:19:55.400 --> 00:19:57.680 work. Well, hopefully by now listeners to this 00:19:57.680 --> 00:19:59.799 show know where I'm going with this. What is 00:19:59.799 --> 00:20:03.420 my next question? Have you ever tried taking 00:20:03.420 --> 00:20:07.500 all of those things at the same time? Well, no, 00:20:07.619 --> 00:20:10.900 of course not, she said indignantly. How would 00:20:10.900 --> 00:20:13.480 I know if any of them worked if I didn't take 00:20:13.480 --> 00:20:16.339 them one at a time to see if they worked? Well, 00:20:16.640 --> 00:20:20.140 That strategy doesn't work. Nutrients don't work. 00:20:20.180 --> 00:20:21.900 They're not drugs. They don't work by themselves. 00:20:22.160 --> 00:20:25.420 They work in combination. You need to take them 00:20:25.420 --> 00:20:27.220 in combination. And if you don't want to take 00:20:27.220 --> 00:20:29.339 a whole bunch of capsules for the rest of your 00:20:29.339 --> 00:20:31.599 life, I'm with you on that too. But the way you 00:20:31.599 --> 00:20:34.539 do it, the way that's effective is to use proper 00:20:34.539 --> 00:20:38.099 testing to identify what you need now and take 00:20:38.099 --> 00:20:41.500 everything all at the same time and retest to 00:20:41.500 --> 00:20:44.420 make sure that's working and then slowly take 00:20:44.420 --> 00:20:48.130 things away. one at a time, to get down to the 00:20:48.130 --> 00:20:50.390 least number of things you need to take in addition 00:20:50.390 --> 00:20:53.089 to a good diet and moving your body regularly 00:20:53.089 --> 00:20:56.019 to maintain your health. Well, this woman is 00:20:56.019 --> 00:20:58.720 smart and she did exactly that. She took everything 00:20:58.720 --> 00:21:01.400 that I just mentioned. And after a few weeks, 00:21:01.400 --> 00:21:03.740 her blood pressure went in her 80s. This is really 00:21:03.740 --> 00:21:05.599 difficult to do. It's really easy, relatively 00:21:05.599 --> 00:21:08.640 easy to get someone's blood pressure down 15, 00:21:08.839 --> 00:21:11.640 20, 30 points when they're in their 40s, 50s 00:21:11.640 --> 00:21:14.660 and 60s. This is an 82 year old woman. I didn't 00:21:14.660 --> 00:21:16.460 mention it before. She had also had open heart 00:21:16.460 --> 00:21:19.849 surgery. a few, a couple of year and a half, 00:21:19.869 --> 00:21:22.490 something like that before then. And her blood 00:21:22.490 --> 00:21:24.369 pressure dropped 30 points. The top number went 00:21:24.369 --> 00:21:29.019 from 157 to 127 over 90. The 90 is not going 00:21:29.019 --> 00:21:32.039 to change. The bottom number is the pressure 00:21:32.039 --> 00:21:34.339 that's in your pipes all the time. It's the result 00:21:34.339 --> 00:21:38.700 of stiffness from aging, a little bit of plaque 00:21:38.700 --> 00:21:40.460 buildup. It's really difficult to lower that 00:21:40.460 --> 00:21:42.619 bottom number, and it's not caused by stress. 00:21:42.859 --> 00:21:45.380 And it's not as important in a situation like 00:21:45.380 --> 00:21:47.640 this. Getting that top number down is the one 00:21:47.640 --> 00:21:49.900 that causes the most strain on your heart, the 00:21:49.900 --> 00:21:52.099 one that causes a sudden heart attack or a stroke. 00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:54.559 And we got it down 30 points. And she didn't 00:21:54.559 --> 00:21:56.160 even need to take all those things forever. She 00:21:56.160 --> 00:21:58.240 took them for a few months until we got it under 00:21:58.240 --> 00:22:00.819 control, started doing some other things, and 00:22:00.819 --> 00:22:03.079 started checking her blood pressure regularly 00:22:03.079 --> 00:22:06.680 so she knew what was working and what was required 00:22:06.680 --> 00:22:09.259 to maintain that. And she lived for many, many 00:22:09.259 --> 00:22:12.180 years. After that, doing all of the things that 00:22:12.180 --> 00:22:14.980 she loved. So what can you do to naturally lower 00:22:14.980 --> 00:22:17.079 your blood pressure? Obviously, you need to check 00:22:17.079 --> 00:22:19.079 it. And deep breathing, actually, is a simple 00:22:19.079 --> 00:22:21.460 thing. And the most effective way to do it is 00:22:21.460 --> 00:22:24.140 to, that anyone can do, is to just lie on the 00:22:24.140 --> 00:22:26.779 floor. Not on your bed, not on a couch. You need 00:22:26.779 --> 00:22:29.799 to be on a firm surface to get the muscles in 00:22:29.799 --> 00:22:32.720 your rib cage and other muscles that affect the 00:22:32.720 --> 00:22:34.579 stress that causes your blood pressure to go 00:22:34.579 --> 00:22:37.289 up. You need to be lying on a firm. surface because 00:22:37.289 --> 00:22:40.789 when you slowly breathe in, hold for a moment 00:22:40.789 --> 00:22:44.170 and slowly breathe out, the pressure of gravity 00:22:44.170 --> 00:22:47.349 pushing your weight against a firm surface like 00:22:47.349 --> 00:22:50.069 the floor or a firm table, you could lie on any 00:22:50.069 --> 00:22:53.049 kind of a table, a massage table or a coffee 00:22:53.049 --> 00:22:55.690 table or a kitchen table with a mat on it, any 00:22:55.690 --> 00:22:58.109 kind of firm surface, but it's important to be 00:22:58.109 --> 00:23:00.650 on a firm surface and slowly breathe, hold for 00:23:00.650 --> 00:23:02.769 a moment and breathe out. Breathe in for a count 00:23:02.769 --> 00:23:06.880 of six or eight or however long. you can breathe 00:23:06.880 --> 00:23:09.960 in as slowly as possible and count in your mind. 00:23:09.980 --> 00:23:12.420 And if you get to eight, pause for a count of 00:23:12.420 --> 00:23:15.140 one or two and then make sure the exhalation 00:23:15.140 --> 00:23:17.180 takes longer. So if you breathe in for a count 00:23:17.180 --> 00:23:20.420 of eight, then restrict the exhalation so that 00:23:20.420 --> 00:23:22.220 it takes a little bit longer. If you breathe 00:23:22.220 --> 00:23:24.099 into a count of eight, breathe out to a count 00:23:24.099 --> 00:23:26.539 of 10. If you only count to six when you're breathing 00:23:26.539 --> 00:23:28.839 in, then breathe out to a count of eight. Some 00:23:28.839 --> 00:23:30.720 people recommend box breathing where you breathe 00:23:30.720 --> 00:23:32.720 in on a count of four, hold for four, breathe 00:23:32.720 --> 00:23:35.279 out for a count of four. That's okay too. Any 00:23:35.279 --> 00:23:36.640 kind of deep breathing is going to be beneficial, 00:23:36.859 --> 00:23:39.279 but I find the basics, the most important details 00:23:39.279 --> 00:23:42.859 that make it effective are to breathe in as slowly 00:23:42.859 --> 00:23:47.039 as you can, count, hold for a count or two, and 00:23:47.039 --> 00:23:49.220 make the exhalation take longer. Most people 00:23:49.220 --> 00:23:52.519 breathe in slowly and exhale quickly, just restricting 00:23:52.519 --> 00:23:56.200 and extending that exhalation over and over slowly. 00:23:56.750 --> 00:23:59.869 calmly on a firm surface for about 10 or 15 minutes, 00:23:59.930 --> 00:24:02.349 not for a minute or two, at least 10 minutes. 00:24:02.430 --> 00:24:04.650 Most of the time you really, and you can test 00:24:04.650 --> 00:24:06.650 your blood pressure before and after. That's 00:24:06.650 --> 00:24:08.250 how you know how long, how long do you need to 00:24:08.250 --> 00:24:10.529 do it? Check your pressure before and after and 00:24:10.529 --> 00:24:12.529 see how long it takes to make a difference. For 00:24:12.529 --> 00:24:14.710 most people, it's about 15 minutes on a firm 00:24:14.710 --> 00:24:16.529 surface. We are about out of time again. Thank 00:24:16.529 --> 00:24:18.750 you so much for tuning in next week. We're going 00:24:18.750 --> 00:24:20.309 to continue talking about that. There's so much 00:24:20.309 --> 00:24:22.869 more information to give on how to reduce your 00:24:22.869 --> 00:24:25.269 blood pressure. Please tune in next Friday at 00:24:25.269 --> 00:24:28.970 2 p .m. You've been listening to Safe, Effective 00:24:28.970 --> 00:24:32.349 Natural Solutions with Dr. Todd Binkley. If you 00:24:32.349 --> 00:24:34.309 have a health question you want discussed on 00:24:34.309 --> 00:24:37.690 the show, email your health questions to drbinkley 00:24:37.690 --> 00:24:41.690 at binkleyhealingcenter .com. Take advantage 00:24:41.690 --> 00:24:44.490 of this opportunity to ask questions for yourself 00:24:44.490 --> 00:24:48.069 and for your loved ones because our health matters. 00:24:48.329 --> 00:24:52.910 Join him next Friday at 2 p .m. for Safe, Effective 00:24:52.910 --> 00:24:57.160 Natural Solutions here on 98 .3 FM The Word