Health Hotline Magazine | November 2022

What is high blood pressure? When you get a blood pressure reading, what do those numbers mean? The first number is your systolic pressure, or the pressure that occurs as blood pumps out of the heart and into your blood vessels. The second, or diastolic pressure, is when your heart rests between beats. High blood pressure is when the force of your blood pushing against the walls of your blood vessels is consistently too high. Elevated blood pressure (pre-hypertensive) is 120-129/80 mm Hg, while high blood pressure is 130-139/80-89 mm Hg. Who is at risk? Some of the common risk factors for developing hypertension include excess weight, lack of physical activity, a diet heavy in processed foods and sugar (especially fructose), excessive alcohol consumption, smoking, and low levels of nitric oxide, which naturally fall with age, but are also linked to the use of mouthwash. Research published in 2020 found that “frequent regular use of over-the-counter mouthwash was associated with increased risk of hypertension, independent of [other] major risk factors…” One study also found that using mouthwash negated the blood-pressure lowering e ects of exercise. Clinical trials have shown that antibacterial mouthwash depletes the oral bacteria that help the body produce nitric oxide, decreasing overall nitric oxide availability in the body. Nitric oxide is critical for regulating blood pressure. African Americans are also at a higher risk. According to the American Heart Association, the prevalence of high blood pressure in African Americans is among the highest in the world and develops earlier in life. One observational study found that by the age of 25, hypertension among African American men and women was nearly twice that of their white counterparts. And recent research from Northwestern University found that over the course of one year, African American men had a 43% higher rate of death from heart failure, while African American women had a 54% higher death rate from heart failure compared to other racial groups. “This heart failure trend is another manifestation of the undertreatment of hypertension,” senior study author and cardiologist Sadiya Khan, MD said. “Know your blood pressure and make sure it’s being well managed and well-treated.”

Make managing your blood pressure a priority . Managing high blood pressure is possible—and you can do it with lifestyle interventions. Reduce your intake of processed foods and sugar, especially high- fructose corn syrup, which has been independently associated with higher blood pressure, even in adults with no previous history of hypertension. If you still drink soft drinks, make it a goal to significantly slash your intake—even one soda a day has been shown to increase blood pressure. Eat an abundance of potassium-rich vegetables and fruit to maintain a healthy sodium-potassium balance. Move your body regularly. This doesn’t have to mean rigorous workouts at the gym; something as simple as a daily walk is su cient. If you are a heavy drinker, work to cut back your alcohol intake, and if you have high blood pressure and use antibacterial mouthwash, you may want to re-evaluate how you use it. Adopt small healthy habits and they will coalesce into big changes for your health! In addition to healthy lifestyle habits, certain vitamins and nutrients are proven to support healthy blood pressure. Beetroot juice. Nitric oxide (NO) is a molecule that is naturally produced by the body and is crucial for regulating blood pressure; diminished production is associated with hypertension, other cardiovascular dysfunction, and erectile dysfunction. NO has a number of important functions, including promoting blood vessel flexibility and vasodilation, both of which help maintain normal blood pressure, as well as reducing oxidative stress, another driver of hypertension. Beetroot is rich in dietary nitrate, which the body readily converts to NO. One recent review investigated 11 studies to examine the relationship between beetroot juice and blood pressure and concluded, “This easily found and cheap dietary intervention could significantly decrease the risk of su ering cardiovascular events and, in doing so, would help to diminish the mortality rate associated with this pathology. Hence, beetroot juice supplementation should be promoted as a key component of a healthy lifestyle to control blood pressure in healthy and hypertensive individuals.” Recent research suggests that another way beetroot juice supports cardiovascular health is by reducing over-stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS); activation of the SNS increases heart rate, blood pressure, and blood vessel constriction. Studies have shown that 250 mL to 500 mL of beetroot juice daily is e ective in reducing blood pressure. Beetroot powder supplements are also an e ective way to increase NO production.

normal blood pressure is below 120/80 mm Hg

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