Now is the time of year where it is definitely hard to resist temptation to overindulge in food. For many of my clients however, they have a weight concern all year round due to their high blood pressure (hypertension) medication.
All high blood pressure medications are prescription medicines and should be respected as the potentially dangerous drugs that they are.
Side effects of many high blood pressure medications can include: marked, weight gain, fluid retention, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, (due to vomiting and diarrhea most likely), skin rashes, extreme tiredness, weakness, leg cramps, constipation, bleeding gums, frequent urination (especially at night), low potassium, dry mouth, vertigo (dizziness), headache, excessive hair growth, insomnia, nightmares, cold hands and feed and sensitivity to sunlight.
Because of fluid retention, lethargy, lack of sleep (we compensate by gaining lost energy from food) and depression, it’s no wonder that people reduce or stop exercising and quite frequently turn to food for comfort. What comes next? We gain weight of course.
While some only gain a few pounds, many patients have reported gaining in excess of a hundred pounds over the course of a year! This would, in turn put that person in the obesity category, if he or she weren’t already there, which in turn, would lead to a new risk factor for high blood pressure.
Other serious side effects include: gout, increased blood sugar (especially bad for diabetics), low blood pressure, slow heart beat, fast heart beat, birth defects and death in fetuses of pregnant women, erectile dysfunction, depression, and get this – risk of heart attack!
In addition to high blood pressure, the patient is now at greater risk for developing diabetes, osteoarthritis, metabolic syndrome and high cholesterol.
If the high blood pressure didn’t make you depressed, weight gain and other associated obesity related diseases certainly would.
What happens quite frequently is that the patient will either stop taking or greatly reduce the amount of high blood pressure medication he or she is taking. One should never stop taking prescription medications before consulting a doctor.
Believe me when I say I understand how difficult it can be to convince a physician that medicine isn’t the best option for you. If you are currently taking medicine for high blood pressure, try adding a few natural approaches to lower your blood pressure in order to convince your doctor that you can reduce or eliminate the medicine?
A few ways for you to help lower blood pressure without medication include: Stop smoking, avoid over indulging in alcohol, maintain a healthy weight, reduce sodium in the diet and reduce stress.
I also highly recommend my High Blood Pressure program. It’s all natural, easy to get started and easy to maintain consistency. Best of all, my program works!
If weight loss is your concern, I also recommend my Weight Loss Breeze program. The simple to do exercises have proven results!
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