The most commonly diagnosed medical condition in the United States is high blood pressure, or hypertension, and blood pressure medications are among the top 10 most commonly prescribed drugs. However, these medications can cause undesirable side effects. It’s better to address the underlying causes of high blood pressure. Research shows diet and lifestyle changes are just as effective or even better than medications in lowering high blood pressure.
In functional medicine, we look for why the person has high blood pressure rather than simply looking at what can be done to lower it; it’s a person-centered approach, versus a disease-centered one. Factors to consider include genetic predispositions, nutritional deficiencies, environmental triggers, and lifestyle habits, such as:
- Deficiencies in nutrients such as biotin, vitamin D, vitamin C, B1, choline, magnesium and CoQ10.
- Toxic levels of mercury.
- A lack of dietary potassium and too much sodium.
- Magnesium deficiency.
- Chronic systemic inflammation.
- And much more…
