Can Ayurveda help Lower Blood Pressure?

Why Ayurveda helps lower Blood Pressure

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How Ayurveda works for Hypertension

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Ayurveda for Blood Pressure: Treatment Protocol

Ayurvedic treatment for hypertension is specifically tailored to each individual’s case and looks at the dominant dosha in their constitution.

However, Ayurvedic treatment for hypertension generally involves the following aspects:

A- Purvakarma treatments:

Purvakarma is Sanskrit for “foremost action.” It comprises herbal and oil treatments that loosen the accumulated toxins in the blood. Ayurvedic medicine believes these toxins can cause hypertension.

Accordingly, purvakarma directs the toxins to specific waste and elimination centers in the body. They help prepare people for Panchakarma (detoxification therapies).

They consist of three treatments:

1. Panchana

2. Snehana

3. Swedana

The following purvakarma treatments help decrease blood pressure:

1- Pachana (digestion therapy): a practice where herbal treatments are administered to the patient. These herbal formulations help the body digest and eliminate toxins that might increase blood pressure.

2- Snehana (oleation therapy): a practice where oils, ghee (purified butter), or oils mixed with herbs are applied to the body internally or externally. Snehana loosens the toxins that increase blood pressure and leads them to a particular elimination center in the body, where they are expelled via panchakarma therapies.

a. Shirodhara therapy (external oleation): a practice where patients have a liquid (oil, milk, or water) poured onto their forehead. It is also accompanied by a head, body, or scalp massage. This practice soothes the mind and body and decreases stress, which helps reduce blood pressure.

b. Abhyanga (massage therapy): a practice where oils, ghee, or oils infused with herbs are massaged vigorously into the body to loosen the toxins in the body. Abhyanga also helps nourish the tissues and restore balance to imbalanced doshas. It is also part of dinacharya (daily routine). It helps balance the vata dosha in people who have high blood pressure.

B- Panchakarma treatments:

Panchakarma, which is Sanskrit for “five treatments,” is a five-step detox program in Ayurveda. These treatments help detoxify the body and restore balance to the vata, pitta, and kapha doshas.

The five treatments are:

1. Vamana (medicated emesis)

2. Virechana (medicated purgation)

3. Vasti (medicated enema)

4. Nasya (nasal medication)

5. Raktamokshan (bloodletting)

An Ayurvedic practitioner would manage hypertension using the following Panchakarma treatments:

1- Virechana (medicated purgation): a practice where patients are given herbal treatments to induce diarrhea. It helps clear obstructions in the channels that carry nourishment to the rest of the body, restores balance to the imbalanced dosha that affects blood flow, and regulates the vata dosha, which helps the blood flow more smoothly throughout the body.

2- Vasti/Basti (medicated enema): vasti is a practice where patients are given oils or liquids to cleanse their colon. Basti is a practice where patients are given an herbal enema to cleanse the colon. Both basti and vasti help open up the channels that nourish the body and regulate vata, which decrease blood pressure.

3- Nasya (nasal medication): a practice where oils are administered through the nose. It helps restore balance to the vata, pitta, and kapha doshas. It soothes the mind and helps prana (life force energy) flow through our body properly, keeping the body balanced and healthy. It also reduces stress, which lowers blood pressure.

4- Raktamokshan (bloodletting): a practice that involves withdrawing blood from the body via puncture wounds or incisions. This practice helps remove toxins from the blood and restores balance to the pitta dosha. It also helps decrease blood pressure.

C- Rasayana (Rejuvenation treatments):

In Ayurveda, rasayana, which is Sanskrit for “path of essence,” consists of practices that help rejuvenate and nourish the mind and body.

Rasayana practices include consuming herbal treatments or decoctions and maintaining a healthy and balanced diet. They also incorporate exercise, yoga, and a regular self-care routine (dinacharya) to maintain balance in all aspects of life.

Rasayana practices help restore balance to the imbalanced doshas that trigger increased blood pressure. They also reduce stress and help regulate blood circulation throughout the body, which keeps blood pressure under control.

The rasayana practices that help lower blood pressure are explained in more detail below:

1- Dietary Modifications:

The Ayurvedic diet aims to balance all three life energies or doshas in the mind and body. Patients should maintain a diet that restores balance to the kapha dosha (energy of structure and lubrication) or other dominant doshas to treat or prevent hypertension.

An Ayurvedic diet also prescribes eating specific foods as part of Purvakarma (preparatory treatments) before Panchakarma (detoxification therapies) to help loosen the toxins that clog the arteries and different channels in the body, preventing blood from flowing smoothly throughout the body.

Patients should maintain the Ayurvedic diet even after they complete Purvakarma and Panchakarma therapies.

2- Herbal Treatments:

Ayurveda prescribes herbs or herbal treatments to treat hypertension. The treatments are specifically tailored to the person’s symptoms. Practitioners prescribe different herbs depending on the person’s symptoms.

Some of these herbs include:

-Amla (Indian gooseberry): an herb that contains vitamin C, which helps dilate the blood vessels and reduces blood cholesterol levels.

- Triphala: an herbal treatment consisting of three different herbs, amalaki, bibhitaki, and haritaki. These herbs help regulate blood pressure and prevent the buildup of plaque in the arteries, keeping them healthy.

- Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera): an herb that lowers cortisol levels in the blood. It reduces stress, which helps lower blood pressure.

- Shankapushpi (Convolvulus prostratus): it has anti-stress and anti-anxiety properties. It also regulates blood flow and relaxes the blood vessels.

- Jatamansi (Spikenard): an herb that has anti-stress properties and helps the body eliminate toxins. It strengthens and protects the arteries from any damage.

- Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri): an herb that reduces the body’s cortisol levels and reduces stress in the body. It also lowers both systolic and diastolic blood pressure and dilates the blood vessels, which helps manage or prevent hypertension.

- Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica): an herb that helps reduce feelings of anxiety and stress. Gotu kola also strengthens the heart muscle and prevents the buildup of cholesterol in the arteries. It helps keep the arteries strong and elastic and lowers blood pressure.

- Sarpagandha (Indian snakeroot): an herb that helps normalize blood pressure.

3- Dinacharya (Routine):

Dinacharya or establishing a routine is one aspect of rasayana that helps treat hypertension and restores balance to the body and the mind.
It includes:

1- Adjusting dietary habits: Patients should eat foods at regular times. They should also eat healthy foods that help restore balance to the imbalanced dosha and decrease blood pressure.

2- Regulating sleeping habits: Patients need to adjust their sleeping habits and begin sleeping at regular times every night to decrease blood pressure.

3- Exercising regularly: Patients should engage in physical activity every day to stabilize all the doshas and reduce stress to lower blood pressure.

4- Practicing yoga: Patients should practice at least 10 minutes of yoga every day to relieve stress and reduce blood pressure.

5- Practicing breathing techniques: Patients should practice breathing techniques or pranayama every day. Pranayama helps decrease stress levels, which helps regulate blood pressure levels in the body. Breathing techniques also regulate heart rate, which decreases blood pressure.

Ayurveda for Hypertension: recommendations

- Eat meals regularly: Eat at regular times to strengthen agni and improve digestion. This helps prevent toxins from accumulating in the blood and blocking the microchannels in the body, which lowers blood pressure.

- Exercise regularly: Engage in physical activity for 30 minutes every day to restore balance to all the doshas and lower blood pressure.

- Sleep well: Maintain a regular sleep schedule and get at least 7 hours of sleep. Lack of sleep can increase blood pressure.

- Practice yoga: Practice at least 10 minutes of yoga, including pranayama (breathing techniques), every day. Yoga and pranayama help relieve stress and lower blood pressure.

- Practice activities that increase mindfulness: Practice meditation for at least 20 minutes every day. Meditation helps relieve stress, which helps lower blood pressure.

Foods to eat:

According to Ayurveda, all foods possess certain gunas (qualities). The gunas in the foods are transferred into energies that influence the balance of the doshas in the body.

Hypertensive people should eat foods that possess cold, dry, light, and bitter gunas (qualities) to lower their blood pressure.

These foods include:

• Fruits: bananas, oranges, kiwis, apples, avocadoes, berries, watermelon, and dried prunes.

• Meat/Poultry: chicken

• Vegetables: spinach, kale, onions, garlic, celery, endives, cucumbers, carrots, parsley, and zucchini

• Dairy products: low-fat yogurt and buttermilk

• Legumes: all beans (not dried)

• Grains: oats and barley

• Honey

Herbs to use:

The following herbs are beneficial for hypertension because they regulate blood flow, dilate the blood vessels, and reduce stress.

They include:

- Amla (Indian gooseberry): a fruit that contains vitamin C, which helps dilate the blood vessels and reduces blood cholesterol levels.

- Triphala: an herbal treatment consisting of three different herbs, amalaki, bibhitaki, and haritaki. These herbs help regulate blood pressure and prevent the buildup of plaque in the arteries, keeping them healthy.

- Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera): an herb that lowers cortisol levels in the blood. It reduces stress, which helps lower blood pressure.
- Shankapushpi (Convolvulus prostratus): it has anti-stress and anti-anxiety properties. It also regulates blood flow and relaxes the blood vessels.
- Jatamansi (Spikenard): an herb that has anti-stress properties and helps the body eliminate toxins. It strengthens and protects the arteries from any damage.

- Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri): an herb that reduces the body’s cortisol levels and reduces stress in the body. It also lowers both systolic and diastolic blood pressure and dilates the blood vessels, which helps manage or prevent hypertension.

- Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica): an herb that helps reduce feelings of anxiety and stress. Gotu kola also strengthens the heart muscle and prevents the buildup of cholesterol in the arteries. It helps keep the arteries strong and elastic and lowers blood pressure.

- Sarpagandha (Indian snakeroot): an herb that helps normalize blood pressure.

Ayurvedic Medicine for Hypertension: things to avoid

- Avoid skipping meals: Skipping meals makes it harder to establish a routine to help lower blood pressure. It can also weaken angi (digestive fire), which leads to the accumulation of toxins in the blood that may narrow the arteries and increase blood pressure.

- Avoid drinking coffee and tea: these drinks aggravate all three doshas and disrupt their balance. They also contain caffeine, a natural stimulant that increases blood pressure because it narrows the arteries.

- Avoid or limit alcohol consumption: alcohol consumption disrupts the balance of all the doshas in the body. Alcohol also elevates blood pressure because it causes the body’s blood vessels to become narrower.

- Avoid soft drinks: these drinks contain a lot of sugar and aggravate the pitta dosha. This pitta imbalance can cause toxins to accumulate in the body and elevates blood pressure.

- Stop smoking: smoking aggravates the doshas and causes the accumulation of toxins in the body. The nicotine in cigarettes also narrows the blood vessels and increases a person’s heart rate, which increases blood pressure.

- Avoid salty foods: Foods that contain lots of salt increase blood pressure. These foods cause the body to retain more water to dilute the salt. The extra water in the body causes the blood to thicken, which adds more pressure on the blood vessels and increases blood pressure.

- Stop smoking: smoking aggravates the doshas and causes the accumulation of toxins in the body. The nicotine in cigarettes also narrows the blood vessels and increases a person’s heart rate, which increases blood pressure.

- Avoid salty foods: Foods that contain lots of salt increase blood pressure. These foods cause the body to retain more water to dilute the salt. The extra water in the body causes the blood to thicken, which adds more pressure on the blood vessels and increases blood pressure.

Foods to avoid:

According to Ayurveda, all foods possess certain gunas (qualities). The gunas in the foods are transferred into energies that influence the balance of the doshas in the body.

Hypertensive people should avoid foods that possess salty, spicy, and oily gunas to decrease blood pressure. They should also avoid processed, and canned foods.

These foods include:

• Vegetables: sweet potatoes

• Fruits: canned and packaged fruits and coconuts

• Grains: refined white flour

• Legumes: frozen and dried beans and lentils

• Meat: pork, ham, lamb, red meat, smoked and canned fish

• Dairy products: whole fat milk

• Egg yolk

• Salty foods

• Sugary foods

• Processed foods

Ayurveda for Blood Pressure: precautions

Ayurveda uses natural and herbal remedies to treat diseases. However, if you want to use Ayurvedic medicines, herbs, supplements to treat a particular condition, you should consider the following precautions:

- Consult your Ayurvedic practitioner before taking Ayurvedic products on your own. Let them know if you have diabetes or are taking medication that may affect your treatment plan. They should adjust it to avoid any harmful interactions with the medication you are taking.

- Some Ayurvedic products and practices are banned in the United States. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not approve or review Ayurvedic products. Some herbal compounds or preparations may contain lead, mercury, or arsenic in toxic amounts.

They can cause serious illnesses in children and may be life-threatening for pregnant or lactating women and their babies. Other compounds from untrustworthy manufacturers may contain steroids, which may cause further health issues.

- Some Purvakarma or Panchakarma treatments like swedana aren’t suitable for all patients who have hypertension. Eligibility for panchakarma is determined by an Ayurvedic practitioner.

People who are classified as having “weak” or lean and thin bodies aren’t eligible for some panchakarma treatments. People who are anemic and pregnant women also aren’t allowed to undergo panchakarma treatments.

WARNING:

- Make sure to disclose to your primary care physician that you are seeing an Ayurvedic practitioner and are taking Ayurvedic formulations. This ensures you stay safe and avoid medication interactions that might cause serious side effects.

- If you are taking medication for diabetes, don’t stop taking them if you begin Ayurvedic treatment unless your doctor approves it.

- Some Ayurvedic practitioners may not be qualified to treat you. Make sure that your Ayurvedic practitioner is well-trained, certified, and has the relevant experience to meet your needs.

- Be careful when buying Ayurvedic herbs or formulas. Don’t buy Ayurvedic products unless they have a GMP (Good Manufacturing Product) stamp on them if you are buying them from India. Be extra careful when purchasing herbs online because online stores may be selling counterfeit products.

Ayurveda for Blood Pressure: side effects

Since Ayurvedic treatments are derived from natural herbs and plants, most treatments do not cause adverse events. However, if you take some Ayurvedic preparations or herbs, you may experience the following side effects.

- Some Ayurvedic products contain toxic amounts of heavy metals like lead, arsenic, or mercury, and they might cause heavy metal poisoning.

- Some Ayurvedic herbal formulations might cause headaches, nausea, gastrointestinal problems, diarrhea, rashes, or allergic reactions.