The Causal Chain of the Disease Process – High Blood Pressure

“The time has come for the integrative/complementary approach: by marrying what is best from each treatment modality in order to raise the standard of healthcare across the board.”

When diagnosed with a health or a disease condition, we accept it as an isolated issue, believing everything else in our body to be in order—a perfect example is high blood pressure. Did you know 1 in 3 Canadian and 1 in 2 American adults have some form of high blood pressure, and 90% will have a lifetime incidence of developing high blood pressure? It is called the silent killer: millions of people have it and do not even know it yet this common condition can be treated naturally with lifestyle changes.

I was curious in my study of the causal chain leading up to high blood pressure and I found out there are many red flags that are unknown or rarely discussed. This is because the body works in state of balance and when all things are in order optimal health becomes the reward. The medical system does not investigate the causal chain of disease instead they treat the end symptoms of the diseased state while the root cause remains untreated.

What is high blood pressure (hypertension)?

It is a common condition that affects the body’s arteries. In case of high blood pressure, the force of the blood pushing against the artery walls is consistently too high and the heart has to work harder to pump blood.

The American Heart Association divides blood pressure into five general categories[1]:

  1. Normal blood pressure: blood pressure is 120/80 mm Hg or lower.
  2. Elevated blood pressure: the upper number ranges from 120 to 129 mm Hg and the lower number is below, not above, 80 mm Hg.
  3. Stage 1 hypertension: the upper number ranges from 130 to 139 mm Hg or the lower number is between 80 and 89 mm Hg.
  4. Stage 2 hypertension: the top number is 140 mm Hg or higher or the bottom number is 90 mm Hg or higher.
  5. Hypertensive crisis: the top number is 180 mm Hg or higher or the bottom number is 120 mm Hg or higher.

If untreated, high blood pressure increases the risk of heart attack, stroke and other serious health problems. It is important to have your blood pressure checked at least every two years starting at age 18. Some people need more-frequent checks.

“Most people with high blood pressure have no symptoms, even if blood pressure readings reach dangerously high levels. You can have high blood pressure for years without any symptoms. However, these symptoms are not specific. They usually do not occur until high blood pressure has reached a severe or life-threatening stage.”[2]

Healthy lifestyle habits—eating well, exercising, not smoking—can help prevent and treat high blood pressure but some people also need natural medicine.

Lifestyle choices and other factors associated with high blood pressure:

  • smoking
  • being overweight or obese
  • lack of physical activity
  • too much salt in the diet
  • too much alcohol consumption (more than 1 to 2 drinks per day)
  • stress
  • older age
  • genetics
  • family history of high blood pressure
  • chronic kidney disease
  • adrenal and thyroid disorders
  • sleep apnea

Besides primary hypertension there is also secondary hypertension, high blood pressure that is caused by another condition or disease. The medical system claims that it is uncommon, only occurring in 5—10% of the population, and it is rarely discovered because the test needed for it is expensive, and not covered by the healthcare provider. This test would evaluate the causal chain leading to hypertension but if the patient is unaware of the testing it will never be performed. Secondary hypertension can affect the kidneys, arteries, heart, or endocrine system, such as pituitary, adrenal, thyroid and the liver. Secondary hypertension can also occur during pregnancy.

The medical community will never make these connections because they were never trained to see the causal chain of the disease condition. The symptoms of the diseased state will be treated with separate medication for each disease condition leading to declining health. The treatments will be taken right from the book they were trained to use by the pharmaceutical drug company.

How does high blood pressure affect the kidneys?

High blood pressure can constrict and narrow the blood vessels, which eventually damages and weakens them throughout the body, including in the kidneys. The narrowing reduces blood flow. If the kidneys’ blood vessels are damaged, they may no longer work properly. When this happens, the kidneys are not able to remove all wastes and extra fluid from the body. Extra fluid in the blood vessels can raise your blood pressure even more, creating a dangerous cycle, and cause more damage leading to kidney failure.

The adrenal glands produce the hormone aldosterone and when it is low, too much acid is formed and it manifests as a kidney disorder. Aldosterone affects sodium absorption which increases water retention in the blood, which increases blood volume and blood pressure.

Kidney disease affects adrenal glands, since they both play a part in balancing the acidity of the blood. “When the kidneys become diseased and reach the advanced levels of the disease, they no longer are able to effectively rid the body of excess acid. This leads to acidosis and an increased risk of adrenal fatigue.

Overall, the side effects felt by those with kidney disease who are taking the drug prednisone are very similar to the symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome (AFS). Some of these side effects include obesity, kidney stones, irregular menstruation, high blood pressure, and osteoporosis. If people with kidney disease are taking prednisone, any problems with their adrenals may not be noticed.”[3] Symptoms that point to this condition include swelling of the legs, blood in the urine, frothy urine, and difficulty controlling high blood pressure.

“Almost 1 in 2 U.S. adults—or about 108 million people—have high blood pressure. More than 1 in 7 U.S. adults—or about 37 million people—may have chronic kidney disease (CKD). High blood pressure is the second leading cause of kidney failure in the United States after diabetes.”[4]

Diabetes and high blood pressure

“High blood pressure is twice as likely to strike a person with diabetes as a person without diabetes. Left untreated, high blood pressure can lead to heart disease and stroke. In fact, a person with diabetes and high blood pressure is four times as likely to develop heart disease as someone who does not have either of the conditions. About two-thirds of adults with diabetes have blood pressure greater than 130/80 mm Hg or use prescription medications for hypertension.”[5]

The solution

When you consider the above you should be able to see the flow chart of the disease process and if each condition is treated on its own as they appear without addressing the route cause of the illness, then only sickness will prevail. This common condition of high blood pressure is used as the focal disease and when treated medically without evaluating and addressing the causal chain of disease, and without lifestyle changes, these specified disease conditions will begin to surface; they will not be treated, instead, they will be labeled as part of the aging process and medicated. Coronary heart failure does not happen on its own, there are signs presented of the health deterioration, they are treated with statin drugs or their equivalent leading to additional disease processes. Diabetes is the same: treated with insulin leading to kidney dysfunction, non-alcoholic liver disease, arthritis, gout, cancer, hormonal imbalance, painful premenstrual syndrome, benign prostatic hyperplasia, eye disease, depression, mental illness, chronic fatigue and almost all other disease conditions. These conditions do not surface as isolated disease conditions, they are the result of lifestyle choices and one by one they make their debut into your life as each appearing medication is given to treat the symptoms with a host of side effects.

When the body is given the correct nutrients from birth and the medical intervention is avoided for your own protection, you begin building the type of body you want to go old within. Positive change happens:

  • when eating a balanced healthy diet, as free as possible from the contaminated genetically altered food chain that supply fast food restaurant and fill the center shelves at the grocery stores labeled as food;
  • by eliminating food additives, sugary foods, dairy products, especially from grain fed, hormone and antibiotic injected cattle that leads to lactose intolerance;
  • by eliminating most breads: the majority is full of gluten and is not healthy; organic whole grain breads will do you much better;
  • if you drink plenty of clean water;
  • when you exercise at least 30 minutes per day;
  • if you get a proper eight hours of sleep.

These are things that you need to invest in for the type of body you want to go old in. To cover the shortfalls of the food chain, supplementing your diet with natural high-quality supplements is also important. Changes must include the awareness and avoidance of environmental toxins in the home including cookware, microwave ovens, and the avoidance of airborne radiation from your cell phones to other smart devises, and a safe distance from harmful electrical and 5G towers, especially when considering earths weakening magnetic shield and the increase of solar radiation flares from the sun.

One thing that Health Canada did with our Adrenal Gland license was to enforce the statement under warnings not to be used if having high blood pressure. They know perfectly well that the hormones increase blood pressure and that our hormone free Adrenal Gland actually lowers blood pressure.

Many people are surprised after taking Adrenal Gland and Thyrodine Thyroid Gland that their blood pressure stabilizes and turns back to normal levels; they do not understand when the core imbalance of the endocrine system returns to a balanced state that the body will begin to heal itself.

The most perplexing is when they discover that the glands are hormone free, because they are under the impression that only isolated hormones can correct the imbalance but that is just not the case. It is not the hormones in the glands but the polypeptide enzymes, amino acids and trace minerals within the glands that replace the missing components in the human body. When they are replaced, the body’s corresponding glands return to normal functioning. This physiological change is not by chance, it was done by design in the unique licensing of the Doctor’s Choice glands.

Today “integration” is the new buzzword uniting healthcare treatment options between the pharmaceutical approach and the naturopathic holistic approach. The time has come for the integrative/complementary approach: by marrying what is best from each treatment modality in order to raise the standard of healthcare across the board. The patient needs to be advised and their choices respected. If medical doctors do not have the training or expertise, they should consult with naturopathic doctors. The same holds true to naturopathic doctor. I know it is a dream but one day I hope we can make the dream a reality.

Additional Reading:

 

References:

 

[1] American Heart Association. 2021.

[2] Thomas, Leslie, M.D. 2022.

[3] Lam, Michael MD, MPH – Lam, Justin, ABAAHP, FMNM. 2018.

[4] NIDDK. 2020.

[5] Johns Hopkins Medicine. n.a.