Dehydration and blood pressure disorders are linkedThe connection between dehydration & high blood pressure is clear. Read on...
There is a connection between dehydration and blood pressure disorders.
High blood pressure is considered a normal, unavoidable consequence of aging. By the way, so is an increasingly dehydrated body.
As such, before any other interventions are considered, first rule out dehydration as the cause of high or low blood pressure. With all that we are learning about the complexity of the body, wouldn't it be something if we find out that if you don't drink enough water high blood pressure may the consequence. If so, many other disorders linked to high blood pressure can also be linked to dehydration including coronary problems and strokes. Like so many problems in health and medicine, the connection between dehydration and blood pressure cannot be proven to be causal. However, clinical observations, knowledge of the biology and common sense point to a strong connection between dehydration and blood pressure disorders. Explanation and recommendations Our blood vessels, arteries and veins must be filled with blood at all times. But, when blood volume diminishes because water is drawn from the blood and redirected to vital organs, the body compensates. To keep blood vessels full, the blood vessels have to contract. If they didn't contract, the empty parts may become filled with gas pockets, a very dangerous condition. So this contraction is a necessary defensive maneuver. But what the body gains in one respect it loses in another. That's because this contraction causes increased tension in the vessels. In other word, high blood pressure. The tightening of vessels also occurs to squeeze fluids into vital body parts and cells like the brain cells or they would start to shut down. This defensive maneuver can become chronic, established and possibly permanent and irreversible. When this occurs, high blood pressure becomes chronic and continued medical treatment of the condition becomes necessary. This tightening of blood vessels in response to dehydration, is one of the possible scenarios. It occurs in persons with good enough tone in their vessels so that the vessels can contract properly. Another scenario in the link between dehydration and blood pressure is when the blood vessels have poor tone and are weak. This may occur as a result of chronic illness, aging or vessel fatigue that may result from years of contracting and relaxing. When this occurs you may suffer from low blood pressure. Blood vessels become saggy and not properly filled. In some respects having low blood pressure is a more troubling sign than having HBP. Ironically, if you suffer from high blood pressure for many years, the vessels may become weakened and you may end up suffering from low blood pressure later on. So not drinking enough water leads to high blood pressure and that may lead to low blood pressure. You've probably heard of all the recommendations for keeping your blood pressure in the healthy range. You know: exercise, avoiding obesity, avoiding salt and on and on. You may also be aware of medical treatments for the problem. However a little preventive hydration or proper hydration when blood pressure problems are mild may do you a world of good. As usual, do not take this information as medical advice. If you have HBP any corrective actions should follow discussion with a medical professional. Medications that is prescribed by doctors who are not aware of the relationship between dehydration and blood pressure are often just diuretics. Diuretics force body out of your body. That is supposed to reduce blood pressure. The paradox here is that we know that dehydration and blood pressure are linked so why would we take a diuretic? Because they work but at great cost. Well guess what the best diuretic is? Water! Drinking water in sufficient amounts at the right time actually encourages your body to release water. And there are no side effects. You can call this therapy for high blood pressure holistic treatment or alternative therapy. Try this. Start drinking more water. You should drink about half your weight in ounces spaced out throughout the day. So if you weigh 200 pounds you should drink 100 ounces of water, just water. That's around 12 glasses daily. To break this connection between dehydration and blood pressure, increase your water intake gradually. If you are drinking only 3 - 4 glasses, add 4 ounces per day. Drink two glasses upon waking. This is very important. Don't take in anything else for at least half an hour. Try to drink the rest of your water spaced out throughout the day. Ideally, try to drink a half hour before meals and 2 hours after meals to fully utilize the water. Salt and HBP This may surprise you. Salt is not being seen as the villain it was years ago. In fact, while cutting back on table salt in your food, you may actually profit from putting a little sea salt in your water. Salt will help you hold some of the water so it can circulate, not as an unhealthy retention. One quarter tsp per quart should be sufficient. Also try and take a magnesium, calcium and potassium supplement to balance salt intake. This will all work in tandem with the increased water to help reduce blood pressure. Click here to learn more about how you can break the dehydration blood pressure link with salt. Another reason that you need to add these minerals to your diet is that you will be losing them as you drink more water, in your urine and perspiration. It is important that these vital elements are not depleted or health problems including HBP could follow. It may take several weeks for positive results because the body has to adapt to the new regimen. That's ok. It's normal. Lastly, follow other commonsense recommendations to help reduce blood pressure. Try and get some light exercise like daily walks, watch your diet and especially, try to relieve stress whenever possible. If the above recommendations are followed you should be able to break the dehydration and blood pressure chain.
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