For years, alternative medicine doctors have used two natural therapies to help our patients lower their blood pressure. These therapies work extremely well, but conventional doctors just could not stand it. They loved to beat us up for doing these quack therapies.
The two therapies are intravenous vitamin C and chelation. And now, conventional medicine is finally figuring out what we have known for years.
In fact, the co-author of an Italian study performed by orthodox physicians said intravenous vitamin C works! Our study demonstrated for the first time in humans that we can reduce sympathetic nervous system over-activity, and consequently blood pressure, by targeting oxidative stress (too many free radicals).
I agree that they may have found the mechanism in which vitamin C quiets the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). But they definitely are not the first to discover its benefits.
In this study, the researchers gave just three grams of vitamin C by a five-minute intravenous infusion to 12 patients with essential hypertension.
SNS activity dropped by 11%. Their blood pressure dropped by about 7% on average. The decrease in diastolic blood pressure was 9%, while systolic blood pressure did not change significantly. The SNS is responsible for arterial tone. Higher activity causes more constriction. And that causes higher pressure.
The good news is you do not have to run out and get intravenous vitamin C. The moral of this story is reducing oxidative stress. You will do that by eating a good diet and taking targeted nutritional supplements. While you wont get the blood levels needed to match this study with oral vitamin C, you can certainly try one gram of vitamin C three times daily. Over time, it just might tone down your SNS and relax your blood vessels.
I do think chelation therapy is a terrific way to reduce oxidative stress. It removes the toxic metals stimulating the damage. I have found that intravenous vitamin C and chelation have similar effects clinically. So talk to your integrative physician about chelation therapy. Or try Detoxamin, a rectal chelation therapy you can do in your own home.
Ref: foodconsumer.org, September 20, 2008.