25 Supplements for high blood pressure (part two)

By Dr. Ronald Hoffman

In last week's article, I gave you ten of my top twenty-five supplements for managing blood pressure. Today, I want to continue my blood pressure series, inspired by the recent recategorization of 31 million Americans from borderline to fully hypertensive. (You can read previous installments to get my take on running for a pharmaceutical fix, which diet is actually best for those with high blood pressure, and lifestyle changes that can lower your numbers.)

Without further ado, here are the last fifteen supplements I commonly recommend for those with high blood pressure:

11) Pycnogenol: French maritime pine bark extract (pycnogenol) has potent endothelium-relaxing effects; patients taking it were able to reduce their dosage of blood pressure medications.

12) Melatonin: Pre-bedtime administration of melatonin (2.5 mg) has been shown to reduce nighttime blood pressure.

13) Hawthorne: Traditionally used for heart disorders, especially congestive heart failure, Hawthorne has also been shown to lower blood pressure.

14) ALA + ALC: The combination of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) and acetyl-l-carnitine (ALC) may ameliorate hypertension by reducing oxidative stress and enhancing mitochondrial function in the heart and blood vessels.

15) Theanine: Anxiety and stress contribute to high blood pressure; l-theanine provides a non-sedating, non-addictive alternative to pharmaceutical relaxants.

16) Nitrates: Dietary nitrates from beet juice, spinach and lettuce support the production of nitric oxide (NO), a potent vasodilator. Consumption of beet juice has proven to have anti-hypertensive effects. Powdered beet juice and greens supplements are said to confer similar benefits.

17) Arginine: It appears that supplemental arginine is effective in lowering blood pressure in salt-sensitive hypertension, but is less effective in essential hypertension.

18) Citrulline: Some believe citrulline is an even more potent vasodilator than arginine, but studies show you'd have to take a lot (6 grams!).

19) Hibiscus tea: Daily consumers of hibiscus tea saw their systolic blood pressure lowered by an average of 7 points.

20) Tocotrienols: Part of the vitamin E complex family, there are 4 natural tocotrienols. In animal studies it was found that antioxidant supplementation of gamma-tocotrienol prevented development of increased blood pressure.

21) Resveratrol: According to a recent study "The natural polyphenolic molecule resveratrol is an interesting candidate for the treatment of hypertension, as it mimics numerous molecular and biological effects of calorie restriction." Results in humans demonstrated that resveratrol augmented the anti-hypertensive effects of medication.

22) EGCG: A meta-analysis of studies concluded that green tea lowers blood pressure moderately. The active ingredient in green tea is EGCG.

23) Cocoa polyphenols: Diabetic subjects consuming 25 grams of dark chocolate per day for 8 weeks achieved significant blood pressure reductions with no deterioration in blood sugar control.

24) Pomegranate: Pomegranate juice consumption inhibits serum angiotensin converting enzyme activity and reduces systolic blood pressure. Whether standardized extracts of pomegranate deliver equivalent benefits is a question for further research.

25) Berberine: Noted for its anti-diabetic effects, berberine was found to reduce blood pressure in diabetic rats.

If you're not sure where to source your supplements, many of those mentioned above can be purchased from my online store with FullScript. It's free to register, and you'll receive access to the Intelligent Medicine store, personally curated by me to include only the supplements that I recommend.

I hope your 2018 is off to a great start, and I am looking forward to another year of sharing the latest in health-related news and knowledge with all of you!