With the known side effects of pharmaceutical drugs, more people are looking for natural cures for high blood pressure. If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure you may need to take prescribed medication to correct the problem.

There are several medications that are used to reduce blood pressure. Each of these medications may have adverse side effects and should only be used under a doctor's care. Diuretics flush the body of salts. Unfortunately, this may deplete your body of potassium and other minerals valuable in maintaining a healthy heart. Some diuretics interfere with uric acid excretion, causing or exacerbating gout and arthritis. Some diuretics increase cholesterol and others can cause sexual impotency as a side effect.

Sympathetic nerve inhibitors or alpha-blockers interfere with the message sent by the sympathetic nervous system and cause the vessels to contract thereby reducing the blood pressure. Alpha-blockers create swelling of extremities, chest pain, nausea, weight gain, vomiting, loss of bladder control, continuous and painful erections or impotence, joint and back pain, insomnia, stuffy nose, blurred vision and restlessness.

Calcium-channel blockers, another treatment for hypertension, make the arteries expand and allow the blood to flow more easily by slowing the rate that calcium enters both the heart and vessels. Some side effects of calcium-channel blocker are exhaustion, flushing, increased swelling in the feet, abdomen or ankles, heartburn, stomach upsets, difficulty swallowing, numbness, fainting, headaches, constipation, jaundice and chest pains. If you take a calcium channel-blocker, make sure that you don't smoke and reveal all medications you are taking, including herbal supplements, to your doctor. Mixing several drugs or smoking while taking hypertension medication can create other problems like tachycardia - rapid heartbeats.

Beta-blockers reduce the rate and decrease the force of the heart's contraction. Sexual impotency in men is one of the most common side effects. Fatigue, depression, nightmares and increased wheezing in asthmatics are other side effects of beta-blockers.

Many people with high blood pressure often stop taking their medication to avoid these side effects. This is extremely dangerous. If you choose to implement alternative methods of control, work with your doctor to wean you from the drugs and monitor your progress as your pressure begins to drop naturally.

The first natural cure for high blood pressure is increased physical activity. The activity should be something that you enjoy and should also increase the heart rate and help you to lose weight. This natural cure improves the blood pressure several ways. It increases your overall health and stamina. It reduces stress by releasing the 'fight or flight' hormones accumulated in your system from daily stress, and promotes weight reduction.

The second natural cure involves monitoring your diet on a daily basis. Some foods reduce cholesterol, a prime cause of artery blockage and increased blood pressure. Eliminate caffeine and nicotine, from your life. Reduce the intake of salt and increase natural fibers like those in whole grain foods, fruits and vegetables.

The third way to reduce hypertension is the use of herbal remedies and supplements. Increase your intake of calcium, vitamin C, CoQ10 and Flaxseed. Herbs that lower blood pressure include coleus forskohlii, hawthorn and mistletoe. Always speak with your doctor before starting a regimen of herb supplements.

Pharmaceutical drugs don't have to be the only option in fighting hypertension. These are three natural cures for high blood pressure you can adopt that will help you live a longer and better life.

Bruce was a successful businessman who had everything... except a healthy heart. He didn't know it until he found himself in hospital having double bypass surgery.

Wendy was an active woman who didn't smoke, exercised faithfully, ate right, and surprised everyone, including herself, when she required an emergency angioplasty.

Darlene had no energy. In fact, lately it seemed her get up and go had got up and gone! When she investigated with her doctors, she was shocked to find out she needed a pacemaker. After her surgery, she had a new lease on life.

Dave was a smoker -- and yes, he was a little overweight. He knew he had to make some changes - but once he had the heart attack he started taking it more seriously.

What these people have in common is that they all have heart disease. It's the number one killer in North America. Every year hundreds of thousands die from heart disease. (451,326 in 2004*). But the good news is an estimated 80,700,000* people with some form of cardiovascular disease in the United States are living. Thanks to modern medicine, people like Bruce, Wendy, Darlene, Dave and countless others get a second chance. (* American Heart Association)

But living with heart disease can feel overwhelming. People know a lifestyle change is necessary, but often they don't know where to start. Or they may have trouble staying motivated. Sometimes they don't know where to turn to find resources such as heart rate or blood pressure monitors, exercise advice or equipment, or even heart-healthy recipes.

Sandra Thornton is one of the millions living with heart disease. After her heart event she was fortunate to participate in cardiac rehab but once she "graduated" she found herself feeling very alone. She looked for information, moral support, and all the resources to help her with her lifestyle changes. Not finding one single source, she created a website to help others. She also notes that having a heart event shakes your confidence. You feel as though your body let you down.

"I am creating a community for people living with heart disease," she says. "A virtual place to find and share information about lifestyle changes. And a place for people to access and order the resources they need -- no matter where they are. It can feel impossible if you live out in the country, or if you have difficulty getting out." One such woman wrote "There is a long history of heart disease in my family... I find your website inspirational and I appreciate that I have found it just at the time when I am needing it."

"I know what it's like," Thornton says. She was an energetic 51 year-old when she was unexpectedly admitted to a critical care bed in the cardiac care unit of her local hospital three years ago. The next day she had an angioplasty to clear a 90% blockage of her left anterior descending artery.

The location of the blockage, left untreated, would have resulted in a massive heart attack.

"I also learned I had a problem with my aortic valve (aortic stenosis)," she notes.

She experienced a rocky recovery - five stays in hospital, four angiograms, two angioplasties (she re-blocked), and six months off work.

Thornton is back on track with her life now, but she says, "It's so important for people to have support to make the changes they need to make. A great medical team, the support of loved ones, the awareness of risk factors and how to reduce them, and access to the resources you need."

And speaking of risk factors, there are only three risk factors for heart disease that you can't control - your gender, your age, and your family genes. Everything else is up to you. Whether you are living with heart disease or you want to prevent it, here's what you CAN do:

· Quit smoking - NOW!

· Get more active, start an exercise program, and lose excess weight

· Eat a heart-healthy diet - more whole foods, fruit, vegetables, fiber - less fat, salt, sugar and processed foods

· Manage your stress and make wise lifestyle choices

· Know and manage your blood pressure and cholesterol levels

· Get regular checkups

High cholesterol is not a laughing matter. Since it can cause you to experience heart disease, which can be life threatening, high cholesterol should not be taken lightly. A very important key to lowering cholesterol levels is having an understanding of your cholesterol ratio. Here are a few of the different things that you should know about your total ratio and your HDL LDL ratio.

The most important thing that you should know about your total cholesterol ratio is that it is a determining factor of your risk of developing heart disease, which can ultimately, and at worst case, lead to death.

The way that it works is by dividing your HDL cholesterol into your overall cholesterol. Keep in mind that cholesterol is measured in milligrams and deciliters, or mg's and dl's. Let's pretend, for example, that your total cholesterol was 200 mg/dl, while your HDL was 50 mg/dl. In this case, your cholesterol ratio would be 4-1. Having cholesterol ratio that is any higher than 5-1 is a sign that you may be at risk for heart disease.

Keep in mind that there is also something called the HDL LDL ratio, which needs to be taken into consideration as well. As you can probably guess, this ratio measures the ratio between your HDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. This ratio is a larger determining factor of the risk of heart disease.

The reason is because it shows the ratio between your good cholesterol and bad cholesterol, which is the largest factor that determines your risk of heart disease. The formula to determine HDL LDL ratio is much more complicated and, thus, it tends to be very pricey.

Overall, however, your HDL to LDL cholesterol ratio should not be any higher than 4.4 and you should strive to keep it at or below 3.3. Any HDL to LDL ratio level above 7 to 11 indicates a high risk of heart disease.

Keep in mind that there are several things that you can do in order to lower your cholesterol. Making healthier food choices and following an exercise routine are just two of the many different things that you can do to keep both your HDL to LDL ratio and your total cholesterol ratio down.

It is known that medication and drugs can be harmful to our bodies so it is natural that people prefer to learn how to lower their cholesterol naturally. When using natural methods we are learning how to take control of the problem ourselves in a more efficient way. To lower your cholesterol naturally it is important and beneficial for your life and general health. It reduces heart disease and also any other diseases which may not be good for your body.

Lower Your Cholesterol Levels With A Change Of Diet

Getting rid of excessive body fat deposits in your body which can cause you harm is important. By going on a diet to lower cholesterol is one of the best ways you can lower cholesterol naturally.

You need to begin by looking at a diet that is low in saturated fats, sodium and some carbohydrates. By including these foods in your diet you will not only lower your cholesterol levels but be able to maintain your levels as well. Look at adding omega 3 into your diet as well as it helps to reduce cholesterol as well as control bad cholesterol.

So when looking at your choices in foods you will want to avoid the foods which contribute to cholesterol such as beef, high fat dairy foods and most oils. Also look at your alcohol intake as this will effect your levels as well.

Adding Exercise Into Your Life

A good diet is important in lowering your cholesterol levels but the inclusion of exercise is a must. By exercising you can effectively remove the fat that accumulates in the body. You can also increase your cardiac capacity of your heart which in turn helps with your blood circulation. An effective exercise plan need not mean you send countless hours working out at the gym. All you need to do is go for a 30 minute walk on a daily basis to help keep the fat levels down. Look at swimming and other exercises but remember to consult your doctor first to see which exercise is best suited to you and your condition

The two methods on how to lower cholesterol are best used when your cholesterol levels have not reached high levels. For people that have extremely high levels it is best first to consult your doctor. They will advise the correct course of action for you whether it be a change in diet, increase in exercise or the inclusion of medication or may be a combination of them all.

If you have recently been diagnosed with high cholesterol, you are probably looking for ways to lower it. Keep in mind that there are two types of cholesterol: LDL and HDL. LDL, or bad cholesterol, causes heart disease and atherosclerosis, a condition which affects proper blood flower. HDL, or good cholesterol, works to combat against the possible damage that LDL cholesterol can do. A good diet to lower cholesterol will help decrease your LDL cholesterol, while increasing your HDL cholesterol.

There are many foods that may help lower cholesterol that you will want to incorporate into your regular diet. For starters, you will want to think about adding fruits and vegetables to your diet. Since they are known to be very healthy, it is not surprising that they are also known to lower cholesterol. Whole grains, oatmeal, nuts and legumes are all known to reduce cholesterol. A diet to lower cholesterol should contain a decent amount of all of these foods.

When looking for sample diets for lowering cholesterol, be sure to choose a diet that avoids foods which are high in trans fat or saturated fat. Greasy, fast foods should be avoided if you want to lower cholesterol. Fatty junk foods, such as potato chips, which may also contain unnecessary amounts of trans or saturated fat should also be avoided.

A diet to lower cholesterol should not contain excessive amounts of red meat or organs such as liver and dairy products. Although chicken, turkey and fish can also be very bad choices for someone who is trying to reduce their cholesterol, the way that you prepare these foods can make them healthier. Removing the skin and either baking, grilling or broiling these meats instead of frying are such healthier alternatives.

If you are still unsure of where to find sample diets for lowering cholesterol or what should be on them, you may want to think about asking your primary care physician. He or she should be able to give you a good idea of what foods can be eaten to reduce cholesterol, as well as which ones should be avoided and perhaps suggest some sample diets. Since a diet to lower cholesterol is very important, it is a good idea to make sure that you follow the doctor's instructions and reduce the amount of unhealthy foods that you choose to incorporate in your diet.

Achieving good heart health is way easier by diet than by the use of drugs like statins. Although if you are looking for ways to lower your cholesterol, and need some help doing so beyond diet, there are some very good natural alternatives that can be added to a good diet to lower cholesterol to improve your success rate.

And one company making some extremely effective and organic cholesterol management products too, and you've probably never heard of them.

Cardiovascular Disease is becoming a growing issue in our fast paced society, and no one is exempt from being at risk. It is classified as any disease that affects the blood vessels and the heart. It is brought on by numerous factors such as high blood pressure, high bad cholesterol, obesity, stress, and lack of exercise.

It is very important that you find out how to prevent cardiovascular disease now, no matter what age group you belong to. The cases of this disease have been dropping somewhat, but even so it remains one of the leading causes of death. As a matter of fact, over 1 million people died of complications brought on by the disease in 1999 alone. In order to stop cardiovascular disease now, it is important that you understand what exactly puts you at risk of this horrible affliction.

First on the list is cigarette smoking. Everyone knows of the risk that smoking poses to your lungs, but often the fact that it can cause cardiovascular disease is overlooked. The good news is that if you quit smoking now, you will have decreased your chance of getting cardiovascular disease by 40 percent within the first 5 years. With all the other healthy benefits of quitting smoking, you should really consider giving it up.

High blood pressure is another common cause. Basically, the lower your blood pressure within the reasonable limits, the better chance you have to prevent cardiovascular disease. If you have high blood pressure, make sure you monitor it, checking it often. Also, see your doctor regularly.

Another big risk is blood cholesterol levels. There has been clear evidence that there is a link between high cholesterol and cardiovascular disease. Research has shown that there are two kinds of cholesterol: good cholesterol or LDL, and bad cholesterol or HDL. In order to keep your bad cholesterol low, always exercise and eat heart friendly foods. These foods will always have a heart image on their packaging.

One thing is for certain, you cannot prevent cardiovascular disease if you do not exercise. Lack of exercise is one of the more common reasons why people develop cardiovascular diseases. In fact, it is regarded as one of the 4 major causes of cardiovascular disease. Make sure you begin by exercising a little bit each day and gradually working your way up; you do not have to overdo it when you first start out.

Besides the 4 major causes of cardiovascular disease, other causes include: obesity and diabetes. Those who are obese will often not get exercise and will have high blood pressure and cholesterol.

Make sure you follow the aforementioned advice and see your primary care physician if you think you may be at risk. Your doctor has many methods by which he or she can help you to prevent cardiovascular disease that may end up saving your life someday. With so many people dying from the complications that it brings on, it is important that you take the proper measures to stop cardiovascular disease now before it can have a chance to ruin your health.

Neither Lactobacillus plantarum 299v nor Saccharomyces boulardii will cure everyone of IBS - that isn't how probiotics work, but both of these two have helped many people.

As the reasons why you get Irritable Bowel Syndrome vary, so do the things that minimize the symptoms of bloating, gas and diarrhea. No one thing seems to work for everyone.

Lactobacillus plantarum 299v is found in many supplements such as Tu-Zen, IBS Support and Proviva. It is the "299v" part of the probiotic bacterium name that is important.

The Lactobacillus plantarum family of lactic acid producing bacteria have been an important part of our diet for most of human evolution and it is only in the last few decades that suddenly, many of us are not getting enough of these important bacteria. For centuries the Lactobacillus plantarum family were used to preserve food. Now, with the advent of freezers and canned goods the old methods of preservation are out of favor.

Many experts believe that this sudden decrease in the beneficial bacterial component of our diet coincides with the increase in gastrointestinal problems that are now so common.

L plantarum 299v has been proven to decrease the amount of flatulence and gas in healthy volunteers and this same decrease, as well as less abdominal bloating and pain, also occurred in patients with IBS.

In test tube studies it has shown antimicrobial activity against nasties such as Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes.

Our other contender, Saccharomyces boulardii, is a yeast that is also proving itself as an IBS natural remedy and it can be found in supplements such as Florastor. It was discovered in the "bloom" on lychee fruit and was already a popular local cure for diarrhea with the Indo-Chinese before the manufacturers found it.

Both of these probiotic supplements have been in numerous studies and whilst they haven't cured everyone, every time - they have certainly helped many.

If you know someone who has had a heart attack, stroke or some form of heart disease you may wonder if you will suffer too. What are the warning signs and symptoms? How can you prevent it? What are your chances of developing one of these illnesses?

The principle underlying cause of all of the above is clogged arteries. This is referred to as Atherosclerosis. Symptoms are almost impossible to detect until they've become life threatening. Consequently I want to state very clearly that most often the symptoms of clogged arteries are heart attacks, strokes and various forms of heart disease. Occasionally you will have chest pains and frequently shortness of breath as well. If this occurs it should be viewed as a major warning and should also prompt you to go see your doctor right away.

Some recent medical research has indicated that you can start developing clogged arteries in your teens and twenties. In the normal course of life no one will notice anything is wrong until they've nearly died from it. However we now know there are many ways to reduce the risk of developing dangerously clogged arteries and cardiovascular disease in general.

The most basic prevention method is to lower your "bad" (LDL) cholesterol levels and raise the "good" (HDL) cholesterol levels. This can be done by a combination of diet and exercise. When the body has an excess of LDL cholesterol in the blood it tries to counteract it with specialized white blood cells. These white blood cells are unable to process the LDL cholesterol and it ends up coating the arterial walls as plaque. This in turn prompts more action by the body thus compounding the problem. Eventually the arteries become inflamed and block blood flow to the heart or brain causing strokes and heart attacks. Your doctor can help you determine what your cholesterol levels are and the best way to reduce them.

Other risk factors include smoking, diabetes, obesity, stress and clinical depression. There are many ways to change all of these factors for the better. Many of them are interrelated. For instance, if you are overweight you increase the chances of developing type 2 diabetes, high levels of LDL cholesterol and depression. The best way to prevent clogged arteries is small, slow lifestyle changes. Make sure to consult your doctor for each major change. This will prevent you from doing too much too soon and possibly aggravating your problems.

Another way to reduce the effects is to scour the arteries using a compound known as EDTA. This is a harmless substance which causes the plaque lining the walls of all the blood vessels - not just the arteries - to be broken down and passed out of the body through the urinary system. This system could make many heart operations a thing of the past. Of course there is a lobby that disapproves, but do your research and make up your own mind. Me - I am a believer.

In 1995 the British Heart Journal published a study (Clark et al, 1995) done by researchers from the National Heart and Lung Institute in London. The breathing rate of all 88 heart patients at rest ranged from 10 to 18 l/min. This is about 2-3 times more than the norm: 6 l/min at rest for a 70-kg man.

In 2000 a study from the Chest magazine a group of American cardiac professionals revealed that patients with chronic heart failure had from 14 to 18 l/min (Johnson et al, 2000).

More recently, Greek doctors from the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center in Athens recorded ventilation values ranging from 11 to 19 l/min for heart patients from their hospital (Dimopoulou et al, 2001).

Moreover, about a decade ago a group of 10 medical doctors published their findings, regarding breathing of heart patients, in the American Journal of Cardiology. These MDs conducted a hyperventilation provocation test with over 200 heart patients. Their patients were asked to hyperventilate. It was found that all patients experienced coronary artery spasms (Nakao et al, 1997). The title of their study was "Hyperventilation as a specific test for diagnosis of coronary artery spasm". The cause of the spasm was too low CO2 values in the blood due to over-breathing.

How can hyperventilation affect the heart? The main effects are due to CO2 deficiency.

* Low blood CO2 values lead to the narrowing of small blood vessels (spasm of arteries and arterioles) in the whole body. That causes two problems. First, as a group of Japanese medical professionals found, in conditions of CO2 deficiency, blood flow to the heart muscle decreases (Okazaki et al, 1991). Hence, heart tissue gets less oxygen, glucose and other nutrients. Second, since small blood vessels are the main contributors to the total resistance in relation to blood flow, CO2 deficiency increases resistance to blood flow and makes the work of the heart harder.

* The suppressed Bohr effect, due to low CO2 values in the blood, further reduces oxygenation of the heart muscle (oxygen cannot be efficiently released by red blood cells causing tissue hypoxia). Meanwhile, it is known that low oxygenation of the heart is the cause of the angina pain.

* The excited nerve cells in the heart (the cells that are called pacemakers) interfere with the normal synchronization and harmony in the working of the heart muscle. (The valves should open and close in proper time, much like a well-tuned engine.). Desynchronization can make the whole process of blood pumping less efficient or more energy- and oxygen-demanding.

* Abnormal metabolism of fats leads, as Russian medical studies revealed, to increased blood cholesterol level in some people. That condition gradually, over periods of weeks or months, produces cholesterol deposits on the walls of blood vessels in genetically predisposed people. Such deposits can induce primary hypertension. As Russian published studies suggest, the degree of overbreathing has a linear correlation with the blood cholesterol level.

* Mouth breathing (both at rest and during exercise) is an additional adverse stimulus present in most heart patients. It prevents normal absorption of nitric oxide (a hormone and powerful dilator of blood vessels) synthesized in the nasal passages.

Which parts of the cardiovascular system are going to be most affected?

That depends on genetic predisposition and environmental factors. There are so many factors that can affect the normal work of the cardiovascular system. People are different. Some may get chronic heart failure, others high blood pressure, or stroke, or various abnormalities in the heart muscle.

Therefore, it makes sense to claim that the heart disease is the disease of heavy breathers. It exists only in conditions of chronic hyperventilation. Heart patients breathe too heavy at rest, and even bigger during acute stages. If heart patients slow down and normalize their breathing rate, they would not experience their symptoms and do not require their medication. Currently, there is only one medical self-oxygenation therapy practiced by hundreds of health and medical practitioners in Russia and other countries. It is known as the Buteyko breathing method.