Thirty Days to Natural Blood Pressure Control: The “No Pressure” Solution By David DeRose, MD, MPH; Greg Steinke, MD, MPH; and Trudie Li, MSN, FNP Publisher: COMPASSHEALTH CONSULTING, INC. FORESTHILL, CALIFORNIA www.compasshealth.net Copyright © 2016 by CompassHealth Consulting, Inc. Published in the United States of America All Rights Reserved Edited by Clifford Goldstein Cover by Akira007/ Akiragraphicz and Heather R. Steinke Graphics by Naomi Schumacher, Sherle Curtice, and RRGraph Layout by Indie Publishing Group Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version [ESV], copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Publisher’s Notice Reproduction in whole or part of this publication without express written consent is strictly prohibited. The authors greatly appreciate the time you’re investing to improve your health by reading this book. Please help extend the influence of this important topic by leaving a review where you bought the book, or telling your friends about it. Thank you. The information in this book is designed for educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for informed medical advice or care. You should not use the information provided to diagnose or treat any health problems or illnesses without first consulting your primary health care giver. ISBN: 978-1-942730-02-6 eISBN: 978-1-942730-03-3 Dedication To our families, for their years of patience and support in the midst of long clinical hours and countless hours teaching, writing, and otherwise communicating the good news about non-drug therapies for illness. To our patients, for sharing their lives and stories with us. Table of Contents About the Authors About this Book’s Voice Foreword 1. The Personal and Global Toll of High Blood Pressure 2. Blood Pressure Essentials 3. The Greatest Cause of Our Blood Pressure Failures? 4. A 30-Day Blueprint for Blood Pressure Control 5. Nutrition: Eating Your Way to Lower Blood Pressure 6. Optimal Choice of Beverages: Another Key to Natural Blood Pressure Control 7. Social Support: The Blood Pressure Benefits of Social Connectedness 8. Physical Activity: Lowering Pressure Through Movement 9. Rest: Sleeping Your Way to Better Blood Pressure? 10. Environment: Fresh Air, Quiet, and Sunshine as Hypertension Remedies 11. Stress Management: A Critical Ally in Hypertension Control 12. Use of Natural Adjuncts: Herbs and Supplements as BP Aids 13. Refraining from Pressors and Excesses: Avoid These “False Friends” 14. Exercising Faith in God? The Spiritual Connection to High Blood Pressure 15. Putting It All Together Appendix A. Blood Pressure Daily Chart Appendix B. Goal Setting Device Endnotes Contact Us Keep On Learning About the Authors David DeRose, MD, MPH Heard on more than 140 radio stations, syndicated radio show host and practicing physician, Dr. David DeRose for three decades has been helping people address, with natural therapies, disease processes. DeRose brings solid credentials as a board-certified specialist in both Internal Medicine and Preventive Medicine, in addition to holding a Master in Public Health degree, with an emphasis in Health Promotion and Health Education. Dr. DeRose’s commitment to educating the masses on optimal health strategies has taken him far beyond the radio booth and medical clinic. He has taught at the college level, held numerous seminars for health professionals and lay audiences alike, and has been featured in TV and video health series. DeRose’s research has been published in peer-reviewed medical journals, including The Journal of the American Medical Association, The Annals of Epidemiology, and Preventive Medicine. Greg Steinke, MD, MPH As a Lifestyle Medicine Specialist, Dr. Greg Steinke has had the opportunity to help many patients reverse their blood pressure naturally. Steinke is board-certified in Family Medicine and Preventive Medicine, holding a Master in Public Health degree, with an emphasis in Public Health Nutrition. In addition to his clinic and hospital practice, Steinke regularly conducts community-based lifestyle education programs designed to reverse and improve chronic diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, depression, and tobacco addiction. He was part of the inaugural graduating class in the first Lifestyle Medicine program in America. His training, at Loma Linda University in California, especially prepared him to help those motivated to leave a life of sickness, medications, and helplessness for, instead, a life of vigor and vitality and with less medication. He believes people can take charge of their health and leave nearly every trace of their prior state of ill health behind. Trudie Li, MSN, FNP Trudie Li is a family nurse practitioner passionate about engaging others in the pursuit of a healthier lifestyle. A graduate of Loma Linda University, Trudie worked in China at Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital as Loma Linda's nursing representative. It was during the SARS epidemic there that Trudie's commitment to public health was solidified while working with the local Center for Disease Control. Since then, Trudie has regularly assisted with staff development and health education at lifestyle centers in China. Her stateside experience revolves around incorporating lifestyle education into medical-surgical nursing and family practice. Her enthusiasm is renewed with each patient's commitment to evidence-based lifestyle choices. The Stories in This Book As health care professionals, we’ve been grateful to care for thousands of people with high blood pressure. The stories and the lives they represent hold great value to us and we wish to hold them in honor as we retell them. Therefore, the names and identifying details have been changed to maintain anonymity. About this Book’s Voice Other than our introductory notes, we’ve written this book using a single voice. Although our collective clinical experience and research is represented on these pages, when relating first-hand experiences with our patients or sharing bits of our own journeys, we have chosen to use the first person pronoun “I,” without indicating who is telling the story. Among the reasons for this choice are: First, it adds an additional element of confidentiality to the stories. Although we always change the names and circumstances of our patients, blurring the practitioner’s identity adds an additional level of anonymity. Second, we are authoring this book as a team, and none of our clinical experiences or life journeys carry more weight than do another’s. It would be counterproductive to set readers up to give more credence to sections written by one of the authors rather than another. Third, each of us as authors is on a journey with you, our readers. We’re all trying to improve our health by bringing our lives more into harmony with the laws of our being. In view of this, in the body of the book, we reserve the use of the second person to our common journey—readers and authors together—to that state of better health. Foreword If as many lives were claimed by a natural disaster, we would not be so complacent. But because the villain is hypertension, and because it resides in so many of our homes, we’re in danger of tolerating its presence. However, when it comes to loss of life, hypertension (the medical term for high blood pressure) wreaks far more havoc worldwide than do all natural disasters combined. Globally, the World Health Organization estimates that 9.4 million people die annually from only the cardiovascular complications of hypertension. 1 Compare that to data linking less than 80,000 deaths annually to natural disasters. 2 In other words, high blood pressure claims more than 100 times as many lives as the effects of all natural disasters combined. The tragedy is augmented when we realize hypertension’s complications are largely preventable with essentially side-effect-free natural strategies! This book is not a hypothetical treatise relating merely good suggestions to help your blood pressure. It is a book based on evidence, solid medical research studies as well as the changed lives witnessed by the health care providers authoring this book. It is a book that provides practical strategies to help you get your blood pressure (BP) under control, once and for all, without depending on costly, side-effect-ridden medications. Yes, hypertension is far more deadly than any tsunami, earthquake or tornado on record. But there are typically no sirens, urgent news reports, or alarms commanding our attention. Furthermore, unlike such natural disasters, we can actually stop most of high blood pressure’s root causes. The reality is this: many individuals can get their blood pressure under control in 30 days or less. Even if your BP is more sluggish to respond, the roadmap provided in this book is calculated to lead you to a new life with less medications and far better blood pressure readings. Join us on this life-changing 30-day journey. Your life will never be the same. David DeRose, MD, MPH Greg Steinke, MD, MPH Trudie Li, MSN, FNP