Blood Pressure Down: The 10-Step Plan to Lower Your Blood Pressure in 4 Weeks--Without Prescription Drugs

by Janet Bond Brill PhD RD

Overview

For the nearly 78 million Americans with hypertension, a safe, effective lifestyle plan—incorporating the DASH diet principles and much more—for lowering blood pressure naturally

If you have high blood pressure, you're not alone: nearly a third of adult Americans have been diagnosed with hypertension, and another quarter are well on their way. Yet a whopping 56 percent of diagnosed patients do not have it under control. The good news? Hypertension is easily treatable (and preventable), and you can take action today to bring your blood pressure down in just four weeks—without the potential dangers and side effects of prescription medications. 

In Blood Pressure Down, Janet Bond Brill distills what she's learned over decades of helping her patients lower their blood pressure into a ten-step lifestyle plan that's manageable for anyone. You'll: 

• harness the power of blood pressure power foods like bananas, spinach, and yogurt
• start a simple regimen of exercise and stress reduction
• stay on track with checklists, meal plans, and more than fifty simple recipes

Easy, effective, safe—and delicious—Blood Pressure Down is the encouraging resource that empowers you, or your loved ones, to lower your blood pressure and live a longer, heart-healthy life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780307986351
Publisher:	Harmony/Rodale
Publication date:	05/07/2013
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	153,686
Product dimensions:	6.34(w) x 9.04(h) x 0.82(d)

About the Author

JANET BRILL, PhD., RD, LDN, is a nationally recognized expert in cardiovascular disease prevention and the author of Cholesterol Down and Prevent a Second Heart Attack, and she has been a nutritionist in private practice for many years.

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Chapter 1  
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Excerpted from "Blood Pressure Down"
by .
Copyright © 2013 Janet Bond Brill.
Excerpted by permission of Potter/Ten Speed/Harmony/Rodale.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Foreword Emil M. deGoma ix

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction 1

Part I Everything You Need to Know About High Blood Pressure and Your Health

1 Understanding the Problem 13

2 High Blood Pressure: The Silent Killer 31

3 Blood Pressure Down: A Potent Natural Combination Therapy 51

Part II The Ten-Step Blood Pressure Down Plan

4 Step 1: Lose Five Pounds 63

5 Step 2: Cut the Salt 80

6 Step 3: Eat Bananas 105

7 Step 4: Eat Spinach 122

8 Step 5: Eat Yogurt 134

9 Step 6: Eat Soy 148

10 Step 7: Eat Dark Chocolate 162

11 Step 8: Drink Red Wine 178

12 Step 9: Take Four Supplements 192

13 Step 10: Exercise 207

A Few Closing Words from Dr. Janet 229

Appendix 1 Quick Guided Imagery Exercise Guidelines 235

Appendix 2 Ten-Step Daily Checklist 237

Appendix 3 Body Mass Index Calculations 241

Appendix 4 Blood Pressure Progress Chart 242

Appendix 5 Chef Card: Slashing Salt at Restaurants 243

Appendix 6 Minerals Pocket Charts 244

Appendix 7 Sample Blood Pressure Down Meal and Exercise Plans 246

Appendix 8 Heart-Healthy Recipes 250

Notes 305

Index 329

Editorial Reviews

Brill does a good job of explaining that hypertension is a silent killer that hurts blood vessels without pain or symptoms and then causes huge problems, such as stroke, kidney failure, and heart attacks… Overall, anyone who wants to try nondrug approaches to lowering blood pressure can find much useful, potentially lifesaving information in this guide book.”
—Booklist

“What sets this 10-step plan apart is the simple way [Janet Bond Brill] lays it out for the readers….The steps and the implementation are presented so that readers can easily start tomorrow.”
—BlogCritics.org

"A detailed, well researched book for anyone serious about lowering his or her blood pressure."
—Examiner.com

“The brilliant Dr. Brill…has a knack for making cardiac disease simple to understand and conquer…This book is the ideal tool to supplement a doctor's visit to effectively lower a patient's blood pressure with or without medications. This book is so comprehensive - it gives guidance on how to monitor one's blood pressure at home, reminds people about stroke symptoms, what type of exercise works best and of course the foods that can lower blood pressure. The recipes at the end of the book emphasize how delicious a heart healthy diet can be.”
—Annabelle S. Volgman, MD, FACC
Professor of Medicine, Rush College of Medicine
Medical Director, Rush Heart Center for Women

“A simple, holistic, and achievable 10-step plan that is highly effective in reaching the ideal blood pressure in 4 weeks. Maintaining optimal blood pressure is critical in preventing heart disease and stroke.” 
—Jennifer H. Mieres, MD, FACC, FASNC, FAHA
Professor of Cardiology & Population Health, Hofstra North Shore - LIJ School of Medicine

From the Publisher