Let there be peas on earth
Is your high blood pressure getting you down? Now, this piece of exhilarating news may lift your spirits (without raising your BP, of course):
Researchers have discovered that the proteins in common garden peas can help fight high blood pressure and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Is there a connection between your BP and your kidneys? Yes, CKD patients are at highest risk from the cardiovascular complications arising from high blood pressure associated with kidney malfunction.
Peas de resistance? Peas are an excellent source of vitamins A, C, and K as well as magnesium, iron, potassium, zinc, copper, and lutein.
Peas are easy to grow and maintain, needing only a fairly regular amount of water. They mature within just a few months and need replanting only every fifth year or so. Or course, it’s easier if you just pick them off the chiller in the veggie section of your favorite supermarket.
The new research focuses on the yellow garden pea, a mainstay pea variety.
Here’s how they stumbled on this pea-nominal discovery: First, scientists purified a mixture of small proteins called pea protein hydrolysate. Then researchers fed small daily doses of the protein mixture to laboratory rats with a severe form of kidney disease. After that, the rats showed a 20-percent drop in their blood pressure.
More, the researchers report that consumption of the pea extract produced a 30-percent increase in urine production in the diseased rats, bringing their urine to within normal levels.
But let’s go back to our daily rat race. According to health activist Dr. Joseph Mercola, nature is so full of simple solutions to many of the health ailments plaguing the world today (you could be growing ’em in your own garden). Certainly, the healthy compounds in yellow peas are proof of that.
Mercola notes that hypertension (high blood pressure) is such a common health malady that one out of three of you reading this now has it. (I don’t really have to look very far because the two artists seated next to me at the Life Section of The Philippine STAR are both hypertensive.) Mercola gives this friendly warning: “Uncontrolled hypertension is a serious health concern that can cause heart disease and increase your risk of having a stroke — and it’s especially dangerous because it often has no warning signs or symptoms.”
He comments on the pea study, “Unfortunately, simply eating peas in their natural state may not produce the same blood pressure-lowering effects as the protein extract used in the study. The researchers say the beneficial proteins are inactive in natural peas and require treatment with special enzymes to become active. In the near future, the beneficial protein extract could be made into a powder to add to foods or beverages, or it may be put into a pill form, the scientists said.”
However, says Mercola, “it’s important to realize that drugs used to treat hypertension — even natural ones — will not change, modify, or in any way address the underlying cause of your high blood pressure. Additionally, statistics show that over half of people taking multiple medications for high blood pressure are still not able to manage their condition, so for many, these drugs simply don’t work as promised.”
Mercola gives the lowdown: “High blood pressure is associated with kidney malfunction in people with chronic kidney disease, but much more often, high blood pressure is related to your body producing too much insulin. As your insulin levels rise, it causes your blood pressure to increase. Hence, if you have hypertension, chances are good that you also have poorly controlled blood sugar levels. The two problems often go hand in hand.”
Being a natural health advocate, Mercola will hardly recommend the use of drugs unless, for instance, “if it’s vital that you do go on a medication to lower your blood pressure because it is very high!” But when you’ve addressed the underlying causes of your high blood pressure, and it begins to go down, you can slowly wean off the medication.
While the pea protein extract mentioned in the study may sound like a promising alternative to drugs for blood pressure, he would rather focus on techniques that will address the underlying causes, namely high insulin levels. Here are Mercola’s not-really-pea-culiar tips:
• Exercise. A regular, effective exercise program consisting of aerobics, sprint-burst type exercises, and strength training can go a long way towards reducing your insulin levels and your blood pressure.
• Eat for your nutritional type and avoid foods that raise insulin levels: Foods that will raise your insulin, such as sugar-type foods and grains, should be avoided if you have high blood pressure. This includes even whole, organic grains, as they rapidly break down to sugars.
Foods to avoid include: breads, pasta, rice, cereal, and potatoes.
While cutting out these insulin-boosting foods, focus on the healthy foods that correspond to your nutritional type.
One food in particular that can help reduce your blood pressure is crushed, raw garlic. Many people swear by it, and it’s something you can easily add to your diet.
• Use stress management techniques. Even mild stress can raise your blood pressure. Prayer, meditation are all useful techniques for managing your emotions.
• Optimize your vitamin D levels. It has recently been proven that normalizing your vitamin D levels can have a powerful effect on normalizing your blood pressure.
• Balance your omega-6 to omega-3 fat ratio. The ideal ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats is 1:1. Therefore, you’ll want to lower the amount of vegetable oils in your diet (omega-6), and make sure you have a high quality, animal-based source of omega-3s, such as krill oil.
Over 85 percent of those who have hypertension can normalize their blood pressure through lifestyle modifications such as these. So if you have hypertension, or hope to avoid it, taking control of your health now is one of the best decisions you could make.
Yes, peas on earth and good health to all men!
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