I gave up ONE food and my high BP vanished

I still remember that visit with the doctor I saw for my blood pressure problems that changed everything….

She took my blood pressure and then matter-of-factly said, “I guess your high blood pressure is gone.”

And I was taking exactly zero medication.

I periodically measured my blood pressure at home. She’s right. It vanished.

She didn’t know why, but I did. I had given up grains.

No wheat. No barley. No rye. No corn. No oats. No quinoa. A tiny bit of rice occasionally… particularly black rice since it’s a gluten-free gain and is reported to fight cancer.

But it wasn’t about blood pressure at the time…

More dangerous than sugar

I’m pretty sure there’s no food group more deceptive than grains. They endanger your waistline while threatening your heart and pancreas more than almost any other item you can eat.

Think about this: I didn’t give up grains and go on the paleo diet for my heart health. I did it initially to improve my memory and deal with digestive issues. But it resulted in heart benefits I didn’t expect.

The truth is, sugar is the blood pressure threat we should be warned about, but all our doctors advise is to skip salt.

This, despite scientific studies that link the consumption of added sugar in the diet to an increased risk of high blood pressure. Grains are carbohydrates and can increase blood sugar.

Not only can sugar affect your blood vessels, but it can also exacerbate health conditions that drive blood pressure problems, by narrowing blood vessels, reducing insulin sensitivity and contributing to weight gain and metabolic disorders.

Blood pressure just wouldn’t go down

I’m sure the weight loss helped my blood pressure. But years ago, when I was at about the same weight I am at now, my blood pressure had remained stubbornly elevated.

I blamed my long-standing blood pressure problem on grains. I don’t know how else to explain why it is now gone.

About 20 years ago, when I was in my 30s, I was an addicted runner. I ran about 50 miles a week. I took part in marathons, triathlons and other road races. My weight seemed to be about as low as it could get and still be at a healthy level. (I weigh about 3 pounds less now.)

But my blood pressure was stuck at hypertension — no matter how much I exercised or tried to eat what I considered a healthy diet.

My doctor’s non-explanation explanation for my hypertension was that it was due to genetics. In his view, there was nothing that could be done for it except to take medication, which I did: ACE inhibitors, calcium channel blockers, beta blockers.

The anti-grain movement

According to Mark Sisson, who writes the blog marksdailyapple.com, “Apart from maintaining social conventions in certain situations and obtaining cheap sugar calories, there is absolutely no reason to eat grains.”

As David Perlmutter, M.D., notes: “It may seem draconian,” he says, “but the best recommendation I can make is to completely avoid grains.”

Perlmutter, whose book Grain Brain warns about the negative effects grains produce on your memory and learning abilities, says: “Most grain foods, whether we’re talking about quinoa, amaranth, the very popular grains of the day, the reality is they still are associated with a carbohydrate surge. They have a fairly high glycemic index, meaning that after 90 to 120 minutes, your blood sugar is going to go up, and that is detrimental to the brain.”

Cardiologist William Davis, author of the New York Times best-selling Wheat Belly Books, has focused most of his anti-grain writings on pointing out the problems with wheat in our diets.

He has observed that, “Over 80% of the people I meet today are pre-diabetic or diabetic. In an effort to reduce blood sugar, I asked patients to remove all wheat products from their diet based on the simple fact that, with few exceptions, foods made of wheat flour raise blood sugar higher than nearly all other foods.”

He also points out that whole grains cause just as many health problems as refined grains: “Yes… even whole grains (increase your blood sugar). More than table sugar, more than a Snickers bar. Organic, multigrain, sprouted–it makes no difference.”

But all grains are not the same

However, I’ve come to learn that the kind of grains you’re eating can make a big difference…

Refined grains and whole grains are polar opposites. The majority of grains in the Standard American diet are refined grains. That’s bad news for blood pressure…

In a compelling study, eating more than seven servings of refined grains per day has been associated with:

• a 47 percent higher risk of stroke;
• a 33 percent higher risk of heart disease;
• and a 27 percent higher risk of early death.  
• Higher intake of refined grains also was linked with higher systolic blood pressure.

If you’re regularly eating processed or ultra-processed food, it’s easy to eat 7 or more servings of refined grains daily.

Whole grains, however, increase the levels of betaines in your body. One, in particular, called 5-aminovaleric acid betaine, or 5-AVAB, has been shown to be heart-protective. Another betaine compound, pipecolic acid betaine, actually helps to control blood sugar.

I’ve chosen to reintroduce whole grains into my Paleo-style diet, and so far, my blood pressure has been doing well. However, due to my ongoing sensitivity to gluten, I’m also very careful about what grains I consume, having only 2 or 3 servings a day.

I hope my story helps someone in the same situation.