High blood pressure???????

[Crystal27A]

I have been on Atkin's diet for 9 days and have felt really great but, today I got my blood pressure checked and it was high.......I just had it checked about a week before I started the diet and it was fine I have never had high blood pressure before. My heart rate was also high 105 has anyone had these problems?? Any suggestions!!!!!!!!!!!1

[Natrushka]

two things come to mind.

1) are you taking your supplements? Potassium can help lower blood pressure, and a sign of potassium deficiency is a racing heart rate, palpitations and feelings of anxiety. You can increase your potassium with some "NuSalt". 1/8th tsp in a glass of water will give you 585 mg of potassium, which should do the trick. You can find NuSalt with regular salt at your grocery store.

2) you may be sensitive to arachidonic acid found in egg yolks and red meat. There is a way to deal with this, however.

From the Protein Power FAQ:

...There are some people who may have problems with large amounts of red meat and large quantities of egg yolks. These people: have elevated blood pressure and/or cholesterol, retain abnormally high amounts of fluid, and/or suffer from inflammatory conditions such as skin rashes, asthma, allergies, bursitis, or arthritis.

It’s not the cholesterol in red meat and egg yolks that is the problem. It’s the fact that they are high in arachidonic acid, which can promote or worsen the above conditions.

Here is the strategy for these folks to follow: Eliminate red meat and egg yolks from your diet completely for three weeks. At the end of the three week period, take stock of your health. Has it improved? Eat a large portion of red meat and eggs for a couple of meals and observe what happens. If your problems reappear of get worse, you are sensitive to arachidonic acid and should have these foods only once in a while. When you do have them, make sure to remove as much of the fat from the beef as possible. Grill the beef. This will reduce the arachidonic acid by as much as 35%. Another option is to marinate the meat in a combination of red wine and olive oil or light sesame oil for 24 hours before grilling.

As far as eggs are concerned, have no more than one or two whole eggs at a sitting, and eat egg whites the rest of the time. Also, you should avoid margarine altogether (as everyone should).

HTH
Nat

[doreen T]

Without knowing what you're eating it's hard to say ... it might be related to diet or might not. High blood pressure isn't usually associated with a fast heart rate either ... so I'm wondering two things ...

- You were a bit stressed or anxious?

or

- sounds an awful lot like an allergic or intolerance reaction to a food. Anything new you're eating that you weren't eating before?? Or something that you're eating a lot more of than you used to?? Some prime suspects are eggs, especially egg whites
processed meats - ham, bacon, corned beef, deli meats, sausages, pepperonis, etc ... contain mega salt, as well as nitrates
aspartame/Nutrasweet -- reports of heart palpitationsIs there a pharmacy near you where you can check your blood pressure for free? It might be worth it to go a few times, just to check it out and see if it was a fluke, or if it's an ongoing problem.

take care,

Doreen

[Crystal27A]

I am feeling better but can't test blood pressure because I'm at home right now But i put the nusalt in my water and I do feel better but the last time I used the nusalt I wokeup sick so I did not take it anymore Thanks for the advice! Tomorrow I will tell you how my blood preesure is!Thanks

[Crystal27A]

Well, I got my blood pressure checked today it was good but, my heart rate was still up to 100. Heart rate went down a little.

[Natrushka]

Crystal, 1/8th of a teaspoon is all you need. make sure it's a BIG glass of water... too much nusalt will be hard on your stomach.

Nat