To ask about high blood pressure meds vs turmeric

[VeganFromSveden]

Hi, I think quite highly of ayervedic medicine from what I have read, and personal experience.
I have a friend that takes prescription medication to counter her high blood pressure.
I have read that turmeric and black pepper is so good for sufferers of high blood pressure, but not to take it if already on prescribed meds.
so, do folk who use a lot of turmeric in their everyday diet, not take prescription meds, or do they have to remove turmeric from their diet if the Dr recommends the meds?
im lucky enough not to have high blood pressure, and make turmeric and black pepper “balls” every day.
id love to be able to help my friend, but I don’t wish to give her poor advice.
whenever I’ve consulted my gp about using alternatives to meds, I’m met with scathing scepticism, and often made to feel foolish.
if you have lots of turmeric in your diet, do you also take high blood pressure meds… what’s your experience?
Thank you kindly to all who respond.

Dear @VeganFromSveden ,

I recognise your good intentions but...

1. no one should be giving anyone medical advice except physicians to THEIR patients. for example, I am a doctor, but I will not give medical advice to you... or anyone who is not MY patient...
2. I am not dismissing ayurveda. I am from the Indian subcontinent and it is part of my culture. we regularly use ayurvedic remedies. HOWEVER, almost none of the remedies have been fully researched - their pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic effects are unknown... there have been no large scale double blind control trials... so they cannot replace tried and tested treatments eg. blood pressure medication
3. High blood pressure is no joke. it kills people via stroke, kidney failure, heart failure etc. etc. if you advise someone to stop their medication and this damages their health, that would be terrible and I am very sure someone kind like you doesn't want that.
4. It is easier to understand ayurveda than 'standard medicine', so it's understandable why many find the former more approachable and therefore more attractive. doesn't make it more effective.
5. it is fashionable in some circles to see western medicine as harmful etc. and have more respect for ancestral remedies. don't forget historically humans barely lived past their 40s until modern western medicine. I have done a lot of healthcare work in Bangladesh where in rural areas there is no access to modern western health care but plenty of ayurvedic practitioners. People die due to lack of basic medicines and health care. if ayurveda was so great, people wouldn't be dying of extremely treatable illnesses.
6. I have sadly had to treat many patients in the UK who have declined western health care... resorted to alternative therapies and the results have been tragic
7. finally I have insane amounts of turmeric in my diet... and black pepper... but this doesn't do anything for my ridiculously Hugh blood pressure which is controlled only with antihypertensive medication.

Reading

Thank you tt9.

I wouldn’t dream of advising a person to go against a Drs advice.

My experience, and what I choose to put, or not put in my body is purely personal.

My post was to hear of others experience(s).

I believe shared information gives us more choices.

In my experience, if I only listened to Drs then I would not be as well as I am.
Also if I only ever listened to friends or family advice, I wouldn’t be as well as I am either.

i do like to have choices, and whether I choose western medicine or Ayervedic, or Chinese, or any other school of thought, is to my benefit or detriment.

I don’t want however to be told I can only have one or the other.

My friend of whom I love and have concern for, is wise enough to make her own choices and research.
She like me wants to be able to make those choices, but if you don’t know what the alternatives are, then how can you?

My post doesn’t intend any disrespect for any school of thought, or any professional that’s had years of study.

@VeganFromSveden that's a very fair position.

in terms of additions to the medication that have proven effect in lowering blood pressure... (I am sure you probably already know this) - exercise, good quality sleep, reduced stress, optimal weight management and a reduced salt diet... reducing other risk factors eg. optimising heart health, keeping cholesterol levels low etc. will generally help reduce morbidity
timing of the medication also has an effect. and measuring BP regularly at home to ensure it is well controlled preferably with a machine less than two years old.

Thank you again tt9

what you have said makes so much sense to me.

part of the reason I wouldn’t give advice (only options) is that I am aware that my friends life is (unfortunately unavoidably) filled with stress.
Also, by her own admission, doesn’t practice the best diet.

I am very interested to learn why one should have a BP measure device that’s less than two years old.
I do know of many households that rely on BP machines that are many more than two years old.
What is the main difference between the old and the new?

What an excellent post!

I received that advice myself from a very senior cardiologist and didn't research it further. I think it might be because the pneumatic cuff probably loses its seal over time. probably they are also more fussy about my personal BP control because I have a lot of health issues and am very high risk. sorry I couldn't give you more info on that.

it's always tough to give support in these situations, especially when you are close to that person. hope your friend's health improves♡

I have had very high BP since my early 20s. I’m now in my early 60s. Literally no supplement or spice/herb, has made the slightest difference. Only the combination of high BP meds lowers it. Same with exercise, sodium intake, weight, Mediterranean diet etc. Over the years, I’ve been overweight, the recommended weight for my height, done lots of exercise, done no exercise, been stressed/not stressed. Literally the only thing that keeps it on an even keel is the medication. Turmeric in food should be fine for your DF, but I’d not be pinning great hopes on its BP lowering effects. If it does that’s great though.

I used to work in cardiology. People of South Asian (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) decent have much higher rates of heart disease and diabetes than white people.

Turmeric / haldi features in the traditional diets of all those places, if it lowered BP I think we would know about it.

After learning more about tumeric as a supplement interfering with medications recently, I'd avoid it.

I find it hard to believe that people didn't live past 40s until western medicine. Where is the evidence for this? And not European evidence. Evidence from other countries.
The middle ages wasn't gloom and doom for all of the world and I find history to be very eurocentric.

My GP tested my home blood pressure cuff (Lloyds pharmacy one) and told me to dump it, it was totally out compared to his

However GPs tend to need to do my blood pressure manually, the digital machines just cant seem to get a reading for some reason

Mind you, I have now lost weight and my blood pressure is much better, albeit I may still need the drugs (which I was hoping to come off), I go to the chemist and they do 3 readings a time and then I will take this to the doctor at my next check

The answer is that that has never really been true. It's an issue with averages.
infant and child mortality were very high. This brings down the average. Than maternal mortality for women. Infectious diseases were an issue. If you plotted out age at death on two graphs, you would see very different patterns.

A big part of improvements in life expectancy has been stopping these deaths, and then improvements in diseases of old age (cardiovascular disease, cancer) which lengthened old age.

But if you survived all that, you did have a good chance to live into your 60s or 70s.

The only time I took turmeric supplements they gave me the most terrible indigestion.

Blood pressure machines used by professionals are regularly serviced & calibrated. Ones used at home are not.