Eli Ben-Yehuda--www.resperate.com

Want to know about an exercise that can lower blood pressure significantly? We're talking as much as 10-20 mmHg. No, it's not an endurance exercise. No, it's not strength exercise. It's actually an exercise you can do anytime and anywhere. It's called isometrics.
What are Isometric Exercises?
Isometric exercises, the kind where you contract large muscles without actually moving the body part, may help reduce blood pressure in healthy people, a study shows. And something as simple as squeezing your inner thigh muscles together while you sit would qualify.
That's right. Isometric exercises can be done anytime, anywhere, and they don't require you to bend or lift. In a handful of studies, folks with normal blood pressure who did three 15 to 20 minutes sessions of isometric exercises every week for 10 weeks experienced more than a 10-point plunge in their systolic blood pressure. And their diastolic pressure fell almost 7 points. Not bad for not lifting a finger! Simple things like doing a static hand grip, flexing the bottoms muscles, or doing leg squeezes all count. In the research, the three weekly sessions included doing multiple 2-minute rounds of isometric exercises like those, with 1 to 3 minute rests in between.
In one study a hand grip spring dynamo-meter was used for IHG (Isometric Handgrip) exercise training. A total of 30 normal healthy volunteers in the age group of 20-40 y were enrolled for the study. Exercise training protocol consisted of five 3-min bouts of IHG exercise at 30% of maximum voluntary contraction separated by 5 min rest periods. The exercise was performed 3 times/wk for 10 wk. Subject's blood pressure was measured before and after exercise.
There was a significant reduction in resting blood pressure following 10 wk of exercise training. Both Systolic and Diastolic blood pressure reduced significantly.
In the mid-1970s, the U.S. Air Force asked Dr. Ronald Wiley, an expert in heart and lung physiology, to find a way to keep fighter pilots from losing consciousness when flying the F-16 fighter. This jet could accelerate so fast that the G-forces it generated made it difficult for the pilot's heart to pump blood to the brain, causing vision problems, trouble thinking, and blackouts.
One of Wiley's strategies was a hand grip that pilots could squeeze to boost their blood pressure enough to maintain circulation to the brain. As he worked with pilots, he was struck by a contradiction ” Those who practiced with the hand grip for a few weeks lowered their resting blood pressure.
Types of Isometric Exercise
Plank Bridge
Lie down in the push-up position and place your elbows under your chest. Rest your body on the floor. Now, the entire weight of your body will be concentrated on your forearms. Push up your body and count to 10. Hold this position for 10 seconds and repeat 2 to 3 times. This is one of the simplest forms of isometric exercises, and it can be performed daily.
Isometric Push Up
Get into the pushup position as before and lie down with your arms extended. Lower your body to the halfway position and hold for about 10 seconds or count slowly until 10. This exercise can be repeated for 2 or 3 times, depending on your fitness level. Most isometric exercises are not very tiring, but you must take it slowly if you're a beginner.
Isometric Bicep Exercise
This is the simplest type of isometric exercise, and it can be easily done at the office. Put your hands under the desk and place them against the tabletop, with your palms up. Now, press against the tabletop, keeping your elbows tight against your ribs. Hold your hands in this position for 10 seconds or count slowly until 10, and then repeat 2 to 3 times.
Isometric Shoulder Raises
For this exercise, you will need a pair of dumbbells. Hold one dumbbell in each hand and stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Raise both arms upwards from the side until they're parallel to the ground. Hold them in this position for about 10 to 25 seconds, and repeat 2 to 3 times. If you find it difficult to raise both hands at the same time, you can start by raising one hand at a time.
Ball Squeeze
The ball squeeze exercise requires only a tennis ball or any other small ball. Hold the ball in one hand and squeeze it for 60 to 90 seconds. Place the ball in your other hand and repeat the squeeze for the same amount of time. Repeat the exercise three times with each hand.
Athletic Gripper Hold
Athletic grippers can be found at nearly any sporting good store. Grippers generally come in different resistances so you'll have to choose one appropriate for you. Ideally, you should use one that you are able to squeeze for two minutes before your muscles fatigue. Hold the athletic gripper in one hand and squeeze it for two minutes then switch hands and repeat the exercise. Complete the exercise twice with each hand.
Practicing isometric exercises offers various benefits to our body and they are:

1. Isometric exercises help in strengthening and conditioning muscles.
2. They aid in strengthening dormant muscle tissues on isolated muscles.
3. They improve one's control over the body.
4. Improve body posture and spine alignment.
5. Help in preventing injury.
6. These exercises are used in injury rehabilitation.
7. Help in the development of lean muscles.
8. Improve bone density and make them strong.
9. Increase resistance power and endurance ability.
10. These exercises activate all the major units in the body.
11. These exercises can be done anywhere and anytime.
12. Most isometric exercises do not require any equipment, or at most a set of dumbbells is enough.
13. Help in graceful aging, keeping body posture straight and erect even in the old age.
14. These exercises can also be done by elderly people and are considered good for them.

As with any new exercise routine please speak with your family practitioner to see if you are able to start this practice. For those diagnosed with high blood pressure, I would start with the isometric hand grip exercises. Isometric exercises using the plank or weights can cause spikes in blood pressure. Again please consult your physician.
Comments from Dr. Grisanti-- I want to thank Eli from Resperate (http://www.resperate.com) for sharing this article. I have recommended Resperate for my patients suffering with hypertension. The results are quite impressive in lowering blood pressure. I also want to mention a product I recommend to my patients for isometric exercises. It is called Zona (https://www.zona.com). You have a powerful combination of using the Resperate and Zona to help in naturally lowering blood pressure.
The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Grisanti and his functional medicine community. Dr. Grisanti encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. Visit www.FunctionalMedicineUniversity.com for more information on our training in functional medicine.

A study published in the the Canadian Medical Association Journal revealed that people low in vitamin B12 had an increase risk of a fatal heart attack and stroke.
​The study focused on the relationship between homocysteine, B-12 and carotid artery plaque.
The study showed that higher blood levels of B vitamins are related to lower concentrations of homocysteine leading to decrease plaquing in the carotid arteries. However, an elevated blood homocysteine level revealed a strong risk factor for heart disease and stroke.
How the Study was Conducted
The study examined 421 people with the average age being 66. Vitamin B12, homocysteine levels and degree of plaque in the carotid arteries (via ultrasound) were evaluated.
The Results
Seventy-three patients (17%) had vitamin B12 deficiency with significant elevation of homocysteine. In addition and most important, carotid plaque was significantly larger among the group of patients who had deficiency of vitamin B12 In conclusion, the authors found that low blood vitamin B12 levels are a major cause of elevated homocysteine levels and increased carotid plaque area.
Dr. Grisanti's Comments
Have your physician order a blood homocysteine test and a methylmalonic acid (MMA) test. This is the most specific test for B12 status NOT the serum B-12 blood test.

Written by: Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., D.A.C.B.N., MS
​
Reference
Kwok T, Chook P, Qiao M, Tam L, Poon YK, Ahuja AT, Woo J, Celermajer DS, Woo KS., Vitamin B-12 supplementation improves arterial function in vegetarians with subnormal vitamin B-12 status. J Nutr Health Aging. 2012;16(6):569-73.
Robertson J, Iemolo F, Stabler SP, Allen RH, Spence JD. Vitamin B12, homocysteine and carotid plaque in the era of folic acid fortification of enriched cereal grain products. CMAJ. 2005 Jun 7;172(12):1569-73.

After considerable research it is interesting to bring you up to speed on documented evidence of things which answer the question. "Why is the human brain deteriorating faster than the rest of the body?”
There are a multitude of factors and today's article will touch on a few and also provide some solutions.


For starters I find it disturbing and somewhat criminal that a common blood pressure medication called calcium channel blockers has been proven radiologically on MRI to cause brain shrinking. Research has shown that these drugs cause deterioration of the I.Q. within 5 years' use.
Another medication used to lower cholesterol called Lipitor causes a decline in brain function. It is important to know that statin cholesterol-lowering drugs like Lipitor poison the liver's synthesis of cholesterol. This in turn will starve the brain of cholesterol needed to repair the brain, renew worn out membranes, and stave off Alzheimer's.
In fact, an excellent book, “Lipitor Thief of Memory” written by the respected medical doctor, former astronaut, aerospace medical research scientist, flight surgeon, and family doctor, Dr. Duane Graveline, shares his rapid mental decline after taking the drug Lipitor. Worth reading.
Even with all this hard evidence can you believe the pharmaceutical industry has created a potent drug which combines both the calcium channel blocker and a statin called Atorvastatin/Amlodipine (Caduet). Talk about a double punch to optimal brain function!
Moving on to another documented contributor of Alzheimer's, we can't forget the unavoidable heavy metals. We all have them in us and they poison brain repair enzymes, leading to Alzheimer's.
For example, there is no one who doesn't have aluminum in them, from eating out, aluminum cookware, aluminum flocculation agents in municipal drinking waters, aluminum in baking powders used in breads, processed and restaurant foods cooked in aluminum vats, industrial and vehicular exhausts, deodorants, antacids, and many other sources.
Aluminum causes the nerves in the brain to actually get tangled up (neurofibrillary tangles) as well as make a glue-like substance (called amyloid) to gum up the normal workings of the delicate brain electricity..
Now to provide some nutritional answers to reduce amyloid production we need to look no further than Phosphatidylserine (PS). This nutritional powerhouse has shown to perk up memory, and stave off Alzheimer's.  One interested case showed PS in 3 months return the memory back to where it was 12 years earlier.
Most recently there has been evidence how DHA is an amyloid eater.
Well here is something even easier: green tea. Real organic green tea has over 3 catechins or polyphenols. They have been found to be potent preventers of amyloid deposition in the brain. Sencha Premium Organic Green Tea is by far the best I have found.
This short article is simply a glimpse of the research you won't see promoted on CNN or Fox News. Of course this is sad. There is another side of the clinical management of many diseases that the public will rarely if ever be shown unless you are a reader of my weekly health reports or other alternative or functionally oriented heath professional reports or journals.
The take away from today's article is to “NOT” be your own doctor but seek out the assistance and help from someone trained and skilled in functional medicine who can properly evaluate you and outline a personalized program to help you get well.  
To find a healthcare professional certified in functional medicine, go to www.FunctionalMedicineDoctors.com.These are clinicians who have been trained at Functional Medicine University (www.FunctionalMedicineUniversity.com)

​By: Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., D.A.C.B.N., M.S.

Reference
Haque A, et al, Green tea catechins prevent cognitive deficits caused by AB1-40 in rats, J Nutr Biochem, 19:619-26, 2008
Behl C, et al, Vitamin E protects nerve cells from amyloid B protein toxicity, Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 186:944-52, 1992
Hashimoto M, et al, Docosahexaenoic acid provides protection from impairment of learning ability in Alzheimer's disease model rats, J Neurochem, 81:1084-91, 2002
Rezai-Zadeh K, et al, Green tea epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) modulates amyloid precursor protein cleavage and reduces cerebral amyloidosis in Alzheimer transgenic mice, J Neurosci, 25:8807-14, 2005
Crook T1, Petrie W, Wells C, Massari DC.Effects of phosphatidylserine in Alzheimer's disease.Psychopharmacol Bull. 1992;28(1):61-6.
http://www3.scienceblog.com/community/older/1997/B/199702039.html (Calcium Channel Blocker reference)
The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Grisanti and his functional medicine community. Dr. Grisanti encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. Visit www.FunctionalMedicineUniversity.com for more information on our training in functional medicine.