Last week, a young man in his 30s came to the clinic and said he had been dizzy for half a year and didn’t know what was going on, but when his blood pressure was measured, he found it was as high as 160/100mmHg. I told the young man: “you have suffered from hypertension, you are directly related to overweight, smoking, because the blood pressure level is now too high, you need to take antihypertensive drugs to control hypertension”. But the young man said he did not want to take Western medicine, so I told him that if he could quit smoking and get his weight under control, his blood pressure could come down without taking Western medicine, and he could use Chinese medicine to regulate his treatment.
Nowadays, more and more people are suffering from hypertension, and it is getting younger and younger. What does hypertension have to do with it?
With the progress of society and the improvement of people’s living standards, the incidence of hypertension is increasing year by year. The onset of hypertension is closely related to long-term mental stress, family history of hypertension, obesity, high salt diet and heavy smoking, etc. Clinically, the main manifestations are dizziness and headache, tinnitus and forgetfulness, insomnia and dreaminess. Since long-term hypertension can damage the heart, brain, kidneys and other important organs, the prevention and treatment of hypertension is receiving more and more attention.
So how to prevent and treat hypertension? Can Chinese medicine treat hypertension? Let’s talk about it together. First of all, let’s start with the prevention of hypertension, which is “prevention before illness”.
To prevent hypertension, we should pay attention to the following aspects.
First, dietary habits
Now many people have unhealthy eating habits, large fish and meat, the phenomenon of eating indiscriminately in daily life is very common, these are the important causes of “three high”, therefore, the prevention of hypertension, but also first from the “mouth” to start. To develop good eating habits, the following points should be achieved.
1, control the amount of salt normal adult daily intake of 6 grams of salt is appropriate; hypertensive disease, especially the combination of cardiac and renal insufficiency should be reduced, generally 3 to 4 grams per day.
2, restrict the diet to prevent overweight diet should be moderate. Long-term excessive food, easy to make phlegm and dampness and obesity, obese people and prone to hypertension. Therefore, hypertension (especially fat people) to properly limit the diet, or less refined white rice, more brown rice and grains.
3, food should be light, less fat, sweet and greasy The basic requirements of the diet is to light vegetarian food, less fat, sweet and greasy, a reasonable mix of diet. In addition, there are three points to understand.
(1) It is advisable to eat beans and cereals as the main food, such as soybeans, barley, millet, corn, wheat, sorghum, etc., with Bai Lai, celery, tomatoes, bean sprouts, spinach, radish, kelp, etc. as the main vegetables; eat more fresh fruits such as citrus, hawthorn, apple, etc.
(2) Eat less or no animal fat, but mainly vegetable oils such as soybean oil, cotton oil, peanut oil, etc.; eat less cholesterol-containing foods such as animal offal, egg yolk, crab, scallops, roe, etc.
Second, quit smoking and avoid alcohol, eat less spicy
The harm of tobacco, alcohol and spicy products on the human body is particularly obvious for hypertension. Such as tobacco in the nicotine easy to make the body norepinephrine secretion increased, causing vasospasm, blood pressure; long-term heavy drinking, the disease is not only prone to stroke, but also promote endogenous (liver) cholesterol synthesis, lipid elevation, causing arteriosclerosis and aggravate hypertension.
Third, pay attention to the combination of work and rest, careful to prevent labor of mind, labor and housing too much
Stressed brain workers especially need to pay attention to rest and recreation; otherwise, long-term mental tension will make sympathetic excitement, adrenaline secretion increases, small artery contraction, thus increasing blood pressure. To take frequent walks or outdoor activities, as well as excursions, can promote the qi and blood yin and yang peace, reduce and stabilize blood pressure.
Fourth, maintain a relaxed mood
Excessive tension and anxiety can easily induce sympathetic excitation, long-term mental tension can cause blood pressure to rise, so it is important to keep a calm state of mind, keep the mood, reduce anxiety and tension. As long as the mood is smooth, qi and blood yin and yang coordination, since the blood pressure is beneficial to the stability.
Next, let’s talk about Chinese medicine’s understanding of hypertension and how it treats hypertension.
In ancient times, since there was no tool to measure blood pressure, there was no such diagnosis as hypertension. However, according to the clinical manifestations of this disease, it generally belongs to the category of “vertigo” and “headache” in Chinese medicine.
According to TCM, the pathological changes such as disharmony of the liver and spleen, imbalance of yin and yang, and deficiency of the liver and kidneys are caused by factors such as poor diet, emotional and mental disorders, and old age and physical decline, which lead to the occurrence of hypertension. The pathogenesis of hypertension can be seen in the types of hyperactivity of liver and yang, deficiency of liver and kidney, and mutual obstruction of phlegm and stagnation.
1. Hyperactive liver-yang type
This type is the most common type, mostly seen in people with mental anxiety, tension, anger and temper tantrums. They often have headache, dizziness, irritability, insomnia, red face and bitter mouth, red tongue, yellow tongue coating, etc.
Here we recommend a herbal tea recipe.
Xia Ku Cao, cassia seeds, mulberry leaves, chrysanthemum flowers, wolfberry each appropriate amount, add to boiling water infusion 30 minutes after drinking.
In addition, you can also apply a simple herbal tea to drink.
Xia Gu Cao Cao tea
Recipe: 10 grams of Xia Gu Cao, a small amount of green tea.
Chinese wolfberry mulberry chrysanthemum drink
Recipe: 9 grams of Chinese wolfberry, 5 grams of mulberry leaves, 5 grams of chrysanthemum, 9 grams of cassia seeds.
Hooked vine tea
Recipe: Hooked vine 9 grams of green tea 3 grams
Hooked vine drink
Recipe: 15 grams of cornus, 6 grams of hooked vine, 5 grams of white chrysanthemum
2.Yin deficiency of liver and kidney
This type is mostly seen in the elderly and often presents with the following manifestations: dizziness, mental depression, little sleep and dreaminess, forgetfulness, weakness of the waist and knees, tinnitus, irritable heat in the five hearts, red tongue and thin pulse.
For this type of hypertensive patients, here is a herbal tea recipe for you.
Chinese wolfberry, yam, lily of the valley, cassia seeds, chrysanthemum, add to boiling water and steep for 30 minutes and drink.
In addition, you can also apply simple herbal tea drinking.
1, chrysanthemum and acacia green tea drink: green tea 6 grams, chrysanthemum 6 grams, acacia 6 grams, He Shou Wu 15 grams
2, chrysanthemum, hawthorn and cassia drink: chrysanthemum 3 grams, hawthorn 10 grams, grass cassia 15 grams, raw earth 12 grams
3.Phlegm and stagnation type This type is mostly seen in obese people and often shows the following manifestations: vertigo, head heavy as a wrap, or with headache, chest tightness, nausea, fat shape, white and greasy coating, etc.
For this type of hypertensive patients, we recommend a herbal tea recipe.
Lycopodium, cassia seeds, hawthorn, peel, lotus leaves, add to boiling water and brew for 30 minutes.
In addition, you can also apply simple herbal tea drinking.
1, ginkgo biloba tea: ginkgo biloba 10g, Chen Pi 6g, green tea 6g
2.Hawthorn and cassia drink: 10g of hawthorn, 15g of grass cassia
In addition to the above in accordance with different subtypes to Chinese medicine conditioning, you can also do some of their own porridge consumption.
1, celery rice porridge: celery (root, leaves, stems) 200 grams, 50 grams of rice, wash the rice into a casserole, add water, cook until half cooked, add celery, simmer into a porridge, each serving 200 ml.
2, kudzu powder porridge: kudzu powder 30 grams, 100 grams of rice, boil together to take porridge.
3, fresh celery juice: fresh celery 250 wash, boiling water for 2 minutes, take out the chopped plus cold boiled water 100 ml of juice, take in portions.