ACE in the hole

Q: Are there any natural remedies for high blood pressure?

Dr. Wright: There are many natural solutions for high blood pressure. One of the most effective methods I’ve come across during the last few years is vitamin D. I’ve observed significant reductions in blood pressure in people I’ve worked with when they take vitamin D supplements.

You see, without adequate vitamin D, one of your genes (a tiny part of your DNA) initiates the formation of excess quantities of a molecule called renin. Renin breaks down another molecule, called angiotensinogen, into angiotensin I. Angiotensin I is converted into angiotensin II by a substance known as angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE). The end result — angiotensin II — is the “bad stuff” that (in excess amounts) causes high blood pressure. Most popular patented “space alien” antihypertensives are ACE inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs).

But vitamin D does a better job than those patent meds because it targets the problem at the most basic genetic level. In its fully activated form, vitamin D persuades the gene that controls renin production to become less active. When less renin is produced, less of all the “intermediates” listed above are produced, and the end result is less angiotensin II and lower blood pressure. That means that something as simple as vitamin D supplementation could make ACE inhibitors (and those ARBs) unnecessary.

While it is possible to take too much vitamin D, recent research has reevaluated the safe upper limit for this vitamin, and many experts now agree that it’s 10,000 IU daily. My target for optimal vitamin D intake is whatever it takes to achieve a serum level of approximately 60 ng/ml (the level people in the tropics — who have significantly less hypertension than people living further away from the Equator — generally have).

If you want to try an “optimal-vitamin-D” approach to reducing your blood pressure, it’s always best to work with your doctor to monitor your blood level of vitamin D. And be patient: it frequently takes two to three months for significant changes to start taking place and six to eight months for the vitamin D to take full effect. For further details on vitamin D and high blood pressure, as well as vitamin D safety, please see the January 2004 issue of Nutrition & Healing, which subscribers can download for free by visiting www.nutritionandhealing.com and logging on to the Archives with the username and password listed on page 8 of your most recent newsletter.