This week we’d like to share some information about blood pressure from
Dr. John R. Christopher’s original teachings. Enjoy!
Dr. Christopher's Own Story:
Because of my own experiences I must tell you that I am a firm believer in the use of cayenne for the circulatory. I suffered ill health in my youth and from my middle twenties to the middle thirties it was impossible for me to purchase life insurance, even a
thousand-dollar policy. This was due in part to the hardening of the arteries and a disposition to high blood pressure which I suffered from.
During my middle forties I tried again for a substantially large policy of life insurance. Because of the amount of insurance I had requested, I was required to see two different doctors, each of whom gave me an examination. After one examination the doctor exclaimed that
he was astounded at my blood pressure which resembled that of a healthy teenager though I was forty-five years old. The second doctor measured my blood pressure five times, in each instance shaking his head and repeatedly scrutinizing my case history chart. I was becoming irritated and asked him if his equipment was broken, seeing that he had repeated the reading over and over. He told me that the equipment had been used without trouble for some time, but since my age was forty-five and I had a
perfect systolic over diastolic pressure he had to wonder if the reading was correct. I assured him that it was and related what the other doctor had said. I got an O.K. for the policy from both practitioners.
Last year, as I neared seventy years of age, I told this story to a class I was instructing. One of the pre-medicine students asked if my blood pressure was still as good as it had been then. So I gave him
permission to take my blood pressure. Amazingly, the group saw the blood pressure reading of a healthy young man and not the average reading of a seventy-year-old individual. This was very gratifying to me to say the least. The main reason for this good blood pressure of mine, besides my close adherence to the mucusless diet, was the use of cayenne as a food each day. I take one to three teaspoons or more of cayenne every day of my life and the resulting healthy blood pressure is what I call a
good pay-off for a total effort. [NL 1-5]
Cause of High or Low Blood Pressure:
High Blood Pressure: There is a thickening of the blood from catarrhal and excess glutinous and fibrinous matters loading the circulatory system. Generally, there is a clogging of the bowel
with putrid body waste, making it necessary to cleanse the excretory systems in order to purify the blood. [SNH p.30]
Low blood and high blood pressure are both due to malfunction of the circulatory system. High blood pressure in many cases works just like low blood pressure. Cholesterol must be eliminated from the system in order to get the blood flowing more freely. The condition is brought about by improper
diet, insufficient rest and exercise and a lack of vitality within the system. [SNH p.35]
Herbal Aids for High and Low Blood Pressure:
High Blood Pressure: With high blood pressure, cholesterol and mucus form a sludge within the body. Avoid the mucus-forming foods and
take herbs that act as a solvent by liquefying impurities such as cayenne, garlic or sassafras. Take cayenne, working up to a teaspoon three times a day. This increases the power of the heart and corrects the circulation problems. Garlic in copious amounts will bring down high blood pressure. Pure tomato juice is very good as a nutritional and a medicinal herb. Wheat germ oil is excellent for feeding the heart and helps cut the cholesterol and smoothens its removal from the area. Avoid the use
of liquor and tobacco, do not keep late hours, and avoid over-tiredness and worry. There is an intricate inter-relationship between ones living habits and his body condition. [SNH p.30]
Low Blood Pressure: More oxygen is needed to correct this condition. Garlic is a good oxygen carrier. One of the greatest aids for low or high blood pressure because of oxygen starvation is deep breathing, which serves as
a catalyst and helps the herbs react more rapidly. An immediate increase in circulation may be obtained by the use of cayenne and non mucus-forming foods. Grape juice as well as other juices rebuild and give endurance to the system. [SNH p.35]
Vitamin K: The blood clotting properties of Vitamin K, it has been found effective in preventing
and curing high blood pressure in test animals, and may turn out to be important for the same use in humans. It is important that in the plant kingdom, only Alfalfa contains a significant amount of Vitamin K; most plants are quite deficient in the vitamin. [UW-Alfalfa]
Kelp: It is an arterial cleansing agent and gives tone to the walls of the blood vessels. It is helpful in some cases of arterial tension
(high blood pressure). Practitioners believe that it helps to remove deposits from the walls of the arteries and restore their elasticity, thereby lengthening life (Powell:17). Sufferers from low blood pressure can also have this condition normalized with the use of Kelp. {UW-Kelp]
Shepherd's Purse: Acts to constrict the blood vessels and thus can raise blood pressure but it has also been said to
regularize blood pressure and heart action whether the pressure is too high or too low. [UW-Shepherd's Purse]
Valerian: The herb has a beneficial effect on the heart and on blood pressure. One man felt "jittery and woozy" taking his blood pressure medicine and asked an herbal practitioner for something to help him. He didn't say that he was going to stop taking his medicine but a few weeks later, he said
that he had been to his doctor, and that his blood pressure was down to normal. He didn't have the nerve to tell the doctor that he had stopped taking the medicine and was drinking a tea composed mostly of Valerian and hawthorn. [UW-Valerian]
Hawthorn Berries: A celebrated cardiac tonic for many centuries. Under conditions of stress, the heart often "works overtime." Hawthorn berries can help in treatment
of high or low blood pressure, tachycardia, and arrhythmia. It is also anti-spasmodic, sedative, and soothing to nerves, especially in nervous insomnia. [NL 2-3]
Garlic: Many people have been helped in ridding the body of worms by inserting a peeled button of garlic as high as possible into the rectum. Do this just before retiring at night and it will come out with the first bowel movement in the morning.
(This is also a fine aid in adjusting high blood pressure and low blood pressure). [NL 2-9]
Water: It is very beneficial to drink a gallon of "steam distilled water" each day. This will aid to cut down the hardening of the arteries, adjust high and low blood pressure, and retard body dehydration. The amount of water depends on the weight of the individual. Use one ounce of "steam distilled water" to each
pound of body weight. i.e. a one hundred and thirty pound individual should drink a gallon of the water (132 oz.) or a twenty pound child, twenty ounces of the water. [NL 2-9]
Juices for High Blood Pressure: Celery-garlic-parsley, celery, dandelion, grapefruit. [NL 3-5]
Juices for Low Blood Pressure: Beet, grape,
pomegranate. [NL 3-5]
Ephedra: Excessive amounts of ephedra should not be used by those people who have high blood pressure, but the small amounts in Dr. Christopher's formulas will have no adverse effects. Ephedra is great for those suffering from low blood pressure. [NL 4-9]
Vegetables for Blood Pressure: The
green bell-shaped pepper is especially good for ... high blood pressure and acidosis. The Sweet Potato used... for problems of low blood pressure and poor circulation. [NL 4-12] Peaches are considered valuable in cases of ...high blood pressure [NL 5-1] Pineapple is considered good for... high blood pressure. [NL 5-1] Strawberry is recommended for ... high blood pressure. [NL 5-1] Ample consumption of tomatoes is considered to improve ... high blood pressure. [NL 5-1]
Pecans: These have been used where there is a problem with low blood pressure...Pinon nuts have saved the life of many an Indian baby when made into a nut soup and used as milk for the baby when the mother had no milk. The nut is considered to be effective where there are problems with the lungs such as tuberculosis, impotence, paralysis, low blood pressure, and emaciation. The Pinon nut is one of the best sources of protein
in the nut family. [NL 5-1]
We hope you’ve enjoyed this article from Dr. Christoper’s archives. We invite you to learn more about his teachings as a student at the School of Natural Healing. www.schoolofnaturalhealing.com
