Lower blood pressure on Keto?

(Empress of the Unexpected) #1

I’ve read that Keto can lower blood pressure. Is this a result of weight loss, or another mechanism.

(Anderson Herzogenrath Da Costa) #2

Probably the weight loss allied with reduced inflammation.

(OldFatJoe) #3

I haven’t used my blood pressure tester (Omron HEM-780) in at least 6 months. I looked in the history and the highest was 177/97! :scream: Most other tests in the history were quite close to that. I’ve made very few changes to my diet since then other than trying to go Keto and only achieving maybe 70-80% Keto so far. I just checked my blood pressure and was floored. 122/86. Checked several times and was still close enough to call that a believable number. We’ve been VERY slowly working our way Keto for about a month and a half. I’ve already lost 22 pounds and just look at that blood pressure improvement! LOOK AT THAT BLOOD PRESSURE IMPROVEMENT!

Your results will likely not be as dramatic as mine but for me I’m absolutely sold on Keto!

If you need a further push just search out the documentary “The Magic Pill”. It’s on Netflix and many other sites. It absolutely WILL change your mind about how you eat. That documentary is what immediately changed the lives of three people forever and we’re working on the fourth and as many more as we can convince. Sheesh… I feel like I’ve joined a cult of sorts. A good cult that wants the world to be healthy and that ain’t bad…

Joe

(Chris W) #4

Insulin being lower is the main mechanism. You are less hypertensive with lower insulin, and you body does not retain salt which sort of goes hand in hand with hypertensive. I went for normal-low to very low inside of 2 weeks. Salt was the major factor in restoring it.

(Empress of the Unexpected) #5

I’ve been strict for two months. I don’t own a blood pressure cuff but am thinking about one. The reason I ask is that, months before Keto, the nurse took my blood pressure and it was something like 140 over 90. Nurse told me it was high. Doctor came in and said "Hell, no, at her age (60), that’s normal. I don’t find that normal and am hoping next time it is checked it will be closer to 120/70.

(LeeAnn Brooks) #6

When sodium levels drop, blood pressure drops.

Not too bad if you have high blood pressure, but when you have naturally low blood pressure like me, a sudden drop in BP when the electrolytes go all wanky means room spinning, tilt-o-whirl action. And not in a fun way.

(Empress of the Unexpected) #7

We are losing sodium, but also supposed to be replenishing it, right? So wouldn’t that even out?

(LeeAnn Brooks) #8

That’s the ideal, but it doesn’t always time out right. I learned that if you have highe ketones, you are depleting electrolytes faster. I have had super high ketones right up till this last week (week 8) and have only just dipped down into the moderate range. So I was depleting faster than typical. Then I’m very active and trying to add distance to my runs. That depletes electrolytes even more.
So even if my sodium intake worked for me one day, the same amount might not cut it the next. It’s a constant effort to find the right balance.

(Empress of the Unexpected) #9

I’m active, but my ketones aren’t. I know strips are stupid but I only get light pink at night every few days. Ketones using walkers. They are not cooperating!!!

(Terence Dean) #10

Hey you people may be able to answer my question about low blood pressure and save me having to post a new thread.

My sister-in-law has expressed an interest in Keto but suffers from low blood pressure, she’s also on medication for it, and has been advised to lose weight. She also has a lot of fatigue.

I was talking to my brother this morning, and I told him that she should consult her doctor before going keto, or try and find a GP that knows something about keto. I’m not sure whether going keto would lower her blood pressure even more and we’re worried that Keto might make her condition worse.

(KB) #11

So I had my bp checked just now at the podiatrist office and my reading was 89/57…does that sound really low? Maybe I need more salt? I feel fine.

(Brian) #12

Mine has come down slowly over the past year. It wasn’t high enough that anyone was panicking over mine but it was still higher than it should have been. (Kinda like my blood sugar.)

Last BP reading I had was 122/75, I think, or close thereabouts. I’m pretty happy with that. Time will tell whether it will go down any farther but if that’s where it is, I’m still happy.