Dr. Liu from Quande Chinese Medicine Clinic ※ This article is about Dr. Liu from Chinese Medicine Clinic, aiming at the book "Lowering blood pressure without drugs: keeping your life away from" hypertension ","taking drugs for a long time "and" reducing salt diet "written by Japanese drug preventive physician Yasushi Kato. Miss Zhang, 42, is a 5-year-old mother with twins. She has a full-time job and often plays a dozen or two after work and holidays. "Recently, they love to quarrel. Every time I call them in, I have a headache! "Blood pressure rushed to160 several times ..." Mr. Chen, 46, is a senior supervisor of Taiwan Province Shoes Factory. He flies between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. In response to market changes, he worked long hours and was under great pressure. "His eyes really hurt! The neck and shoulders are so tight! Back in Taipei, it seems better if I have time to ride a few laps on the bicycle lane by the river, but once I get there, my whole blood pressure will soar to 180! Ms. Xu, 68, has retired from public office for several years, and her community and volunteer activities are quite substantial. She originally suffered from gastric ulcer, diabetes and macular degeneration. " Doctor! It's getting cold recently. I often feel dizzy when I get up in the morning to exercise, and even walk a little sideways. I took my blood pressure that day, and it was 150, which was shocking. I went to ask my doctor who usually sees diabetes, and he prescribed antihypertensive drugs for me. As a result, I felt dizzy after taking medicine in the morning and dared not go out to exercise. What should I do? These are real cases in my clinic. And my answer to them is usually: "Don't worry, this blood pressure! In fact, it is a "signal" sent by your body because you are uncomfortable! Let's find out which side of the body is wrong first, and then try to improve the situation. Then, blood pressure will gradually become normal. After reading the book "Lowering Blood Pressure without Drugs" written by Japanese medical expert Mr. Kato, General Hong Zhong's "* * *" sounded in my heart. In Taiwan Province Province, our doctors of integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine have long adhered to this principle in dealing with blood pressure! Not only blood pressure, but also signals from the body. Did you listen carefully? If we only pay attention to the "numbers" displayed by the instrument and ignore the physiological, pathological and physical factors behind it, it is often futile to find back the self-healing power and become healthier. Anti-inflammatory painkillers are a similar example. For example, I sprained my ankle today and took medicine to relieve the pain temporarily. The purpose is to improve the quality of rest so that my body can repair the damage. If you play again because it doesn't hurt, the strained tendon will tear more seriously and it will not heal easily. Is this the fault of painkillers? In fact, what is wrong is the way we treat our bodies. I am glad to see that Mr. Kato is willing to spread the idea of "putting aside numbers and pursuing substantive health". His writing structure is clear, but easy to understand, such as the changing history of blood pressure and cholesterol standards, and the controversy over "low sodium diet", which can provide objective analysis. More practically, Mr. Kato provides many "non-drug methods" in his book to help stabilize blood pressure. Let's take a look at these methods: it is understandable that young people like ball games, but they need regular and continuous aerobic exercise to relax peripheral blood vessels and stabilize autonomic nerves and blood pressure. Aerobic exercise is the simplest and most difficult. Simply put on your sneakers and walk or jog for 20 minutes. The hard part is that if you don't persevere and do it regularly every day, the effect will not come out. Mr. Kato said honestly, "Modern people are busy with work, so I don't ask you to jog. He also suggested simple gymnastics to help stabilize blood pressure. However, I personally advocate this most primitive and simple sport. Acupuncture/Acupoint Acupuncture at some acupoints can immediately lower blood pressure, which has been recognized by the international medical community. At present, it is believed that acupoints can dilate peripheral blood vessels and regulate peripheral nerves, thus stabilizing blood pressure. It should be reminded that acupuncture or acupuncturing inevitably needs to activate the qi of human meridians (which can be considered as substances carried by trains running on the rails). If the physique is weak (the overall materials are insufficient), it is not recommended to press the acupoints frequently, so as to avoid excessive energy consumption of the body's meridians, but it will not achieve the health care effect. However, I believe that Mr. Kato must have considered the local people in Japan in the process of studying these acupoints. Most people with hypertension belong to the "strong, high pressure and less exercise" ethnic group. Therefore, * * * acupoints can really achieve the desired effect. Personally, I recommend these two groups of acupoints for lowering blood pressure: Yanglingquan and Taichong. You can also try. Physiologically, the lower the resistance of peripheral blood vessels, the more stable blood pressure will be. Stretching exercise and muscle training can achieve the function of "dredging" the muscle tissue of limbs, so even simple gymnastics, perseverance, can also lower blood pressure. In addition, in recent years, more and more attention has been paid to core muscles, which can not only protect the spine and joints, but also assist the circulation of blood and lymphatic system. With healthy core muscles and smooth qi and blood, natural blood pressure can be stabilized. Tai Chi/Guidance/Yoga Mr. Kato also mentioned breathing many times in his book. Indeed, the "efficiency" of oxygen exchange in the lungs is also closely related to the smooth operation of qi and blood in the body. Therefore, we can see that the first step of traditional health exercises all over the world, whether it is Tai Chi, Daoism, Yoga or Baduanjin, is "pranayama". In addition, when we practice Oriental Wushu, we should focus on the formula of "loose, quiet and natural". Loose, is to relax limbs, not deliberately hard or hard support; Quiet is a calm mood, which is helpful for qi; Nature is to go with the flow. Every day, your physical condition is different. Where to practice, the key point is that your own rhythm corresponds to the natural environment. Don't expect too much. Anything that can relax your body and mind If you belong to a group that has no time to exercise, dare not press acupoints and don't know how to do gymnastics and exercises, you should at least understand that blood pressure is also regulated by autonomic nerves. So if you get enough sleep, your blood pressure will be stable, and if you do anything that makes you happy and relaxed, your blood pressure will be stable. Mr. Kato mentioned the interesting "Let women talk and men shout". Indeed, its real purpose is to let emotions have an outlet. So if you are a girl who needs to shout occasionally, or a boy who needs to gossip and relax, don't doubt it, just do it! Back to the "constitution" that Chinese medicine attaches great importance to. According to statistics, patients with hypertension are more likely to suffer from chronic diseases and live shorter lives? But if you think about it carefully, there may not be a causal relationship. This part of people who belong to "phlegm-dampness constitution" are prone to poor qi and blood for a long time, so their blood pressure is high, and of course they are prone to chronic diseases. Another kind of people with "hyperactivity of liver yang" constitution is also a high-risk group of cerebrovascular accidents in the long run. So hypertension is a symptom of "body imbalance", not the cause of these chronic diseases. The real purpose of this book is not to "deny medication", nor to "wait for cardiovascular disease to get better" and then do nothing. However, based on my clinical experience in Taipei for more than ten years, I still want to ask you to think about it. If you take antihypertensive drugs according to the general doctor's advice, and the amount is normal for the time being, then you will continue to work overtime, stay up late, do not exercise, ignore the warnings issued by your body, and maintain an unhealthy pattern until one day, a more deadly disease happens to your body! On the other hand, if we put aside the myth of "numbers", we will not take antihypertensive drugs for the time being, but we will try our best to find out the abnormal parts of our bodies and start to change, including exercise, diet, sleep, mood and so on. After a period of time, our blood pressure will finally be more stable (although it can't reach the standard of 120), but our body and mind must be on the road to better health! This article is excerpted from Lowering Blood Pressure without Drugs: Free Your Life from "Hypertension", Long-term Medication, and Diet with Reduced Salt/Culture of Yasuo Kato (Japanese Preventive Medicine Doctor)/Month.