Hey there fellow health seeker!

Let’s talk about some science when it comes to blood pressure and how hypertension develops in the first place.

While nitric oxide occurs naturally in the body and can be produced by eating certain foods (hello, leafy greens!).  Research shows that natural nitric oxide production in the body decreases with aging leading to the prevalence of hypertension.  According to the Centers for Disease Control, 2023 statistics show that 50% of men have high blood pressure and 44% of women. These numbers really are unfortunate as high blood pressure is the first listed risk factor for a heart attack and stroke followed by high lipoprotein cholesterol, diabetes, smoking and secondhand smoke exposure, obesity, unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity.

Nitric oxide contributes to benefits to your body that you simply can’t get elsewhere to lower blood pressure, and if you get it through diet you can also lower the chances of most of the other risk factors mentioned above. I will unpack all the goodness below but just needed to say that it’s important.  In fact, boosting nitric oxide intake through food is at the top of my list that you want to consider adding your diet as a nutritional insurance policy. The biggest follow up question I get is this: Can I take nitric oxide in a supplement form?  I get it, supplements are just much easier to take, but can get a bit pricey.  And although there isn’t a nitric oxide supplement, due to its half life of a few seconds, there is an amino acid L-arginine that is a precursor to nitric oxide.  When L-arginine is taken as a supplement, it goes through an enzymatic process that converts it  into nitric oxide which can help to relax and open the arteries and lower blood pressure.

Why Is Boosting Nitric Oxide the Best Way to Lower Blood Pressure?

Nitric oxide is definitely a magic molecule when it comes to cardiovascular health.  In my journey to lowering and maintaining a healthy blood pressure after living with hypertension for fifteen years (along with the side effects of prescribed medications), I was on a quest to find a natural solution for my high blood pressure.  It wasn’t until I discovered the power of nitric oxide.  Learning how nitric oxide works to lower blood pressure is what motivated me to make a change in my diet and lifestyle for the better, and now I want to share it with you!

You see, just becoming aware of what is happening on a cellular level creates an understanding of how our bodies are designed and what they need to thrive.  Once we give the body the nutrients it needs, it knows exactly what to do.

(continue reading below to learn how you can help your body produce nitric oxide naturally)

The Endothelial System

Understanding how the endothelial cells are our own health guardians to cardiovascular health is eye opening.  

One thing all scientists agree on is how the endothelial system works.  Heart disease and the development of high blood pressure all begin in nutrition.  Its onset is when we start to repeatedly damage the lifeline of our blood vessels.  This lifeline is the endothelium.  The endothelium is a one-cell layer lining that runs throughout our blood vessels and arteries that allow the flow of oxygen to every part of the body.  The endothelium produces “magic-like” molecules of gas called nitric oxide.

Functions of Nitric Oxide

Nitric oxide allows our blood to flow smoothly like Teflon (like in a car engine), it keeps things from getting sticky in our veins and arteries.  Nitric oxide is the strongest blood dilator in the body.  It is what prevents arterial stiffness, thickening, and inflammation.  It is what protects you from developing high blood pressure.

As I mentioned earlier, as we age our body loses its ability to produce sufficient amounts of nitric oxide.  If you are like most people eating the Standard American diet (SAD) filled with excess processed sugar, excess processed salt, highly processed seed oils, and excess saturated fat, and eating these foods for decades you have created a scenario of thrashing your endothelial cells.  When endothelial cells are damaged they can no longer produce nitric oxide.  When these foods damage the endothelial cells, little pimples start to form on the inner lining of the blood vessel and artery walls.  As the endothelium develops pimples, it starts to form plaque around it to insulate that area. It starts off as soft plaque and eventually hardens if diet and lifestyle don’t change.

This can lead to hardening of the arteries which becomes a chronic state of inflammation in the blood vessels and arteries.  It’s a vicious cycle causing chronic hypertension. When blood pressure goes up it adds force to the artery walls causing even more damage, and over time this damage leads to more plaque!

The great news is that this cycle can be stopped, and endothelial healing can begin.

Healing the Endothelium

It’s good to keep in mind that if a healthy person with no endothelial dysfunction is moderately eating  the foods that damage endothelial cells, everything should be just fine. But if you are reading this, then you most likely have high blood pressure, and need to really watch out for the foods I will mention below to start the healing process.

Foods that Heal the Endothelium

The following foods are great to add to your meals (and of course minimizing or removing the foods that damage the endothelium).  When you do this you are on your way to creating blood pressure friendly meals.  

The list below is just one part of the healing process to lower blood pressure that I incorporate into my programs like the 10-Day Rejuvenation Reset.  

The following foods are the ones that specifically increase nitric oxide in the body. 

• spinach

• kale

• cauliflower

• broccoli

• beets

• brussel sprouts

• cabbage

• berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries)

• arugula

If you start by adding these foods in abundance and swapping them for other foods to each meal you should be able to see an improvement in your blood pressure in a few weeks. 

More Foods that assist in the production of nitric oxide

Citrus Fruits  Recent research shows that aside from these fiber rich foods playing an essential role in health, the vitamin C in citrus fruits boost nitric oxide levels and maximizing absorption of it in the body.

Dark Chocolate The type flavonoids in dark chocolate help to increase nitric oxide production and protect against oxidative stress which damages endothelial cells according to recent research.

Pomegranate Studies have shown that pomegranate seeds and pomegranate extract help boost the enzymatic process of creating nitric oxide in the body called nitric oxide synthase. This leads to smoother blood flow throughout the whole body leading to better blood pressure numbers in hypertensive individuals.

Garlic You might have heard that garlic intake is a great way to help lower blood pressure, and multiple studies prove it.  Garlic actually triggers the activation of nitric oxide synthase (mentioned above) which converts L-arginine into nitric oxide, thus helping boost nitric oxide in the blood allowing blood to flow smoothly through the blood vessels and arteries. 

A Comprehensive Plan

As you can see from reading this blog a road to healing is not done by one method or a magic bullet. One main part to healing our endothelium is healing the endothelial cells to be able to produce nitric oxide and making sure we are eating the right foods to trigger the enzymatic process of nitric oxide synthase to boost nitric oxide production.

The road to healing can be simplified by thinking of it in a way that mother nature intended us to eat, allowing our bodies to heal.  There’s no need to think about all the physiology involved.  Choosing mother nature’s foods to create meals that heal is very basic and can be easily done. I’ve created a free pdf guide that you can download to make it even easier to follow.  You can download the Core Four Way of Eating  to help lower blood pressure.

So next time you are about to prepare, order, or buy groceries for a meal keep this in mind.  What you put in your mouth can either damage or heal your endothelial cells.  If you want more guidance on how to eat to lower blood pressure and heal your body, you can also join the Lowering Blood Pressure 30-Day Challenge where not only do you get the guide, but it also includes a complimentary holistic health coaching session, PLUS 24-hour email support during the challenge.

I would love to hear from you now! What is your biggest takeaway from this blog post? What will you start doing differently or what comments do you have when it comes to healing your body through nutrition? I’d love to hear about them, you can email me at serene@compoundyourhealth or comment about this post in the Lowering Blood Pressure the Natural Way Facebook group.

In good health, 

Serene Ascha