Alternative treatment for hypertension

In medical school, medical students are not taught that hypertension can be reversed. What they teach is that, when a patient is put on maintenance drugs, he will be on it for life.

But in Dr. I.'s case, she succeeded in getting rid of her hypertension after eight long years of being on maintenance medicine.

Her advice for hypertensives? Use garlic oil. "I haven’t been taking any antihypertensive drug for one and half year now after I experimented with getting off my maintenance medicine (in a tapered dose)," she said.

Of course, she quit the drug little by little to avoid suffering from a rebound effect. "For the first month, I skipped my med every Sunday, then the next month every Saturday and Sunday, and so on," she said.

"I just have vegetable juice and my garlic oil and antioxidant supplements now. So far, my experiment has been successful."

"By the way, don’t use iodized salt in your diet," she advised. "It makes blood even thicker."

"That’s why I got convinced in the role of nutritional therapy. Even I use nutritional oncology on my cancer patients. It all boils down to food. It’s really important to know the source of the disease."

"It’s all about not just what you eat, but also what you digest and absorb."

There is a lot to learn in alternative/complementary or naturopathic medicine!

Detox 101

For those who wish to start on an easy detox regimen, they can resort to juicing vegetables any time they want.

One needs to invest in a juicer. A juicer is quite expensive, but it is worth it.

For the meantime, one can use a blender, but one needs to squeeze using cheese cloth. The problem with using a blender is that the enzyme is destroyed, and one needs to consume the juice right away.

For starters, a combination of carrots, upo, pipino, apple and sayote -- called CUPAS juice -- is recommended. Yes, these are all needed to be processed raw.

Alternative Rx for addiction

For patients with drug addiction problem, Dr. I. uses acupuncture and beam ray.

Drug addiction therapy, she said, can be done in two weeks’ time.

"Try also sliced pineapple dipped in honey every time the cravings go back," she said.

How to clean raw vegetables for juicing

Hygiene is a big issue with raw food. How do you ensure proper hygiene?

To cleanse vegetables, according to Dr. Irene, there are three options:

- Soak them in water. Put 1 tbsp rock salt and squeezed calamansi, then leave for 30 minutes before slicing and juicing.

- Use alkaline water.

or

- Slice a lemon thinly, put in a pitcher of water, then use as cleanser.

or

- Use apple cider vinegar and baking soda.

Cranial massage for hypertension

Who knew there's such a thing as cranial massage? And that it spells wonder to the tired soul, especially the stressed out and hypertensive?

I have experienced a lot of massages, but not this. Acupressure, reflexology, Thai, Swedish, shiatsu, hilot, ventosa, foot spa, dagdagay (Mountain Province traditional foot massage using sticks), and so on.

This one is light in comparison. In fact, very light. I learned about it at Crown Peak the time I visited for a Vital C Drip and detox consult while suffering from hypertension and palpitations due to nervousness and panic attacks (most likely).

This was in Otis St., in the old Manila district. It was a Friday night and, as if that's not more than enough aggravation, it was Valentine's Day too. Anticipating the worst traffic nightmare on the way home -- no cab accommodating me, and if ever there's one, it would rip me off -- the old toxic feeling began to well up. I just finished the therapy, yet there I was again: I began feeling agitated and getting dizzy and nervous at the mere thought, as usual. My doctor, Dr. Irene, took my BP and, true enough, it was quite elevated.

Fortunately, the staff specializing on cranial massage was still on hand despite the advanced hour. Her name is Nanay Puring. Seeing her, I was a bit surprised due to her old age, but later on, she got me impressed. They said she was about 80 years of age and yet she was still limber and all. To my shame, I learned that she still commutes alone -- yes, unassisted -- and even attends zumba (or exercise) sessions at the park. She even said she planned to proceed to Quiapo Church that night (most likely as part of her religious vow).

Nanay Puring is said to have survived a debilitating disorder (involving edema and necrotic skin or something) after resorting to a therapy that Dr. Engie Domondon told her to try. The staff says her healing story is like no less than a miracle.

She began to run her fingers through my hair, applying a kind of oil that has a soothing fragrance (it smelled like lavender). Ever so gently, she touched specific points on my scalp. The simple sensation surprisingly made me calm, and the relaxation I felt was immediate. And I didn't have to go through a spa or pay a stiff fee for a whole-body massage.

I had to admit that the calming effect was addicting; I didn't want it to stop.

My BP was again taken soon after, and guess what -- it went back to normal. If only I could hire Nanay Puring full-time as my private cranial massage therapist.

Rx: Exercise, physical activity

Rx: Sunshine, fresh air