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

Introducing Crown Peak Foundation, Inc.

                                                    “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”                                                                                                              - Hippocrates


Crown Peak Foundation, Inc. is a wellness and lifestyle consultancy service group catering to patients and well people seeking alternative approaches to healing. Its core belief is based on an integrated approach to health management through natural therapeutic remedies tailored to the three aspects of human life: body, mind, and spirit. Crown Peak is convinced that these three aspects are intricately connected, such that a defect in one can’t help but result in a disorder in another. One's thought life, for example, has a bearing on how one's digestive system functions or malfunctions. The Foundation, therefore, aims to address all three areas simultaneously, which is a way of attempting to address the totality of a person in the person's quest for a happier, healthier life.

In this approach, the cause of the disease is investigated at the root instead of curing just the symptoms in the typical fashion of Western medicine. This way, Crown Peak emphasizes its concern on disease prevention instead of cure.

A wide variety of wholistic health management techniques and natural remedies is offered, which its staff have trained for and meticulously studied through the years. Founded in February 1998 by Engie D. Domondon, M.D., who is considered the mother of alternative medicine in the Philippines, after surviving breast cancer thanks to vegetable juicing, Crown Peak is geared towards service, especially to those seeking traditional routes to healing after being dissatisfied with pharmaceutical side effects and the option of surgery, if not giving up entirely on Western (orthodox or allopathic) medical practices.

Among the services offered are: medical consultation, with emphasis on disease prevention and reversal; health counseling; wholistic therapy, including martial arts healing; and training and review for students in naturopathic medicine.

The health profiling techniques used include: ARDK (Automatic Replective Diagnostic Kinetics), iris analysis, live blood analysis, and random blood sugar analysis.

The repertoire of wholistic therapy ranges from acupuncture with moxa; massage according to blood type; massage according to brain dominance; hydrotherapy; detox via colon, kidney, skin, or foot; resonance therapy; beam ray; AMWand, Dorn method spinal alignment; Swedish massage; Thai massage; shiatsu; hilot; ventosa; and spinal massage. 

As for martial arts healing, an instructor on kung fu and tai-chi is available for schedule.

For naturopathic training and review purposes, the following subjects are covered: acupuncture with moxa, massage according to blood type, massage according to brain dominance, Dorn method spinal alignment, basic and advance course, Breuss massage, SPA combination massage, reflexology, massage therapy NCII, Swedish massage, hilot wellness massage NCII, and ventosa.

On the side, Crown Peak also sells herbal products and supplies related to alternative health care. The following products are offered: phytoenzymes, Sim Kee, Hoyce Co, Dragon Tiger, Neo Medicine Oil, massage oils, aroma oils, and herbal soaps.

The following supplies in alternative medicine are also on sale: acupuncture machines, acupuncture needles, smokeless moxa, and activated charcoal.

A happy and healthy life is largely a choice. Choose peace of mind and health now! Visit Crown Peak Foundation to help you commit to a lifestyle of wellness through alternative means. Aside from Engie Domondon, M.D., you will meet the following among its staff: Elmie Ragas, N.P., Master Alex Zamora, Irene Peñamante, M.D., and Reynalda Canonigo, N.P.

The clinic is located at L'Eau Vive Restaurant, Asia cor. Pax Guazon/Sanciangco Sts., across Robinson Otis, Paco, Manila. Tel. +63-2-466-1452, 0920-410-4000, 0923-231-5142 (look for Reyna), and 0929-203-9017. Or email: mailcrownpeak@gmail.com

Finally I found kindred souls

After half a lifetime of loneliness in my suffering, I have found people similarly situated as I am: people who palpitate hard after eating anything with gluten or anything overly sweet. Here are our similar stories: http://cancersalves.com/discus_cs/messages/2/66.html?1094291685

To quote the original poster:

During many years I've been experiencing a bad body reaction to carbohydrates and mostly starches. When I eat them I get strong palpitations and my pulse races like a wild horse to 120-140 or who knows how much because I get too scared to check it, so I feel awful during the digestive process. 
The food triggers are: breads, cookies, pastas, rice, cornmeal, beans, potatoes, yucca, bananas, grapes, oranges, etc. And the most awful combination I can think of is that of wheat+sugar, for example, a birthday cake, donuts with glace, dried fruits, and desserts which are too sweet (like anything in heavy syrup). 
If I could live ONLY eating proteins, vegetables, salads, milk and dairy products, I will never experience palpitations due to foods. But carbohydrates and starches are in my table every day. 
I have told this problem to several doctors at different times. Some didn't seem to believe me at all. Others said that maybe I was allergic to those foods. Other mentioned that maybe flatulence was the cause of the palpitations. Another decided to run glucose tests on me just to make sure, but they came out negative more than one time, no diabetes. 
Finally, a doctor said that my problem was probably due to a chemical reaction of the body caused by the ingestion of starches and carbohydrates (I wonder about potassium), but that it would be very complicated and costly to pinpoint the problem and define when or how it all began, so he ended up prescribing Tenormin (50 mgs daily) to keep the palpitations under control. 
Since then, I've been doing much better. I even tolerate more those foods despite the fact that I still get palpitations (I was miserable, absolutely miserable years ago, I couldn't eat anything!). Now, eating less amounts of the triggers and taking Tenormin daily helps a lot, but the problem is that I depend entirely on the Tenormin supplies from the pharmacy because I feel horrible without it! So although I'm not a drug addict, I certainly am a Tenormin-addict! 
I wonder whether this problem is related to blood chemistry (my blood type is A) because I do much better in a vegetarian diet -but without too much carbohydrates and starches. Anyway, I'm naturally inclined to be a vegetarian (the body knows!), with very little meat (if any), some chicken and some fish. I also love milk and dairy products. I digest them wonderfully and find interesting the fact that despite the carbohydrates contained in the milk, it doesn't give me any palpitations. 
Well, as you all see I'm still trying to find some answers to this old problem. I really thought I was an abnormal case for years! However, I've found that a lot of people get palpitations when they eat wheat, carbohydrates, or starchy products. I'm sure that many more get the same palpitations too, only that they haven't associated yet their palpitations with those foods. It took me a while to realize it, a lot of tests and keen observation, so they probably think it's stress-related or a physical ailment. 
Do you have any ideas, suggestions, that can help? I discovered your web site because I'm very interested in occult healing and astro-heal. 
Thank you so much, and keep up the good work! 

Here's another site about palps but is less helpful to me: http://voices.yahoo.com/living-heart-palpitations-benign-arrhythmias-7814486.html?com=2&cat=5

Hydrotherapy for HTN?

A friend nurse recommended water therapy every morning for hypertension. Can I hack it? More importantly, is it effective?

Well, there's no harm in trying. It's just water, after all -- as long as I am able to excrete excess water, I will be OK.

Here's how it is reportedly done for HTN: gulp down around three glasses of water first thing in the morning.

The details here: http://www.newhealthguide.org/Drinking-Water-In-The-Morning.html

My wellness haul

Calamansi herbal soap from DOH

I have tried this soap for two days and it seems refreshing to the skin. My only mistake was I tried it after finishing a soap with papaya in it, meaning my skin was just recuperating from exfoliation. Maybe I should try this again after my skin thickens again. I will report the results later.

Other naturopathic recommendations

My naturopath’s other recommendations are quite numerous she was practically telling me to change my whole lifestyle. Just to give you an overview:

Breathing

For nervousness, I was told to do this breathing exercise tailored for those with blood type B: Breathe through nostril by inhaling in the left nostril and exhaling in the right nostril seven times in seven cycles.

Blood type diet

For those with blood type B like me, a colorful or rainbow diet is best. For example, violet (violet camote tops), yellow, and orange vegetables and fruits. Those with blood type A and AB should prefer eating green, blue, and brown foods.

Limited protein

The problem with our food consumption is a matter of portion, my doctor said, implying that we eat too much of many things.

Being hypertensive and an insomniac, I was told to consume no meat (chicken, pork and beef), or at least have limited intake. If I can, I should avoid chicken for all the hormones used in the feeds. If I must have chicken, the Bounty Fresh brand is said to be free-range.

I should also limit fish, especially tilapia and bangus due to the toxins in the feeds. I should prefer deep-sea fish, for lower risk of heavy metal consumption.

I should refrain from shrimps, crabs, mussels, clams, oysters, and squid because these organisms eat debris containing heavy metal.

I should try sourcing my proteins from plants, through seeds, beans, and nuts.

No sugar

I was also told to stop consuming anything with white sugar. That I should prefer raw honey or muscovado sugar. Or if I can, stevia, to get my fix of sweets minus the calories.

Minimized salt

For salt, I should prefer rock salt over iodized salt, which is said to worsen hypertension.

GMO-free

I was told to avoid anything with GMO products. Canola oil is not recommended for this reason. Olive oil is recommended.

Vegetable diet

For hypertension, in particular, I was told to go on a steamed vegetable diet for one week.

Juicing

My case of insomnia and even hypertension, which appears to be due to nervousness, the naturopathic doctor said, is a case of an inability to sleep as a result of nervous tension or excessive acidity in the system.

I was told to juice carrot (10 oz) and spinach (6 oz). Or carrot + celery + parsley + spinach.

Or carrot (10 oz) + celery (6 oz).

Or carrot (10 oz) + beet (3 oz) + cucumber (3 oz).

Or grapefruit (16 oz).

To sum up, I was told to have a NEW START:

NUTRITION

EXERCISE

WATER

SUNSHINE

TEMPERANCE

AIR

REST

TRUST IN GOD/DIVINE POWER

I hope to discuss my experience in each of these as the days go by.

TIENS BP Balancer

This new gadget reportedly works like acupressure.

It is used to regulate bio-electricity to improve energy 'qi' flow in our meridians. It lowers blood pressure in just 3-5 minutes. This gadget could save your life when hypertension strikes.

How to use it:

Place on top of the skull for a few seconds, press gently, then move it down as though combing hair.

In case of hypotension, the movement is reversed.

I have used this gadget several times while on the verge of a hypertensive attack, and I swear it works every time. I also use it to calm me down while palpitating badly.

This is a product of the TIENS Group, which also markets such items as Cordyceps Mycelium capsules and Cordycafe coffee and Acumagic, a three-minute automatic disease detector.

TIENS focuses on prevention rather than crisis management of a disease. Its products are reportedly recognized by the United Nations, NASA, and health bodies.

Foot patch

After usage

As an adjunct to the cleansing regimen, I was also given two pairs of foot patches. I was instructed to place both patches on my sole at bedtime. The patches smelled pleasant and felt…warm as the minutes passed by.

I was surprised to find my soles perspiring profusely upon waking up. That’s a new interesting experience! Compared to choking on finger chilis, I'd choose this type of inducing perspiration anytime.

Way to go!

Brown rice cereal drink

Knowing how much I am prone to heart palpitations, nervousness/anxiety, and full-blown panic attacks, my naturopathic doctor advised me to stop coffee altogether. Not even decaf has her approval.

"But coffee reputedly contains lots of antioxidants," I objected.

"You can get all those from other natural sources," she countered.

In place of my favorite drug for a morning wake-upper, she recommended a brown rice-based energy drink to perk me up another way.

I learned from the label that this Brown Rice Cereal drink is made of brown rice and rice bran, instant oats, coco(nut)-based creamer, and stevia.

The inclusion of an alternative to dairy milk and alternative to table sugar gladdened my nervous heart. Even though I am sensitive to the gluten in the oats, I risked taking it, although I have to admit that, in 99% of cases, I had to sieve all the oats using a strainer.

As for the taste, it is pleasantly milky, even creamy, and faintly nutty due to the brown rice. I miss my coffee, truth be told, but this is not half-bad as a concession to comforting warmth and picker-upper at early AM.

You can buy Brown Rice Cereal from:

Bio-Safe Center for Complementary Medicine Inc.
65-A Linaw St., Siena QC. Tel. 4119168, 4165618, 09178381169.

Colon cleanse tea

Colon cleansing is now being considered by many quarters as a major way of detoxifying the system of potential causes of disease. Why resort to colonics or colon cleanse?

According to no less than the British Medical Association, “Death begins in the gut (colon).” What they mean is that health and sickness are rooted in the gut/colon. A dirty colon results in dirty blood, and we all know this leads to a sick body.

The adult human colon is 4-6 feet long. Stress, pollutants and parasites can irritate the gut, and this may result in an especially badly impacted colon. 

In the book Colon Health by Dr. Norman Walker, a gut/colon therapy chart is presented which indicates the specific parts of the colon that correspond to certain areas of concern in the body. This colon/gut map gives you a good picture of your health condition. 

Combined with a positive mindset and proper nutrition, a colon cleanse is an alternative medical imperative, if we are to help prevent most sickness. Dr. Teresa Bitanga Valeros, NMD, PhD, concedes that “a healthy inner ecology is the best defense against dis-ease. Keep healthy by addressing your body’s ecological balance, its gut integrity and overall immunity.”

"Colon therapy is the best step to maintain and regain health by fighting disease the natural way. Find out your individualized health care program and learn how to strengthen your immune system, your body’s natural protector of life! Have your gut/colon check-up now!"

***

In my case, I was given by my naturopathic doctor two sets of colon cleanse teas, to be taken for two weeks, 30 minutes after dinner.  At first I was afraid after reading the ingredients on the label: green tea, glabrous greenbrier rhizome, upright ladybell root, common yam rhizome, senna leaf and cassia seed. Green tea, I thought, may contain caffeine, and it might result in palpitations. The other ingredients, I feared, might trigger an allergic reaction.

The direction on the label also reads: "Steep one colon cleanse tea in 359 ml boiling water. Drink it hot 30 min after dinner." Sounds fun, except that I tend to have a sour tummy after I take tea this way. The souring also makes me go hungry even though I have just eaten.

After deciding to let go of my fears, I jumped in and trusted my naturopathic doctor, and guess what? The tea didn't taste so bad at all. It's no different from regular tea, in terms of taste. What's more -- it gave me no dreaded palps. Neither did I saw a need to reach for antihistamines or worse. Thank God! 

The only drawback I can think of is the slightly souring of stomach, which makes me go artificially hungry. But this downside is minimal and highly manageable.

Each time I take the tea, I notice this effect: improved/enhanced egestion. You have to try it to see for yourself because words won't do justice.

Activated carbon

For detox, my doctor advised me to, among other things, take activated carbon capsules, 1 cap 3x a day I hr after meals. This is supposed to absorb some of the toxins in my system the way poison adsorbs to the activated carbon. 

One immediate effect I noticed is that the bloating in my stomach is gone.

Garlic oil

For hypertension, I was given three “rapid release” softgels of garlic oil, each gel equivalent to a 5000 mg of fresh garlic bulb. Under the Puritan’s Pride Premium brand, it is guaranteed to be all-natural and additive-free.

I was advised to take 3 gels in the morning or 1 gel three time a day preferably with meals.

I have been taking it for several weeks as an adjunct to losartan 50 mg (still afraid to give up the drug entirely, fearing withdrawal effects), and thus far, I can readily say garlic oil in this dose is effective in minimizing the symptoms of hypertension. Try it! 

Vital C Drip

At the Crown Peak Clinic in Otis, I had the Vital C Drip. This procedure is basically a Vitamin C booster shot (500 mg, the maximum RDA) to the body via IV insertion. Being an antioxidant, Vitamin C bolsters the immune system and cleanses and detoxifies the blood. This procedure also bypasses the alimentary canal, which is a great idea because I often experience souring in the stomach each time I take vitamin C tablets or any juice fortified with it.

I was surprised this took quite long, around five hours, not to mention I had to be pierced in the hand, which is a routine clinical method I don’t enjoy very much, especially when the doctor or nurse has a hard time locating my anxious veins (ha-ha!). There’s something about the idea and sight of blood that makes me nervous and nauseous.

After the IV drip, I noticed I was burping, which they say is an indication that the detox process has begun.

At the end, I also felt a need to take a leak, which was a good psychological feeling. It made me feel I was indeed expelling all the toxins out of my system, and that the cleansing process was indeed taking effect. 

Live blood analysis

This was taken at The Farm.

The live blood analysis I went through at Richter Alternative Medical Center showed the same image that I saw at The Farm in Lipa City (see photo). This time, however, the image was magnified several times, making it easier for me to view my blood cells.

There were the usual healthy red blood cells, and unhealthy ones. A great deal of cells are stacked, most are pale (because I lacked sleep, Dr. I. said), and I saw a few bacteria and amoeba-like white blood cells. I also saw the presence of cholesterol and some dark bodies, which are toxins (mostly likely due to the diphenhyramine I was taking, said Dr. I.).

The most significant finding, Dr. I. said, is the protein linkages due to a probably high-protein diet (which I hereby confirm guiltily) and therefore highly acidic, and toxic, diet.

This is a time of reckoning for me once again.

Case history

On February 14, 2014, I sought the help of a friend who is a doctor of medicine and into alternative, naturopathic medicine. I told her I had found it hard to sleep since December of last year, and I had relied on low-dose diphenhydramine on and off to help me get through the night. (A couple of years ago, another doctor taught me to take low-dose Benadryl for insomnia.) The night before February 14, I was panicky because I failed to sleep despite taking low-dose diphen at 9 PM. This had never happened to me before.

Since I was also having panic attacks especially when commuting alone, which perhaps I developed after I had hypertension while walking around the city and feared it might attack again while I was alone in the road or somewhere it is not easy to seek help, I requested another friend with a car to help me get to the clinic.

Upon consultation at the clinic, called Richter Alternative Medical Center (Pasay City), Dr. I. concluded that my body was already toxic and thus in need of cleansing.

She investigated my medical history. Among the things I told her was my insomnia problem on top of my hypertension plus panic attacks. I told her that I usually get only four hours of sleep and that, in case of more than four hours, I often wake up in the middle of sleep for about an hour (this is known as midnight insomnia). The worst incidents were when I only got two hours of sleep and when I was awake all through the night. I also informed her that I had been taking UNO wheatgrass/barley capsules as food supplement because they made me feel better. That's on top of my maintenance medicine of losartan 50 mg/day -- I had been prescribed metoprolol 50 mg/day for palpitations by another doctor, but I stopped it after experiencing frightening bradycardias. 

(Earlier, I sought Dr. I's help through text message, and she texted back, "Drink half a cup of warm water," and I did. Out of fear, I even over did it, drinking all of four cups! Tee-hee.)

At the clinic, Dr. I. had my blood analyzed via Live Blood Analysis.

Next, she prescribed:

Garlic oil

Activated carbon

Colon cleanse tea

Foot patch

Brown rice energy drink in place of caffeine

Richter C (Vitamin C, ginseng, and Agaricus mushroom)

TIENS gadget related to acupressure (for hypertension)

After that, we moved to another clinic, Crown Peak Foundation Inc. at Otis St. in Manila, for the following:

Vital C Drip
Comprehensive lifestyle change recommendations

(I failed to inform Dr. I. about my sensitivity to anything with gluten: wheat, oats, barley seeds, bread, pasta, noodles, and Chinese buns that are not made of rice flour.)

------------------

Richter Alternative Medical Center is located at 4th Floor, Alen Condominium, 92 Gil Puyat, Pasay City. It is near Balbido's Clinic and the corner 7-11. It is walking distance from LRT Buendia and 50 meters away from corner Harrison and Buendia. It is on the right side of Buendia going to Macapagal Ave. and Roxas Blvd. but before World Trade Center. On the opposite side of Buendia, one can see the following landmarks: BDO (?), OWWA, and Savory Restaurant.

Look for Dr. Irene Peñamante.

Crown Peak Foundation Inc. is located at L'Eau Vive Restaurant, Asia cor. Pax Guazon/Sanciangco Sts., across Robinson Otis, Paco, Manila. Tel. +63-2-466-1452, 0920-410-4000, 0923-231-5142 (look for Reyna), and 0929-203-9017.

Look for:

Engie D. Domondon, M.D.

Elmie Ragas, N.P.

Master Alex Zamora

Irene Peñamante, M.D.

Commitment to get well

I have been sick. But, if God permits, I will get well. This is my commitment to myself, and this blog will document my journey to wellness. Wish me well.