Will a low-carb diet lower blood pressure? Would I need to eat at a ketogenic level in order to get that benefit? I really want to get of the BP meds. I have noticed several improvements since going down to 60g carbs (total), but I have not seen much change in my blood pressure.

Hi Carlie. A lot of folks, if they go from eating the SAD to a ketogenic level of carbs, will see a marked reduction in blood pressure. All the LC books warn people on BP meds to be careful, talk to your doc about reducing the dose.

I noticed from your journal that you've been eating at about 60 g for a month? It could be too high for you if you still have insulin resistance. Elevated insulin can cause your kidneys to hang onto too much water or sodium or both (I forget) and that can elevate blood pressure. You could try going ketogenic and/or intermittent fasting to try to knock the insulin levels down further.

Dr Ken Berry has some informative videos about it. Here's one. He himself had to go to a VLC diet to get his blood pressure down to normal.

Thanks Kristine.
I think you might be right about going down to ketogenic levels. I really didn't want to go that low. I am afraid I will not be able to stick with it. In the past, I struggled to stick with it for more than a couple of weeks. I have been doing great at 60g, except for the blood pressure.

Hi Carlie, I have (had) high BP and am on meds to control it, and my experience has been a little different.

Although I've followed a low carb woe and I also intermittent fast, my BP didn't really reduce as such until I was in sight of my goal weight. I'm now working on tapering my BP meds and hope to be off them completely soon.

Also exercise such as walking really helps. Try a daily walk of at least 30 minutes.

When I'm doing SAD, my BP tends to be borderline, say 135/85 or a bit higher on some days, a bit lower on others.

After being on LC for a few weeks, it tends to drop into the 120/70 range.

But to REALLY get my BP down, I increased my sodium intake to 5000 mg to 7000 mg per day. After a week of that, my BP was down in the 100/65 range.

I had an upper endoscopy under general anesthesia and it dropped so low during the procedure that they were concerned and on the verge on taking measures. During recovery, they told me to eat something salty to raise my blood pressure. I explained to them what I did to get my blood pressure down, and they just nodded and reminded me to eat something salty to get my blood pressure up.

DH has lost about 60 pounds, few dozen to go at least, and I've been after him to up his salt. He's been tapering off his BP meds.

Low carb usually means we need more salt. especially if we cut back in the past due to health concerns.