Prediabetic + High(ish) Blood Pressure

[Nexus6]

Anyone going through both these at the same time, and conflicting diet advice.

BP changes a lot (I react to stress etc, white coat syndrome) but is at best 120/80 under only optimal conditions, and usually in the 130-140/90 range...sometimes higher depending on what I have eaten, stress levels etc.

So, there is the standard advice for both (lots of fruit/veggies/whole grains/low fat/high carb) which we all know is questionable advice from the diabetic standpoint, and then there is the LCHF which by all reports here works quite well for the diabetic side of things, but what is the best way to deal with both?

LCHF and also low salt?

LCHF and blood pressure meds?

What else? Trying to avoid meds if possible, but not sure if there is a way to kill two birds with one stone. I am not really obese so while I am working on losing another 15 pounds or so (I currently dropped from 230lbs to 200 and target is 185)? Would appreciate any thoughts, ideas, suggestions. I DO need to up the exercise so that is a given...with winter coming to an end here, I plan on much more bicycle riding to/from work etc.

 

[bulkbiker]

just did LCHF and my blood pressure dropped from "high" to "normal" . I did lose a fair bit of weight which I think helped too so maybe just try LCHF and see if the same happens with you?
Edit to add didn't really increase exercise at all.

 

[Happyhomelands]

Me too. I have been following lchf since December. My blood pressure and sugars react badly to stress, even low level. Imo doctors are quite good with blood pressure, so if your gp advises blood pressure tablets I'd go with it. The medication won't stop your body from getting the benefit from diet. If your blood pressure drops, then reduce medication. If your sugars are not too high then if diet is going to work for you, diet can quickly bring them down...... Good Luck

 

[kumera]

I've been Pre-diabetic, or known about it, for 18 months now. I went a little bit crazy in the beginning, trying to revert to normal, fasting for breakfast, salads for lunch, and only the meat and veg part of the dinner. My blood pressure has always been in the high end, but it miraculously went almost perfect after I started LCHF. Give it a go, and if your Blood Pressure doesn't get better, then take the medication. I haven't done much exercise either I'm afraid, just walking the dog, but I'm sure biking would be great for your health

 

[Brunneria]

My bp didn’t respond to losing (some) weight, lowering salt, exercise or lchf. But giving up coffee dropped it beautifully in just 3 days.

I guess we are all different.

And I would agree that taking the medication is a good idea until you sort out the root cause. Then, once your bp drops to normal you can come off them.

By the way, lowering salt only works for some people (I think about 20% but google can give you more info on that). So I suggest getting a home bp monitor and doing some comparison testing with and without salt. No point condemning yourself to a tasteless saltless existence if it isn’t necessary.