Hello Catnapper,

Like your husband I'm a person who don't like to take medicines at all. What I do is take alternative medicine! We all know that medicines fix one end and harm the other, so it take the natural way of solving my health problems whenever I can.

My mother suffers from high blood pressure too and she also has an irregular heart beat and she does take her medications on a daily basis. BUT I have introduced her to using Garlic and Chillies which are both ingredients known to lower high blood pressure.

My book which bears the name of Healing Foods says:

Chillies:

Properties-an excelent source if vitamins especially C, minerals,flavonoids, fibre and carbohydrates.

Health benefits-contain compounds essential for maintaining good health and prevention of disease. Capsaicinmakes the eyes and nose 'run', thus acting as a decongestant. Chillies may also help to lower blood pressure, thin the blood nd reduce cholesterol levels, all of which protect the heart and circulation.

Garlic:

Properties-contains several active substances, includingsulphur compunds, which are responsable for the pungent, aromatic flavour

Health benefits-has anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties and recent studies have shown that eating raw garlic cloves reduces nasal congestion, bronchitis and cold symptoms and protects against reinfection. Compounds in garlic help to lower blood pressure and reduce levels of blood cholesterol, hence protecting the heart and circulation. It has been claimed that garlic may protect against certain cancers but there is no scientific evidence for this. Cooking may reduce galic's health benefits.

If the taste is too strong one still can swollow the galic cloves whole....like a pill.

Mum introduced both the chillies and the garlic in her cooking and her blood pressure reduced considerably, she now takes half the medicine she used to take and became subject to low blood pressure......she sometimes faints due to this!

So, you see you can help your husband in feeling better and please change the cooking but tell him nothing to why you're doing this. You'll be doing what you can in helping him .........secretly!

Good luck! Wish you both all the best!

Karen