Everyone knows that abandoning healthy living has consequences. If one eats willy-nilly and never exercises, don’t be surprised if type II diabetes is profit. Not in any hurry to quit smoking? A 2300 percent increased risk of dying of lung cancer tends to prod puffers to put a stanch on the stench. And when it comes to high blood pressure, not only does it adversely impact one’s eyesight, heart and kidney function, but it can also impair one’s cognitive function. In short, it can make you downright dumber.

This was discovered after researchers from North Carolina State University conducted a series of tests on about 40 elderly participants that assessed their cognitive abilities via problem solving tasks, pattern recognition exercises and reasoning skills. What they wanted to see was what, if any, impact spiking blood pressure readings had on their ability to perform these tests, particularly among those who were diagnosed as hypertensive.

The researchers had the participants perform these thought-provoking tasks for 60 days, two times a day, checking their blood pressure readings regularly. What they found was that while virtually all the participants’ blood pressure readings spiked occasionally, only those with diagnosed hypertension showed marked decline in cognitive function when their blood pressure readings spiked.

At this point, the researchers can’t be certain what’s linking diminished brain performance and spiking blood pressure. Could it be stress? Is there, in fact, a causal link between the brain’s ability to perform and spiking blood pressure levels? That’s for further research to determine.

There are several reasons why hypertension is often referred to as “the silent killer.” The most well-known reason is that there are few obvious symptoms of hypertension. But another reason hypertension carries the silent-killer moniker is the scant attention it receives in the media. Sure, there are reports here and there on the dangers of hypertension, but nothing like the kind of attention that other health maladies receive (the plague of obesity perhaps being covered more than anything). That’s not to diminish the importance of giving other health issues their due coverage, but when one in three adults have high blood pressure in this country, it ought to receive more coverage than it does presently.

Perhaps it doesn’t receive more attention is related to the fundamentally flawed belief among many “health professionals” in the media, not to mention the pharmaceutical industry elite, that high blood pressure is a natural part of aging. That high blood pressure is somehow inevitable with age.

It isn’t.

With the proper amount of nutrients, vitamins, natural supplements and exercise, the body (and mind) age like a fine wine – becoming more refined and distinguished as time goes by. Please keep an eye out for my new hardcover book The Blood Pressure Miracle, due out in stores soon!