Saturday, April 3, 2010

Prescription Drugs

I've recently been diagnosed with hypertension and my doc, a handsome young man who reminds me of my older brother, has prescribed a medication to bring down the blood pressure. I'm not a big fan of taking meds, so I wasn't all that happy about it, but neither did I want to court a stroke or a heart attack. We make choices in life, albeit sometimes reluctant ones.

Unfortunately, this medication, rarely, can effect one's electrolyte balance. The result is, in my case, extreme fatigue and the occasional interesting dizzy spell within days of taking the pills.

I reported these symptoms via email to my doc, like a good little patient, and he sent me to the lab for a blood test that revealed slightly low potassium levels. If you recall from your biology class, the body uses a combination of calcium, potassium and sodium to bring nutrients into and out of your cells. Grossly simplified, if the balance between these three is disrupted - voilà!, fatigue and dizzy spells.

So, here's his latest prescription, foods high in potassium. Now, this is a prescription I can really get behind! Potatoes are among my favorite foods, avocados are everyone's favorite food, and strawberry season has just begun in earnest here in NOCA, where it will continue in a luscious rush until October. My list of medications also includes oranges, orange juice, raisins, cantaloupe and bananas. The only one I'm reluctant to take is bananas, since they come with such a heavy carbon footprint, but I may need to resort to those when the strawberries stop and the oranges aren't yet in season.

In the meantime, I hit the farmer's market yesterday and stocked up on these high-potassium items - doctor's orders!

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7 Comments:

Blogger Louis la Vache said...

Interesting timing of this post:
«Louis» just got an e-mail from an uncle with similar advice. The origin of the e-mail was a doctor who has an 80% success rate in treating cancer with fresh fruit. His advice is to eat the fruit uncooked and on an empty stomach between meals, not on a full stomach with meals. As «Louis» also has hypertension and prefers that his (ahem) exit come from some means other than cancer, "Someone" must be trying to tell him something...

Saturday, April 03, 2010  
Blogger Greg said...

At least the doctor did not put you on the "if it tastes good...spit it out" diet! ;)

Saturday, April 03, 2010  
Blogger Nancy Ewart said...

I fully understand the reluctance to take pills. I am pre-diabetic and am cutting back on carbs in an effort to being my blood sugar levels down. No potatoes, no rice, no bananas and not much bread so there goes my beloved Acme Italian bread except for special occasions. But I can get behind the strawberries - Strawberry Fields Forever! But you still have a long list of great and healthy foods to eat and when strawberry season is over, you can always get good, frozen and unsweetened strawberries from places like Whole Foods or Rainbow Grocery.

Saturday, April 03, 2010  
Blogger Louis la Vache said...

Zoomie, please contact «Louis» here:


He has an idea he wants to ask you about.

Merci!

Saturday, April 03, 2010  
Blogger cookiecrumb said...

Zoomie: I saw that entire list of foods on Facebook, and was thrilled at the lusciousness of it all; mostly food we eat all the time anyway! Enjoy your diet.

Saturday, April 03, 2010  
Blogger Zoomie said...

Louis, hmmm, guess you'd better listen! :-) Your comment didn't leave a number or email address where I could reach you. I'm not sure what happened...

Greg, I think my doc knows me better than that - he'd know that would be a total flop.

We are lucky here in CA - most of my "meds" are in season at least part of the year and OJ is always available. Thanks for the tip about winter frozen strawberries. If I had a bigger freezer, I could freeze them myself!

Cookiecrumb, yes, this is a "medication regimen" I can really get behind!

Saturday, April 03, 2010  
Blogger Louis la Vache said...

Evidently «Louis» made a formatting error when he was trying to leave you his e-mail. He'll try it this way:
louislavache at cafe-saint-honore dot com

;-)

Thank you!

Monday, April 05, 2010  

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