Richard Moore's book, "The High Blood Pressure Solution," is by no means perfect. The text is repetitive at times, for example. And the dietary program he recommends is sound, but sketchy; you'll probably find yourself hunting for additional materials -- low salt cook books, for example -- to round it out.
Despite that, I give this book 5 stars because it may just be one of the most important books of its kind ever written, a book that could conceivably save millions of lives if recognized and adopted worldwide. And there's every good reason why it should be: the science behind it is absolutely solid. Moore is not only a medical doctor, but ALSO a biophysicist, and this book well reflects that dual background.
A little of my own history may be instructive here. I first developed Stage I / II hypertension in the late 1990s, and did little about it. In April of 2002, I was sent to the ER with hypokalemia (low potassium). From that time until now (July, 2007), I obtained effectively NO help from any of the six doctors I consulted. My current provider is terrific in most ways, but even her help on this has been marginal. My complaint with all these people: though they proudly display their medical degrees, NONE had the slightest clue why I had developed high blood pressure. Not one could explain the hypokalemia, or how it related to my hypertension. Only one ever so much as mentioned diet, saying "You've cut back on salt, right? Good." None had any better idea on treatment but to ply me with expensive drugs that inflicted unending and often brutal side effects. Only my current -- and very caring -- provider took the time to discuss exercise and the critical role it can play.
I finally concluded that the word "essential" in the term "essential hypertension" really means, "We don't have a stinkin' clue."
And as Dr. Moore has now shown me, they were all wrong. A few medical researchers figured out long ago what causes most hypertension; an even larger number of researchers have known, for DECADES, the best course of treatment. Hint: it isn't drugs, and it doesn't require a super-human change in diet or lifestyle for most people. It does make demands, but as I've found they are not nearly so onerous as one might imagine.
Moore, who as a biophysicist spent his career investigating cellular level functions, explains in simple terms the role of sodium and potassium -- the two critical electrolytes -- in the life of every cell in your body. This is really just high school level science. Most people can grasp it, but it is technical. If that's not your thing, Dr. Moore provides chapter summaries and an invitation to skip the hard science parts. I ate it up, however, because for the first time I could see what has been going wrong with my body.
And knowledge is power. In just one week, adopting only a rough outline of his recommendations, I pulled my average BP down into a very safe zone ... something I'd not seen once in the previous 7 years despite all those medications. Those gains have continued, and I anticipate that in coming months I will bring it down further. The key to this is what Moore calls the K-Factor: the ratio of sodium to potassium that you consume. Americans frequently take in less potassium than sodium. Moore builds a case for aiming to reach a K-Factor of 4 (four times as much potassium as sodium each day). He also touches on other critical health issues, such as Type II diabetes ... conditions that may also benefit by adopting a high K-Factor diet.
Note that the author does not claim to have discovered any much of this. The work he and his colleagues did helped elucidate fine points in the knowledge of cell biology (he worked on the pH levels inside cells, for example). But what he HAS done is masterfully synthesize diverse findings drawn from the thousands upon thousands of scientific journal articles published over the decades. He weaves this into a coherent narrative, something no one else that I know of ever accomplished prior to Moore's work.
Before I read this book, I simply had no idea why I was suffering from hypertension. The vast majority of books, articles, and patient information pamphlets I'd read had simply said, "No one knows what causes most hypertension." Some books advance what I believe are half-baked arguments. Many are decent books, advocating fundamentally sound high-potassium, low-sodium diets, but usually based only on empirical observations ... a useful start, but not nearly as good as true science, which requires operative theories tested and ultimately winnowed down to one best theory that explains all observable data. THAT is what Moore's book is really about.
This is not just an academic distinction: by really understanding the mechanism, you can recognize that high blood pressure is merely one of a number of nasty symptoms of hypertension, and maybe not the most dangerous one. You can then set meaningful goals. So, for example, you won't end up just robotically eating a diet dictated to you; you can instead adopt one that aims to meet specific goals while giving you more options and flexibility ... keys to any kind of "lifestyle change" that you might actually hope to adopt for an entire lifetime.
Finally, I notice that several other reviewers had some unkind things to say about this book. Having plowed through MOST of the recent books on this topic that you'll find here at Amazon, I can tell you that Moore's book truly stands alone in the quality and exhaustiveness of his citations, and the fundamental logic he brings to the topic. One reviewer seemed almost enraged because his book is not the book she wanted to buy (rather like someone rating Harry Potter with one star only because it isn't about flying saucers). But her criticisms are largely unfair and inaccurate, in most cases suggesting she'd done no more than skim the actual book. Another reviewer claims Moore is flogging vegetarianism. But he most decidedly does NOT do that; he specifically notes that he lumps together vegans, vegetarians, and even folks who eat fish and lean meats sparingly. He makes it clear that ANY diet that gets you to a K-Factor of about 4 will mostly do the job, vegetarian or not.
Another reviewer praised this book, and marveled that it hadn't sold millions of copies. I concur. "The High Blood Pressure Solution" is a terrific and profoundly important book that can help you avoid hypertension, or defeat it if you already suffer from the malady.
