Flora Proactive Blood Pressure Minidrink

Slinky

Both my mother-in-law and Dad have been taking this for blood pressure problems and both found it was lowering their blood pressure.

Found out from Dad this morning when he's been to the doctors for something else, they checked his blood pressure and it's gone up again. He can't find this product in the shops, so I've contacted the Flora Careline - only to find it's been discontinued 'for commercial reasons.' Apparently wasn't selling well enough, but the lady did say they'd had a number of calls asking what had happened to it, so obviously Dad and MIL are not the only ones who felt it was of benefit.

Whilst I know they are a commercial company with shareholders to account to it seems a crying shame to remove a product with health benefits for some purely for commercial reasons.

Have you been using it, has it worked for you? Do you want to keep taking it?

If so their careline number is 0800 446464 or send a letter to

Unilever UK
Flora pro.activ
Freepost ADM3940
London SW1A 1YR

Ted_Hutchinson

Slinky wrote:

Found out from Dad this morning when he's been to the doctors for something else, they checked his blood pressure and it's gone up again.

Do be aware that blood pressure changes through the day and according to circumstances. While the actual pressure recorded at the surgery may be more accurate than home blood pressure monitors a regular reading taken morning and evening at home will present the doctors with a more accurate picture of what his normal levels are.
Since I found mine was a bit high after I bought a £9.99 Lloyds Pharmacy automatic blood pressure monitor I've tracked mine and it's surprising how much it varies. Repeating a test after 10 minutes rest will often show the first reading had been done too soon after a meal or after exercise/walking/stress.
Bpassoc have an excel worksheet to record your readings on and this presents a nice graph to show how you are doing over a period.
Lidl's Blood Pressure Monitor£6.99 this Thursday. This isn't as good as the Lloyds as it's a wrist one. The arm cuffs are supposed to be better.

I've cut down on the booze, increased exercise, lost a bit of weight and I'm now normal or at least my BP is.

• Your Guide to Lowering Blood Pressure With DASH

I should also point out that the Pro-Active range is promoted as Cholesterol lowering, not blood pressure lowering. I don't think the two are directly connected though many of the the things you do are the same to lower each but simply using pro-activ plant sterols would not have improved their blood pressure readings. flora BP information would mention the blood pressure lowering effects of Pro activ IF there were any. As Pro-activ only lowers cholesterol Flora do not make any claims at all about any other effect on BP.

Savvy_Sue

Soneone (and it could well have been Flora) was selling two different kinds of drink: a BP lowering one and a Cholesterol lowering one. I couldn't work out why they didn't combine the two, because the two issues are often linked, and I didn't think it could do any harm to lower both!

In fact I'm sure it was Flora, because they had a Roadshow where I had a free sample in the summer. Ted, sounds like the reason they're not promoting the BP lowering one is because they've discontinued!

Ted_Hutchinson

Savvy_Sue wrote:

Soneone (and it could well have been Flora) was selling two different kinds of drink: a BP lowering one and a Cholesterol lowering one. I couldn't work out why they didn't combine the two, because the two issues are often linked, and I didn't think it could do any harm to lower both!

In fact I'm sure it was Flora, because they had a Roadshow where I had a free sample in the summer. Ted, sounds like the reason they're not promoting the BP lowering one is because they've discontinued!

this research supports the idea that flora's dairy peptides would lower bp but I have looked on their site and direct mention of the blood pressure lowering product is conspicous by it's absence.
Clearly if they are not marketing it that's the reason for the missing blood pressure references.
All the more reason to ask Flora to try again, but make it cheaper next time round.

EdInvestor

Ted_Hutchinson wrote:

Since I found mine was a bit high after I bought a £9.99 Lloyds Pharmacy automatic blood pressure monitor I've tracked mine and it's surprising how much it varies. Repeating a test after 10 minutes rest will often show the first reading had been done too soon after a meal or after exercise/walking/stress.

I've had exactly the same experience.Two readings - one at the beginning and one at the end of a consultation at the surgery reduced the level from high to normal. In my case the stress was probably caused by being late for the appointment due to a traffic jam, but it seems some people's BP levels shoot up because they are nervous of seeing the doctor.It's called "white coat syndrome". :rolleyes:

dorry_2

EdInvestor wrote:

I've had exactly the same experience.Two readings - one at the beginning and one at the end of a consultation at the surgery reduced the level from high to normal. In my case the stress was probably caused by being late for the appointment due to a traffic jam, but it seems some people's BP levels shoot up because they are nervous of seeing the doctor.It's called "white coat syndrome". :rolleyes:

hi :wave:

yesterday i had my bp taken and it was up again, i am sure that i have white coat as it seems to normal when i don't go to docs???

ted, thanks for tip on bp monitor i am going to buy one from lloyds today.

how long did it take for yours to come down after increasing excercise and cutting down on drink etc???

love dorry xxxxxxxxxx

Ted_Hutchinson

dorry wrote:

hi :wave:

yesterday i had my bp taken and it was up again, i am sure that i have white coat as it seems to normal when i don't go to docs???

ted, thanks for tip on bp monitor i am going to buy one from lloyds today.

how long did it take for yours to come down after increasing exercise and cutting down on drink etc???

love dorry xxxxxxxxxx

I could see the difference over a week or two. The excel spreadsheet from bpassoc linked to below highlights the figures that are too high in red so you can see how many red numbers over the week. I was near the borderline anyway, just miffed because my partner whose older than me, was absolutely normal rather than high normal. But initially I had red numbers most days, now it's just occasionally in the red and usually it's because I'm sitting at the PC while I'm doing my Blood pressure and quietly fuming at some of the replies.

dorry_2

Ted_Hutchinson wrote:

I could see the difference over a week or two. The excel spreadsheet from bpassoc linked to below highlights the figures that are too high in red so you can see how many red numbers over the week. I was near the borderline anyway, just miffed because my partner whose older than me, was absolutely normal rather than high normal. But initially I had red numbers most days, now it's just occasionally in the red and usually it's because I'm sitting at the PC while I'm doing my Blood pressure and quietly fuming at some of the replies.

hi ted :wave:

thanks for your reply, i have been and bought one! it was 128 / 82:T so it has put my mind to rest slighty. i also have bought a dance fitness dvd which is really good. normally its not my type of thing, but need must:p i do that as well as walk the dog (which i do daliy anyway) and see if i can see the difference

love dorry

Ted_Hutchinson

In case you didn't find the spreadsheet this is from
Bpassoc
Recording Readings
It is important to record readings accurately, and to take them with you when you visit your doctor or nurse. Many people use a computer file to keep their readings and work out an average. The Excel spreadsheet below is designed to record a months worth of readings and to calculate the average reading for you. The average of your readings is displayed at the bottom of the chart and there is room for you to record details of your activities and medications. The file allows you to record readings for morning and evening each day but you may chose to take readings less often. To open the file click here. If a dialogue box appears about macros, click the button to 'disable macros' to open the file.

Ted_Hutchinson

Whole-grain diets reduce blood pressure in mildly hypercholesterolemic men and women. won't help those who already only eat brown rice, wholewheat bread and wholegrain cereal.

23 people (very small study) were on this diet for three separate five-week periods where they replaced refined carbs with whole grains, it was found that their blood pressure levels dropped between 1.4 and 6.7 points.
More benefits of whole grain here
Brown rice: healthbenefits
Whole wheat: healthbenefits