Natural Beta Blockers?

Hello everyone, I will probably get a notice for using the N word even though it's a genuine question.

Has anyone explored using natural beta blockers and do you know or have proof it has helped?

Basically all beta blockers do for anyone with heart disease is slow down the heart, I know it has been prescribed to people who are nervous going on stage and as a stress reliever but it is mostly used for heart conditions.

They say bananas and dates are natural beta blockers. Has anyone seen results from that?

Here are some articles I have read, bananas seem to be the common one.

drberg.com/blog/8-natural-b...

adityabirlacapital.com/heal...

healthline.com/health/natur...

bensnaturalhealth.com/blog/...

tsmp.com.au/blog/looking-fo...

[jeanjeannie50]

Wow, not heard of this before - quite amazing! I eat quite a lot of the foods mentioned and my heart rate is pretty good, have managed to reduce my bisoprolol dose too.

Jean

[Threecats]

Hi Tony

Thank you for posting this. I do have quite a varied diet but there’s always room to improve and “up my game” and I would certainly like to reduce my Bisoprolol dose if I can. I’ll be experimenting with some of the suggestions in the links you’ve attached and let you know how it goes.

TC

[secondtry]

Good post Tony! I would say most useful for those who catch the issue early before pills have to be introduced. The plus side to this sort of 'Natural route' is that is likely to benefit other potential chronic issues at the same time with very few known side effects. So to me well worth considering.

I have been determined since the start of my AF journey to use AF as a tool to push me into Lifestyle changes which over the years hopefully result in a net overall gain. So far so good 🤞.

[Ppiman]

Well, thanks for those links. I read all of them and found a lot of interest. I think, for me, I would avoid anything that is not available from a well-balanced diet including eating sufficient unprocessed foods such as vegetables, fruit, nuts and pulses. Taking l-arginine as a supplement, for example, is not sufficiently proven safe in my view until more work has been done. Similarly an unbalanced intake of electrolytes such as potassium, again, can be a dangerous thing to do.

I don't really like the name "natural beta blockers", since the action of selective beta-blockers such as bisoprolol and metoprolol, at a cellular level, is far different from the action of, say, l-arginine, or any other chemical, whether naturally or artificially derived, taken as a supplement. However, to increase the general levels of these chemicals in the diet from natural, unprocessed foods, replacing over-processed foods, seems from the links you've given and all else I have read, a good and safe thing.

Steve

[frazeej]

Yes Tony, the "N" word does set off alarms. Adrenergic drugs (chemicals that act on adrenaline receptors) are a varied class with many different effects. Very small changes in the structure can profoundly affect their course of action, either by acting on alpha receptors or beta receptors, and the type of beta receptors (beta-1 or beta-2), and also to counteract the effect of adrenaline or promote it!

The β-blockers many of us take (atenolol, metoprolol, etc.) have been specifically designed and researched to fine tune the desired β-1 vs. β-2 selectivity and to have selectivity over the ⍺ receptors, and to act to SLOW your heart rate rather than INCREASE it. It's somewhat akin to threading the eye of a needle to get the desired result. Research works!

I would be very leery of anecdotal evidence about "natural" β-blockers.

[Shcldavies]

There are many things that can have similar effects to beta blockers, bananas, magnesium and avocado are some, they all work slightly differently but can relax the heart.