Roughly six million Americans suffer from hypertension or high blood pressure. There may be more than one reason when blood pressure readings register an increase from what is considered normal. In my scientific opinion, the most common and frequent reason is a gradually establishing dehydration in the body. This type of hypertension is labeled "essential hypertension". A large number of people in this group receive some form of medication to deal with this dehydration signal of the body. Until they learn about the relationship of this condition to their insufficient water intake, or a wrong choice of fluid intake, they will have to continue taking pharmaceutical products for the rest of their shortened lives.

The paradigm shift offers us a new perspective on high blood pressure - the form we call essential hypertension. It tells us that a gradual rise in blood pressure is an indicator of a gradually establishing shortage of water in the body. The blood vessels of the body have been designed to cope with repeated fluctuations in their blood volume and the circulation requirements of the tissues they supply. They have tiny holes or lumen that open and close to adapt to the amount of blood inside them. In water loss from the body - rather, lack of insufficient water intake - 66 percent of the deficit is reflected in the colume of water held in some cells of the body (plum-like cells begin to become prune-like); 26 percent is reflected in the fluid environment outside the cells; and only 8 percent of the deficit is imposed on the volume held in blood circulation. The circulatory system adapts to its 8 percent loss by shrinking in capacity. Initially, peripheral capillaries close down, and eventually the large vessels tighten their walls to keep the blood vessels full.

This tightening leads to a measurable rise in tension in the arteries. This is called hypertension. If the blood vessels did not tighten on the void, gases would separate from the blood and fill the space, causing gas locks. This vascular adaptation to the amount of water the vascular system carries is a most advanced design within the principle of hydraulics that the blood circulation of the body is modeled on.