High blood pressure: Doctor explains benefits of hibiscus tea
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High blood pressureheart is a condition whereby the force of blood pushing against your artery walls is consistently too high. Over time, this mechanism can narrow your arteries, thereby raising your risk of having a heart attack. Luckily, you can keep high blood pressure at bay by making sensible dietary decisions.
Three teaspoons per day of apple cider vinegarcms can lower your blood pressure significantly within a week, as reported in the Chicago Tribune on what doctors know.
It added: “If the taste is too much, mix it with a little warm water or add it to your favourite beverage (as lo
ng as it’s not a sugary soda).”
Benefits of apple cider vinegar for blood pressure include:
- Lowers renin activity
- Lowers blood glucose
- Lowers weight
- Lowers cholesterol levels.
READ MORE: High blood pressure: The exercise to avoid or risk hypertension – expert issues warning
Animal and lab studies suggest that vinegar induces alterations in renin activity.
Renin is an enzyme that increases blood pressure through vasoconstriction, i.e. narrowing of the arteries. “Reducing renin activity in the body will lower blood pressure and is the basis for many of the hypertensive drugs,” said Dr Carol Johnnston, associate dean for faculty success and professor of nutrition at Arizona State University in Phoenix.
She added: “There are several studies in rodents suggesting that vinegar ingestion reduces blood pressure.”
In a study with Taylor & Francis Online, the effects of acetic acid vinegar on hypersensitive rats was investigated.
The study noted: “To clarify the possibility of a preventative effect of dietary vinegar on blood pressure, long-term administration of vinegar or the acetic acid to SHR was examined.
“As a result, it was observed that acetic acid itself, the main component of vinegar, significantly reduced blood pressure and renin activity compared to controls given no acetic acid or vinegar, as well as vinegar.”
Apple cider vinegar can also be used to help with weight loss which in turn helps to lower blood pressure.
In a 12-week study, 144 obese Japanese adults consumed either one tablespoon of vinegar, two tablespoons of vinegar or a placebo drink every day.
The participants were told to restrict their alcohol intake but to continue their usual diet and activity throughout the study.
Those who consumed one tablespoon of vinegar per day had an average weight loss of 2.6 pounds, and those who consumed two tablespoons of vinegar per day lost 3.7 pounds.
The placebo group gained 0.9 pounds and their waist circumference slightly increased.
Other natural ways to help reduce hypertension risk include:
- Lose extra pounds and watch your waistline
- Exercise regularly
- Eat a healthy diet
- Reduce sodium in your diet
- Limit the amount of alcohol you drink
- Quit smoking
- Cut back on caffeine
- Reduce your stress.
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