| Lifestyle and diet modifications are vital to management of hypertension, defined as a consistent elevation in blood pressure. Researchers, in an effort to stop and prevent this pandemic, which kills millions of people worldwide, continuously find diets or foods that may lower blood pressure.
Some foods and supplements have been suggested to have beneficial effects on high blood pressure. These include fish oils, olive oils, Vitamin C, and potassium.
Fish Oils: Several studies have shown that replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat in the diet can help lower blood pressure in hypertensive individuals. Fish oils containing eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), for example, have been found quite effective in lowering both blood pressure and triglyceride levels.
A University of Cincinnati study found that supplementation with large amounts of fish oil (5-15 grams/day) lowers blood pressure significantly in hypertensive individuals. They concluded that daily supplementation with low doses of fish oil is indeed effective in lowering blood pressure in mildly hypertensive patients. Further, fish oil supplementation reduced diastolic pressure (sitting) by an average of approximately 4.4 mm Hg and systolic pressure by an average of 6.5 mm Hg when compared to values obtained prior to the start of treatment. But these beneficial effects stop once supplementation is discontinued.
An additional study was performed by some Australian researchers. They combined salt restriction with fish oil supplementation and found that the combination is highly effective in lowering both systolic and diastolic blood pressure in elderly people with normal pressures.
Olive Oil: It has similar effects with fish oil supplementation. Olive oil also contains unsaturated fats and is also highly effective in lowering blood pressure.
Vitamin C: Researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine report that daily supplementation with vitamin C (ascorbic acid) can significantly reduce blood pressure in people suffering from hypertension. The study is based on the increasing evidence that free radicals (reactive oxygen species) play a significant role in essential hypertension (high blood pressure). The researchers conclude that oral supplementation with 500 mg/day of ascorbic acid is useful for blood pressure control in patients with high blood pressure.
Potassium: Researchers from the University of Naples in Italy proved that increase intake of potassium significantly lowers blood pressure. 54 subjects were included in the study. Half of the group maintained their regular diet while the diet of the other half was modified to increase the amount of potassium-rich food. The researchers found that the group on the high potassium diet consumed less medication than the other group and 38% of them had discontinued medication altogether. The group on the potassium-rich diet also reported a significant (55%) reduction in symptoms related to their hypertension.
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