I bet your hospital diet will not have this for 50 years. It is much easier to just give out blood pressure pills. Do not do this on your own, you may take more than what is safe, you know how dangerous eating fruit like blueberries is without your doctors knowledge. And it even raises your nitric oxide.
http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=148659&CultureCode=en
Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study Showed Results in Only Eight Weeks, According to New Study Published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
With hypertension (HTN) affecting nearly 80 million people in the
United States and cardiovascular disease (CVD) the leading cause of
death, any intervention that can lower blood pressure has the potential
to save lives. In a study in the current issue of the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics,
Florida State University researchers found that daily consumption of
blueberries for eight weeks resulted in significant reductions of both
systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
Although the prevalence of HTN is associated with aging in both
sexes, the increased incidence of high blood pressure, particularly
systolic blood pressure (SBP), in women after menopause exceeds that of
men. Endothelial dysfunction may play an important role in the increases
in blood pressure that occur after menopause. Further, endothelial
dysfunction is known to increase arterial stiffness, which is involved
in the development and progression of both HTN and CVD.
“The recommended intervention for controlling blood pressure in pre-
and stage 1-hypertensive individuals is not pharmaceutical
interventions, but rather lifestyle modifications including dietary
approaches and there is evidence that many cases of HTN can be prevented
and treated through diet and lifestyle changes,” commented lead author
Sarah A. Johnson, PhD, RD, CSO, postdoctoral fellow in the Department of
Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences and assistant director of the
Center for Advancing Exercise and Nutrition Research on Aging, College
of Human Sciences, Florida State University. “Considering the prevalence
of HTN in the U.S., preventive strategies such as dietary modifications
(e.g. functional foods and dietary supplements) that aim to improve HTN
and its related complications are warranted.”
Forty-eight women who met all inclusion criteria were recruited to
participate in an eight-week, randomized, double-blind,
placebo-controlled clinical trial. Investigators found that daily
incorporation of freeze-dried blueberry powder equating to one cup of
fresh blueberries into the diet of postmenopausal women with pre- and
stage 1-HTN improved blood pressure and arterial stiffness potentially
through enhanced nitric oxide (NO)-mediated vasodilation. Nitric oxide
bioavailability is believed to increase endothelial-dependent
vasodilation, leading to lower blood pressure.
“To our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate the effects of
blueberries on arterial function as was done in this study, as well as
in this study population,” said corresponding author Bahram H. Arjmandi,
PhD, RD, Margaret A. Sitton professor in the Department of Nutrition,
Food and Exercise Sciences and director of the Center for Advancing
Exercise and Nutrition Research on Aging, College of Human Sciences,
Florida State University. “These findings suggest that blueberries may
prevent the progression to full-blown hypertension.”
At the conclusion of the study, mean SBP was lower by 5.1% and mean
diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was lower by 6.3% in the subjects in the
blueberry group, with no corresponding lowering in the placebo group. In
addition, NO measurements were significantly increased in the blueberry
group, rising from 9.11 to 15.35 μM, with no change in the control
group.
Pulse wave velocity is a non-invasive method for assessing arterial
stiffness and has been shown to predict future cardiovascular events. In
the current study, brachial ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), which is
a composite measure of central (aortic) and peripheral arterial
stiffness, was significantly reduced after eight weeks in the
blueberry-treated group, whereas there were no changes in the control
group. Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), the best measure of
aortic stiffness, did not change in either group. This suggests that
peripheral arteries may be more responsive to dietary interventions than
central arteries.
Among all fruits, blueberries are one of the richest sources of
phenolic compounds, including flavonoids, phenolic acids, and stilbenes,
which are known to have biological activity and high antioxidant
capacity. They are a promising functional food with respect to vascular
health.
“The changes in blood pressure noted in this study are of clinical
significance as they demonstrate that blood pressure can be favorably
altered by the addition of a single dietary component (e.g.
blueberries),” concluded Dr. Johnson.
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