Grapes Can Help Lower Blood Pressure

On Wednesday U.S. researchers concluded that Grapes helped lower blood pressure and improved heart function in lab rats that were normally fed a salty diet.

These findings were published in the Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences.

Mitchell Seymour of the University of Michigan had this to say about the findings,

"These findings support our theory that something within the grapes themselves has a direct impact on cardiovascular risk, beyond the simple blood pressure-lowering impact that we already know can come from a diet rich in fruits and vegetables."

Several groups of rats were fed different things. One group was fed a high salt diet and a powder containing red, green, and purple grapes. The other group was fed a grape powder and a low salt diet. Some were given no grape powder. The grape powders had the exact same nutrients as regular fresh grapes.

Following the 18 week study, it was concluded that the grape enriched diet lowered the blood pressure of the rats as well as a reduction in inflammation throughout there body, better heart function, and less signs of heart muscle damage.

After 18 weeks, the rats that ate the grape-enriched diet had lower blood pressure, better heart function, reduced inflammation throughout their bodies, and fewer signs of heart muscle damage than rats that ate a salty diet but no grapes.

Hypertension(High Blood Pressure) was avoided in the high salt diets by incorporating the grape powder.

Sponsors for the study included The California Table Grape Commission and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute which is part of the National Institutes of Health.

Hypertension can lead to heart failure, stroke and kidney failure. It is commonly associated with obesity and has also been identified as a cause of Erectile Dysfunction.

You can read about the connection between Erectile Dysfunction and Hypertension Here.

Check out The Art Of Healthy Living to learn more about living a healthy lifestyle.