Grapes may help fight high blood pressure
New research suggests eating grapes may help lower blood pressure
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Wednesday, 29, Oct 2008 07:56
New research suggests that eating grapes may help lower blood pressure and calm other factors related to heart disease.
In a report published in the Journal of Gerontology today experts from the University of Michigan looked at the potential of grapes in reducing cardiovascular risk.
Researchers investigated the effect of grapes on rats over a series of months and discovered that those rodents that received a grape-enriched diet powder had lower blood pressure, better heart function, reduced inflammation throughout their bodies, and fewer signs of heart muscle damage than the rats that ate the same salty diet but didn't receive grapes.
Mitchell Seymour, from Michigan State University, said: "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."
The authors said the effect may be due to the high level of phytochemicals – naturally occurring antioxidants – that grapes contain.
The rats in the study were in a similar situation to millions of people, who have high blood pressure related to diet, and who develop heart failure over time because of prolonged hypertension, today's report claim.
"The inevitable downhill sequence to hypertension and heart failure was changed by the addition of grape powder to a high-salt diet," co-author Steven Boiling added.
"Although there are many natural compounds in the grape powder itself that may have an effect, the things that we think are having an effect against the hypertension may be the flavanoids – either by direct antioxidant effects, by indirect effects on cell function, or both. These flavanoids are rich in all parts of the grape - skin, flesh and seed, all of which were in our powder."
The authors said the study demonstrates that a grape-enriched diet can have broad effects on the development of hypertension and the risk factors that go along with it.