HEART HEALTH: Fruit and vege lowers blood pressure in two weeks
June 25, 2020 • 1 min read
-- More effective than heart medication
Eating more fruit and vegetables can lower blood pressure and decrease heart muscle damage in as little as two weeks.
Data from a decades old study called DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) showed adults with high blood pressure shaved 11.4 points off their systolic blood pressure and 5.5 points from diastolic blood pressure after just two weeks of eating at least 8.5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily.
More recently, researchers re-examined the data, using blood samples from the original study participants to gauge heart strain, heart muscle injury, and total body inflammation.
More good news – they found that the groups eating 8.5 servings or more of fruit and vegetables daily had significantly lower levels of heart strain and heart muscle injury after just eight weeks.
Total body inflammation levels remained largely unchanged, though scientists hypothesize that inflammation — which is linked to weight — would decrease with ongoing healthy eating and the probable weight loss that follows.
Take your medicine – plants