(Reuters) — Aside from being a tasty little addition to banana bread and oatmeal cookies, raisins could also have benefits for blood pressure, according to a small new study.
Researchers from the Louisville Metabolic and Atherosclerosis Research Center found that snacking on raisins three times a day could mildly lower blood pressure, compared to other kinds of snacks — a promising finding for people who may not have full-blown hypertension, but are on the cusp of high blood pressure.
“Our study suggests if you have a choice between eating raisins or other snacks like crackers and chocolate chip cookies, you may be better off snacking on raisins at least with respect to blood pressure,” Dr. Harold Bays, M.D., medical director and president of Louisville Metabolic and Atherosclerosis Research Center, said in a statement. His research was presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 61st Annual Scientific Session.
The study included 46 men and women with prehypertension. Prehypertension is defined as having a systolic blood pressure level between 120 and 139 millimeters of mercury, or a diastolic blood pressure level between 80 and 89 millimeters of mercury. A normal blood pressure level is defined as having a systolic blood pressure level of 120 or less, and a diastolic blood pressure level of 80 or less; hypertension is defined as having a systolic blood pressure level of 140 to 159 or a diastolic blood pressure level of 90 to 99.
The researchers had the study participants either eat raisins or some sort of prepackaged commercial snack, like crackers or cookies (that didn’t contain any raisins, vegetables or fruits) that had the same amount of calories. All the study participants ate the snacks three times a day, for 12 weeks.
The researchers found that the raisin-eaters had reduced systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading, meaning “as the heart beats,” according to the National Institutes of Health) and diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number in the reading, meaning the relaxation of the heart between heartbeats). However, the pre-packaged snack-eaters didn’t see any significant drops in their blood pressure.
(6 votes, average: 3.33 out of 5)
Loading ...
Loading ...
Excelent information for our healt. Can I get information of the article o report presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 61st Annual Scientific Session, by Dr. Harold Bays, M.D., medical director and president of Louisville Metabolic and Atherosclerosis Research Center.
I wonder if grapes have the same effect since red wine is consider good for heart health. I love white wine, but switched to red wine (I drink a 4 oz. glass with dinner) and my BP dropped about 10 pts. lower than it had been on HCTZ. I hate taking pills and have been taking supplements and working out, and recently started the DASH diet. I’m surprised that I was put on medication first when there were so many healthier options, especially since I was only 33. I recently found out that HCTZ can cause weight gain and I’ve gained 15 lbs in the year that I have been taking it, which I hate. It seems counterintuitive to me and I started cutting my 25mg pills in half and I still get daily BP readings of 117 over 77. I know I should be monitored by a doctor, but I’m unemployed and the doctor’s bills alone were causing my pressure to increase. The thought of the $200 per visit gave me anxiety everytime I entered the building. All I could think about was the financial hole I was digging myself into. I’m really upset that other options were not offered to me since I consider drugs to be a last option. I was told I had HBP after an accident last year and the $500 bill from the ambulance and the $200 bill from the hospital while I was in school and unemployed made me worry and possibly raised my pressure even more. I monitor my pressure daily, sometimes morning and night and I notice it only goes up when I eat sweets, so I keep that to a minimum and on good days have seen numbers like 105 over 70, and this is all while taking half of a 25mg pill of HCTZ. I didn’t stop it immediately because I know that can spike my blood pressure, but I am weaning myself off of it and proud of myself for doing so.
Good for you, Veronica! It sounds like you’re doing fine. I stopped HCTZ all at once when it was discovered to have affected my kidney filtration rate. Not good and not reversible.