The most common dietary remedy for high blood pressure is to reduce salt intake. This doesn’t always work, and some people don’t find salt substitutes appealing. Is there hope for another way? Researcher Zhiming Zhu of the Third Military Medical University in Chongqing, China, says yes.
Capsaicin is the active ingredient that gives chili peppers their heat. In the August 2010 issue of Cell Metabolism Dr. Zhu reports on the first long term study of the effect of capsaicin ingestion on hypertension. He found that daily capsaicin consumption was effective in reducing blood pressure in genetically hypertensive rats, and he was able to elucidate the underlying cellular mechanism.
The membranes of cells in the walls of blood vessels in the cardiovascular system have receptor channels called TRPVI channels. Capsaicin molecules activate these channels which in turn stimulate increased production of nitric oxide gas molecules. The nitric oxide gas molecules reduce blood vessel wall inflammation, keep blood vessel walls elastic and cause the blood vessels to relax, thereby dilating blood vessels and reducing blood pressure. So eat more chili peppers and try to eat them everyday if you can. By using the Internet you can find out the capsaicin content of various chili peppers and find some great recipes too.
If you can’t stomach chili peppers or hot sauce made with chili peppers, then try to eat foods containing the amino acid L-arginine which – according to the Mayo Clinic – changes into nitric oxide in the human body. Good food sources of this amino acid are seafood, nuts, dairy, chocolate, soybeans and chickpeas. Note that L-arginine reduces lysine which is needed to fight viral infections like herpes, so people with herpes should try to avoid these foods.
TV advertisements, magazine articles and over-the-fence chats between neighbors about the benefits of aspirin have led some people to take an aspirin everyday because they think it will protect them from a heart attack or stroke. Some people take aspirin everyday for headaches or for life’s aches and pains. Since the daily use of aspirin carries some very serious health risks that people may not be aware of, it’s important to get the facts.
Olive oil is a superfood because it contains high amounts of oleic acid (a monounsaturated fatty acid), polyphenols (a potent antioxidant) and Vitamin E. Olive oil reduces bad LDL cholesterol, reduces amounts of blood coagulation factor VII and prevents coronary artery inflammation. People who consume olive oil everyday have lower rates of diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. Virgin olive oil is made solely by mechanical means at cool temperatures and contains more polyphenols than regular olive oil.
The Europeans who boast such low levels of obesity and heart disease do certain things every day. They walk, drink red wine in moderation and eat a small amount of dark chocolate (at least 48% or higher cocoa content).
The statins (drugs like Zocor, Mevacor and Lipitor) are the most heavily prescribed cholesterol lowering drugs on earth. They bring in 25 billion dollars annually from worldwide sales. The theory for prescribing them is that statins reduce arterial clogging, hypertension and heart disease by reducing cholesterol (a waxy textured mixture of fats) in the blood. They do this by inhibiting the function of HMG-CoA reductase, a key enzyme responsible for the biosynthesis of cholesterol. The problem with statins is that they work too well. They tip the balance of cholesterol from too high to too low.
On April 30, 2007, a graduate student in integrative bioscience at Penn State named Sarah K. Gebauer presented her findings about the protective cardiovascular effects of eating raw pistachios at the Experimental Biology Meeting in Washington, D.C. Gebauer used 3 groups of people following a heart healthy moderate fat diet. During a four week period group one ate no pistachios, group two ate 1.5 ounces (one handful) per day and group three ate 3.0 ounces (two handfuls) per day. The best results were seen in the group three which consumed 3.0 ounces per day. They ate their pistachios raw and incorporated in other foods such as pistachio muffins, granola or pistachio pesto. Group three showed an 8.4% reduction in total cholesterol, an 11.6% of the bad LDL cholesterol and an 11.2% reduction of non-high density (non-HDL) lipoproteins. Non-HDL lipoprotein levels are a reliable marker of cardiovascular disease risk. The higher the level of non-HDL lipoproteins in the blood, the higher the risk of a heart attack.