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http://www.lef.org/protocols/heart_circulatory/high_blood_pressure_01.htmNatural Weapons Against High Blood Pressure: A Trinity of Nutrients
Blood pressure is controlled by a complex interplay of factors such as diet, genetics, response to stress, medications, and other underlying health conditions. Enlightened health care practitioners and their patients are discovering that inadequately controlled blood pressure requires a multifactorial strategy. An optimal strategy employs a combination of nutritional and pharmaceutical options to offer a comprehensive approach for normalizing blood pressure. This makes more sense considering that a large number of Americans do not achieve adequate blood pressure control on blood pressure medication alone.
In recent years, researchers have discovered a trio of nutrients that work together to help lower blood pressure. The following nutrients contain antioxidants and compounds that help reduce oxidative damage and relax the arteries:
Casein peptide. While searching for a natural agent to help optimize blood pressure, researchers hydrolyzed (or split) the milk protein known as casein and isolated the C12 peptide. Clinical studies now show that the C12 peptide is a natural ACE inhibitor that has specific blood pressure–lowering effects (Karaki H et al 1990).
A small study conducted in the United States demonstrated C12 peptide’s effectiveness in helping to normalize high blood pressure. This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study examined 10 men and women (average age, 50 years) who had an average blood pressure of 152/98 mm Hg and were not taking antihypertensive medications. Each subject took a placebo for 6 days and then a single dose of either 200 mg or 400 mg C12 peptide. Blood pressure was monitored via a small blood pressure unit that each subject wore throughout the day. In the 200-mg and 400-mg treatment groups, systolic pressure declined significantly by an average of 2.4 mm Hg and 4.5 mm Hg, respectively, while diastolic pressure dropped by an average of 4.4 mm Hg and 6.5 mm Hg, respectively (Townsend RR et al 2004). The study results demonstrate that the C12 peptide has a notable impact on blood pressure after only a single dose.
A Japanese study sought to evaluate the longer-term benefits of supplementing with the C12 peptide. Eighteen mildly hypertensive subjects, with a mean blood pressure of 141/99 mm Hg, received 200 mg/day of the C12 peptide for 4 weeks. The researchers recorded significant reductions—4.6 mm Hg in systolic blood pressure and 6.6 mm Hg in diastolic blood pressure. Blood pressure declined gradually over the 4-week study period. A gradual decline is indicative of a healthy decline, as opposed to a dramatic drop that could cause dizziness or fainting. When treatment was halted, the subjects’ blood pressure began to return to the baseline levels that were recorded prior to treatment. The researchers also observed that the C12 peptide appears to have long-lasting effects. Even 2 weeks after treatment ended, diastolic blood pressure levels were still significantly lower than at baseline levels (Sekiya S et al 1992). No unfavorable side effects were reported.
The C12 peptide is not recommended for people who are allergic to dairy products and, like other ACE inhibitors, pregnant women should not take the C12 peptide.
Grape seed extract. The C12 peptide is not the only natural agent that effectively supports healthy blood pressure levels. Grape seed extract, which is already known to have a wealth of health benefits, contains high concentrations of polyphenols, potent antioxidants that naturally increase the dilation (widening) of blood vessels. This dilation naturally increases blood flow while decreasing blood pressure (Siva B et al 2006).
A recent study sought to ascertain the effects of administering grape seed extract to prehypertensive subjects. For 4 weeks, 24 patients who had a mean blood pressure of 130/79 mm Hg were given placebo or 150 mg or 300 mg of a standardized, polyphenol-rich grape seed extract. Both doses of grape seed extract significantly reduced the subjects’ blood pressure compared to baseline levels. The researchers concluded that grape seed extract may be beneficial in lowering the blood pressure of people who are prehypertensive (Siva B et al 2006).
In addition to benefiting individuals who are prehypertensive, grape seed extract may help improve impaired endothelial function, an initiating factor in heart disease. In an important laboratory study, grape seed extract helped to inhibit the synthesis of a protein associated with endothelial dysfunction and mortality, while promoting the dilation of blood vessels (Corder R et al 2004). These findings led the researchers to propose that grape seed extract may be a critical nutrient for restoring impaired endothelial function, protecting against cardiovascular disease, America’s number-one killer.
Grape seed extract is considered safe and is well tolerated. A formal toxicity assessment that evaluated the impact of chronic high doses of grape seed extract in rats found no adverse treatment-related changes (Bentivegna SS et al 2002).
Pomegranate extract. Pomegranates are fast becoming known as one of the healthiest foods we can eat, largely because of their beneficial effects on cardiovascular health (Aviram M et al 2001). While many people drink pomegranate juice, pomegranate extract may hold even greater benefits.
The benefit of supplementing with pomegranate extract (rather than drinking the juice or eating the fruit) is that the extract, unlike the juice, contains virtually no sugar or calories, and requires no refrigeration to maintain optimal quality. Interestingly, commercial pomegranate juice and whole fruit extracts contain beneficial phytonutrients that are not obtained from eating the pomegranate fruit itself (Gil MI et al 2000). In particular, punicalagins, the primary antioxidant found in pomegranates, are concentrated in the husk and in the juice of the whole fruit (Gil MI et al 2000).
While some pomegranate products are standardized to contain high levels of ellagic acid (an antioxidant and phytonutrient that has anticancer potential), focusing on ellagic acid alone is unlikely to provide optimal synergy among the phytonutrients found within pomegranates (Lansky EP 2006). Emerging research suggests that products standardized in punicalagins confer the greatest benefit by providing the highest levels of pomegranate antioxidants.
Scientists are now studying pomegranate extract to uncover the many advantages it may have for human health. Pomegranates contain an array of beneficial phytonutrients such as phenolic compounds and tannins, including punicalagins, which are unique to pomegranates. Several compounds in pomegranates are potent antioxidants and ACE inhibitors (Aviram M et al 2001). Researchers have determined that oxidative stress can disrupt the balance of vasoconstricting and vasodilating biochemicals in the endothelium, contributing to high blood pressure and endothelial dysfunction. By quenching oxidative stress, antioxidants may help prevent vasoconstriction, lower blood pressure, and promote healthy endothelial function (Kitiyakara C et al 1998). Scientists believe that pomegranates, a potent source of antioxidants, may promote healthy blood pressure levels by enhancing the activity and preventing the degradation of an important vasodilating agent. These benefits may also lead to improvements in endothelial function (Ignarro LJ et al 2006).
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