Blood pressure: Expert reveals health benefits of tomato juice

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High blood pressure describes a high force of blood against the walls of your arteries. If this force is high enough, it can eventually lead to heart disease and other health problems. The good news is that a healthy diet can help lower high blood pressure.

High blood pressure is often referred to as a “silent condition”.

Characterised by a lack of symptoms, not treating hypertension can have serious repercussions in the form of health problems.

Around a third of Britons suffer from high blood pressure and might not even know it, the NHS reports.

One way to lower a high reading of this culprit is by incorporating red juice into your diet.

Blood Pressure UK shares that the red drink which can lower hypertension is tomato juice.

The reason why the juice is so potent is its potassium content.

Potassium is a mineral that has multiple essential functions in your body.

Eating or drinking foods and drinks packed with this mineral can help cut your high blood pressure.

How does potassium lower blood pressure?

The mineral plays a role in how much fluid is kept in your body as well as how much is released.

If your body is holding onto water, this will result in more fluid being in your blood.

This then puts more pressure against your artery walls, which boosts your blood pressure.

To remove excess fluid from your body, you need a “fine balance” of sodium and potassium, the blood pressure charity explains.

However, too much sodium boosts your blood pressure and makes you hold onto water.

So, this is where potassium steps in. Eating foods high in potassium can restore the delicate balance and allow your kidneys to work properly and lower blood pressure.

Blood Pressure UK isn’t the only hypertension expert that looked at the benefits of tomato juice.

A study, published in the journal Food Science & Nutrition, found that the red beverage can “significantly” lower blood pressure if consumed regularly.

The research looked at 481 participants that drank unsalted tomato juice.

These participants saw a reduction of systolic blood pressure from 141.2 millimetres of mercury (mmHg) to 137.0mmHg on average.

While their diastolic blood pressure dropped from 83.3mmHg to 80.9mmHg.

In case you’re not familiar, high blood pressure is considered to be 140/90mmHg or higher, according to the NHS.

The participants enjoyed this “significant” reduction after 12 months of tomato juice consumption.

However, the study also reports there might be some limitations to this as they haven’t evaluated the level of consumption needed and other components of the participants’ diet.

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