High blood pressure? Yoghurt helps keep it down

Did you know...

 

 

Regular consumption of yoghurt and probiotics, at least 5 times a week, helps keep blood pressure under control, according to a study by Justin Buendia of the Boston University School of Medicine, presented at an American Heart Association conference.

 

The researchers examined data from three large studies, two on 240,000 women aged between 22 and 55 and one on 55,000 men aged between 40 and 75.

Over the 18 to 30 years during which the participants were followed, around 74,000 cases of high blood pressure were recorded, and the research, after excluding other factors, found that among women, those who ate five or more servings of yoghurt a week, compared with those who ate one a month, had a 20% lower risk of developing hypertension.

For men, on the other hand, who usually eat less yoghurt, the data were less significant: the risk fell by as much as 31% in those who, in addition to their usual yoghurt consumption, also ate fruit, vegetables, nuts, beans and cereals; adding yoghurt to a healthy diet seems to help reduce the long-term risk of high blood pressure.

Finally, it was found that probiotic consumption can lower systolic pressure by an average of 3.56 mm Hg and diastolic pressure by 2.83 mm Hg.