Quercetin is a natural compound found in many fruits and vegetables like apples, onions, berries, and even green tea.
Plants make it to protect themselves from pests and diseases, but it may also offer some health benefits for humans.
While it’s not a medicine, researchers are now looking into how quercetin might help keep our hearts healthy.
A group of scientists from the Hospital of Southern Medical University recently studied the effects of quercetin on blood pressure.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a serious health issue that can lead to heart disease and stroke if left untreated. It often has no clear symptoms, but it puts extra stress on the heart and blood vessels.
The researchers looked at data from 17 earlier studies that included nearly 900 people. Some of the people were healthy, while others had health conditions like diabetes, obesity, or high blood pressure. The scientists wanted to see if quercetin could help lower blood pressure, improve cholesterol levels, or affect blood sugar.
The results were encouraging. Quercetin helped reduce both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Systolic pressure is the top number in a blood pressure reading—it measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats.
Diastolic pressure is the bottom number, which shows the pressure when your heart rests between beats. Lowering both numbers is important for protecting your heart and reducing the risk of stroke.
While quercetin didn’t seem to have much effect on cholesterol or blood sugar levels in the short term, there were some interesting results when people took it for eight weeks or more. Those who used it for a longer period saw improvements in their HDL cholesterol and triglycerides.
HDL cholesterol is the “good” kind—it helps clear out bad cholesterol from your blood. High triglyceride levels, on the other hand, can raise the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
It’s important to remember that the people in these studies came from different backgrounds and had different health issues. That means the results might not be the same for everyone. Also, the studies used different methods, which can sometimes make it harder to compare the results directly.
Still, this research shows that quercetin may be a helpful natural option for supporting heart health. It could be especially useful for people who want to lower their blood pressure without taking extra medications. Of course, more research is needed to fully understand how it works and who might benefit the most.
Heart disease and stroke are two of the biggest health threats worldwide. Both can be caused by high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, and being overweight.
Taking care of your heart means making smart lifestyle choices, like eating well, staying active, and avoiding smoking. For some people, medicines and even surgery may be needed.
This new research on quercetin adds to the growing list of things that might help protect your heart. It’s a good reminder that the foods we eat every day can have a big impact on our health. Something as simple as adding more fruits, vegetables, and green tea to your meals could make a difference over time.
The study by Haohai Huang and his team was published in the journal Nutrition Reviews and brings new hope for using natural foods and compounds to improve heart health and lower blood pressure.
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