In a study from Shifa College of Medicine, scientists found that prunes may help control high blood pressure.
A prune is a dried plum, with no added sugar and contains vitamin B6, manganese and copper which all support the normal release of energy from foods.
Prunes are chock full of immune system-boosting vitamins and antioxidants that promote all sorts of healthy cellular activity in your body.
Previous research has shown that fruits and vegetables are shown to reduce blood pressure.
It is not merely the antioxidants contained in fruits and vegetables that have health benefits such as lowered systolic and diastolic blood pressures.
In the study, researchers examined the protective effects of prunes on heart health.
They tested in 259 people who had systolic BPs between 120-139 mmHg and diastolic BP between 80-89 mmHg.
Two treated groups drank prune juice and ate the whole fruit (dried plums). They ate either 3 (about 11.5 gm) or 6 prunes.
One control group took only a glass of plain water early in the morning on empty stomach.
The researchers found there was a big reduction in blood pressure in the participants who took a single dose of prunes (3 prunes) every day. With the double dose of prunes (6 prunes), only systolic BP was strongly reduced.
The team also found that the control group had strongly increased HDL in the blood whereas test groups had strongly reduced cholesterol and LDL.
HDL (high-density lipoprotein), or “good” cholesterol, absorbs cholesterol and carries it back to the liver. The liver then flushes it from the body.
High levels of HDL cholesterol can lower the risk of heart disease and stroke.
LDL (low-density lipoprotein), sometimes called “bad” cholesterol, makes up most of your body’s cholesterol. High levels of LDL cholesterol raise your risk for heart disease and stroke.
Based on the findings, the team concludes that eating prunes could help control high blood pressure and thus provide some protective effects on heart health.
If you care about high blood pressure, please read studies about how fasting may help reverse high blood pressure, and this olive oil could reduce blood pressure in healthy people.
For more information about blood pressure health, please read studies that cherry concentrate could lower blood pressure as much as drugs, and the best time to take high blood pressure drugs.
The research is published in the Journal of Ayub Medical College and was conducted by Talat Ahmed et al.
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