5 Easy Ways to Lower Blood Pressure Using 1 Great Fruit
Learn how tomatoes will strengthen your immune system and lower blood pressure.
Have you taken your
lycopene today? If you ate a green salad with freshly cut tomatoes, you not
only got a healthy dose of this powerful antioxidant, but you also took
important steps toward lowering your blood pressure. A recent double-blind
study in Israel has confirmed that what healthy Italians have enjoyed for
centuries – tomatoes (and tomato sauce) lower blood pressure and risk of heart
disease.
The Israeli study was led
by the head of the Department of Hypertension at Soroka Medical Center, Dr.
Esther Paran did it. This included patients who were already being treated for
hypertension, but were not responding well to medications. Dr. Paran asked patients
to take a tomato extract supplement. The results were a significant drop in
blood pressure after just four weeks.
Tomatoes are very
effective in lowering blood pressure as they contain lycopene. This powerful
antioxidant is also the focus of some hybrid tomatoes grown by the Israeli
company, Lycomato, to contain high concentrations of lycopene in each piece of
the fruit. The other antioxidants found in tomatoes make it a super-food in the
prevention of heart disease. It may also help protect LDL cholesterol from
oxidizing which causes it to stick to the arteries and narrow the passageways
leading to increased blood pressure.
Even during the growing
season it can be difficult to consume four whole tomatoes each day, which is
the recommended amount to have a positive effect on blood pressure. Here are
some ways to get the benefits of tomatoes without eating them straight off the
vine.
1. Make chili. Using
tomato puree, which is a concentrated form of tomato, as the base of your
chili, uses up antioxidants without the bulk of whole tomatoes. Add some
ultra-lean and high-protein ground bison and kidney beans with minced garlic
and onions, and cayenne pepper and you have a heart-healthy main course and an
entire day's allowance of tomatoes.
2. Since using olive oil
with tomatoes adds to the therapeutic quality, season your pasta sauce with
tomatoes, tomato paste and olive oil to saute garlic and onions. Tomato paste
used in making sauces contains more than 10 times the nutrients of a tomato.
3. Take a fresh salad as
a side dish to either of these and cut a whole tomato on top. You'll find a
quarter of a tomato right there.
4. Drink tomato juice. It
is better to make your own fresh juice so that you can control the sodium.
Store-bought juices can be high in sugar and sodium-based preservatives. If you
have a juicer, you can make some incredible veggie juices to suit your tastes
by adding carrots, celery, and some low-sodium seasonings.
5. Take a tomato
supplement. If you can't stomach tomatoes, a 200 mg supplement provides the
equivalent of four tomatoes recommended.
Including tomatoes in
your diet can lower systolic blood pressure by 10 points and diastolic pressure
by 4 points as was evident in the Israel study. Whichever way you cut it,
tomatoes will strengthen your immune system and lower blood pressure.
Easy Ways to Lower Blood Pressure Using 1 Great Fruit
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