Discover the mixture of spices that reduces blood pressure

Arterial hypertension and elevated blood lipid levels are considered risk factors for the most common cause of death in our time, cardiovascular diseases. American scientists have shown in a study that both risk factors can be reduced by including the right species.

The study, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutritionpoints out that even small changes in diet can have an extremely positive effect on high blood pressure: just 6.5g (just over a teaspoon) of a certain mix of spices can lower blood pressure within four weeks.

A mix of spices lowers blood pressure

According to researchers Evan Pugh and Kristina Petersen, both professors of nutritional sciences at Texas Tech University, the spice blend is a simple method to improve cardiovascular health.

It was surprising that the study did not change anything in the typical American diet, which is generally considered extremely harmful to the heart and blood pressure. After all, it contains a lot of fat, salt and sugar, and at the same time, it does not contain enough fruits, vegetables and fiber.

The participants just added the spice mix to their regular diet. So they didn’t eat more fruits and vegetables, and they didn’t eat less fat. They didn’t even reduce their sugar or salt intake. They only added the 6.5 grams of spices to their diet. Obviously, if the diet had been better, the results would have been, too.

71 participants aged between 30 and 75 years old participated in the study. All were overweight and at least one other risk factor typical of cardiovascular disease such as high blood pressure, high blood fat levels, inflammation, or high blood sugar levels.

The effect of three different doses of the spice mix (low dose, medium dose and high dose) on the above risk factors was examined. Each participant took each of these doses for 4 weeks. That is, each participant took the low dose for 4 weeks, the medium dose for 4 weeks, and the high dose for 4 weeks, in a different order. Between the 4 week phases there was a 2 week break without the spice mix.

The high dose (6.5 g in the 2,100 kcal group) was able to reduce 24-h systolic blood pressure by 1.9 mmHg compared to the medium dose (3.3 g). The 24-hour diastolic blood pressure decreased by an average of 1.5 mmHg with the high dose of spices compared with the low dose of spices (0.5 g).

Measure 24-hour blood pressure

Given the blood pressure is subject to strong fluctuations throughout the day, a single measurement is often not significant. For this reason, so-called long-term blood pressure (24-hour blood pressure) is occasionally measured.

To do this, a small measuring device is placed on the patient’s upper arm, which measures blood pressure every 15 minutes 24 hours a day and every 30 minutes at night. An average value is then calculated from the data obtained.

This spice mix reduces high blood pressure.

The mixture used in the study consisted of the following spices and herbs (in grams) in the high dose group with a diet of 1,800 kcal per day. The percentage of each ingredient in the total mixture is given in parentheses. Of course, you don’t have to weigh everything to the milligram. The list is just to show you what spices you could mix. The exact proportion is unlikely to matter.

Allspice: 0.004 g (0.08%) Basil: 0.127 g (2.34%) Bay leaf: 0.058 g (1.06%) Black pepper: 0.415 g (7.64%) Cardamom: 0.043 (0 79%) Chili powder: 0.134 (2.46%) Cayenne: 0.074 (1.37%) Coriander leaves: 0.109 (2.01%) Coriander seeds: 0.669 (12.33%) Cinnamon: 1,018 (18.76%) Cumin : 0.422 (7.77%) Dill: 0.004 (0.07) Garlic: 0.276 (5.09%) Ginger: 0.587 (10.81%) Onion powder: 0.253 (4.65%) Oregano: 0.127 (2.34 %) Sweet paprika: 0.190 (3.50%) Parsley: 0.400 (7.38%) Poppy seeds: 0.014 (0.26%) Rosemary: 0.137 (2.53%) Sage: 0.017 (0.32%) Sesame: 0.029 ( 0.53%) Thyme: 0.080 (1.48%) Turmeric: 0.241 (4.43%)Overall: 5.43g

With more calories eaten per day, the amount of the mix increases slightly, for example, if you eat 2,400 calories a day, you would have to take 7.2 g of the spice mix.

Keep in mind, however, that although blood pressure is significantly lowered with this spice mix, it is not enough to bring it back to normal values. take additional steps.

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