3 Herbal Teas To Include In Your Diet To Lower Blood Pressure Readings

Your blood pressure may go up or down within a 24-hour cycle. Nevertheless, if it remains high even when you are resting, then there is a problem. This means that your heart has to work really hard to pump blood throughout your body. While this may seem normal and harmless, it may increase your risk of acquiring life-threatening diseases like stroke or heart attack.

To prevent this condition from getting worse, you need to make some healthy lifestyle changes to bring down your blood pressure readings. Opting for a heart-friendly diet is vital in keeping your blood pressure normal. Some studies found a link between drinking particular beverages and lowering your blood pressure readings. Three of the beverages found to help lower blood pressure are unsalted tomato juice, beetroot juice, and hibiscus tea.

Unsalted tomato juice

A study conducted by Japanese scientists showed that drinking unsalted tomato juice can lower LDL cholesterol and blood pressure of Japanese adults deemed to be at risk of cardiovascular disease.

LDL cholesterol is a substance with a waxy consistency and flows with your blood. If you have a high level of LDL cholesterol, your risk of suffering from stroke or heart disease is the same if you have high blood pressure.

In the Japanese study, 287 female and 184 male volunteers were given an unlimited supply of unsalted tomato juice, which they can drink with gusto in one year.

After a year, the blood pressure of 94 volunteers with untreated hypertension dropped considerably. Their systolic blood pressure went down from 141.2 to 137.0 mmHg while their diastolic blood pressure went down from 83.3 to 80.9 mmHg.

Beetroot juice

Many studies examined the positive effects of beetroot juice on blood pressure. In one study, researchers found that those who drank about eight ounces of beetroot juice every day saw both their systolic and diastolic blood pressure go down.

Researchers say that nitrates, which are beetroot juice compounds that transform into nitric acid and help dilate blood vessels, may have been the cause.

Hibiscus Tea

This herbal tea is made by steeping hibiscus plant parts in boiling water. Studies have shown hibiscus tea helps in lowering blood pressure. A study involving 65 people suffering from high blood pressure were offered either hibiscus tea or a placebo. After 42 days, researchers found that those who were given hibiscus tea experienced a considerable decrease in their systolic blood pressure as compared to those who took a placebo.

This finding was further strengthened by a 2015 examination of five studies. Experts found that hibiscus tea was instrumental in lowering systolic by at least of 7.58 mmHg, and diastolic blood pressure by an average of 3.53 mmHg.