Foods rich in flavanoids such as onions, kale, grapes and red wine, tea, peaches, berries, may help reduce blood pressure. *
“According to the American Heart Association, 805,000 Americans will have a heart attack in 2020, with three-in-four of those first heart attacks. Most heart attack victims survive.”
Jesse Slome, director of the American Association of Critical Illness Insurance
High flavanol diet: Healthy Habits News Report – October 27, 2020 Individuals who eat flavanol-rich foods and drinks, including tea, apples and berries, could benefit from lower blood pressure. The findings come from the first study of thousands of British individuals. Professor Gunter Kuhnle, a nutritionist at the University of Reading headed up the effort.
Researchers studied the diet of more than 25,000 people, measuring what they ate along with their blood pressure. Unlike to most other studies that look at the link between nutrition and health, the U.K. researchers did not rely on study participants reporting their diet. Rather this study measured flavanol consumption objectively using nutritional biomarkers.
Flavonoids are various compounds found naturally in many fruits and vegetables. Foods rich in flavanoids include onions, kale, grapes and red wine, tea, peaches, berries, tomatoes, lettuce, scallions and broccoli. They’re also in plant products like wine, tea, and chocolate. There are six different types of flavonoids found in food, and each kind is broken down by your body in a different way.
High flavanol diet offers blood pressure benefits
According to the study, the difference in blood pressure between those with the lowest 10% of flavanol intake and those with the highest 10% of intake was between 2 and 4 mmHg. The report summarizing the findings note that this is comparable to meaningful changes in blood pressure observed in those following a Mediterranean diet or the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet. The effect of consumption was more pronounced in participants with hypertension.
One heart attack every 40 seconds
”Lowering blood pressure is vital because reducing heart attack risk is vital for men and women,” explains Jesse Slome, director of the American Association for Critical Illness Insurance and editor of the Health Habits News Report. “According to the American Heart Association, 805,000 Americans will have a heart attack in 2020, with three-in-four of those first heart attacks. Most heart attack victims survive. The same can’t be said for their finances and that’s why planning for the financial consequences of a heart attack is so important.”
- Source: Scientific Reports, Nature.com
Photo credit: Image by dungthuyvunguyen from Pixabay
Find critical illness insurance rates on the Association’s website
Heart health news 19: Healthy Habits News is the Facebook posts maintained by the American Association for Critical Illness Insurance. Latest reports from major health-related research entities. To read more go to https://www.facebook.com/ciexperts and Follow (or Like) to page.
