A heart doctor says eating the right food is key and you can notice a difference in a matter of hours
Munching on leafy greens might not seem as appealing as a biscuit, but such a tiny tweak to your eating habits could make a world of difference. And according to those in the know, tucking into a bit of spinach could be a game-changer.
The often overlooked veg has the potential to lower your systolic blood pressure, and a doctor noted that improvements can be spotted within “hours” – and with “daily intake” it could work wonders. Speaking to Parade, Doctor Deepak Talreja, cardiologist and clinical chief of cardiology at Sentara Health, said: “Spinach may help lower systolic blood pressure, largely due to its rich content of dietary nitrates.
“When we eat nitrate-rich foods like spinach, the body converts nitrates to nitric oxide, a molecule that relaxes and dilates blood vessels.” With your blood vessels in a more relaxed and widened state, blood can flow more effortlessly, decreasing the vascular resistance, which is essentially the resistance to blood flow in the veins and arteries.
“This can lead to a modest reduction in systolic blood pressure,” he said. He proceeded to cite several studies backing the effects of spinach on systolic blood pressure and highlighted one study in particular.
He said: “A randomised crossover trial published in Hypertension found that a diet high in nitrate-rich vegetables such as spinach significantly reduced both systolic and diastolic blood pressure in hypertensive patients, particularly when consumed regularly.
“The effect may be seen within hours of consumption and can persist with daily intake. Regularly incorporating fresh spinach into meals – whether in salads, smoothies or sautés – can be a simple, natural way to support healthier blood pressure and overall cardiovascular wellbeing.”
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Dr Talreja added: “While spinach alone won’t replace medications or other proven treatments, it can be part of a broader dietary strategy aligned with the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) and Mediterranean diets – both of which are associated with lower cardiovascular risk.”
Rich in potassium, spinach also helps regulate sodium and blood pressure levels. Additionally, it is an excellent source of magnesium. As an antioxidant-rich food, spinach is high in vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta-carotene, which can help mitigate the risk of damage and clogged blood vessels, as well as high cholesterol.
The Hypertension study adds that beetroot juice is also a great example of a “single dose of dietary inorganic nitrate” that can reduce your blood pressure. They said that in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 68 people with hypertension were randomly assigned to drink either 250 mL of nitrate-rich beetroot juice or nitrate-free (placebo) juice every day for 4 weeks.
Participants were either not on medication or already being treated for high blood pressure, and ranged in age from 18 to 85. Results showed that those who drank the nitrate-rich juice had significant reductions in blood pressure measured at the clinic, at home, and over 24 hours.
These effects lasted throughout the 4 weeks with no signs of the body adapting (which they call “tachyphylaxis”). Additionally, blood vessel function improved by about 20%, and artery stiffness decreased. There were no changes in the placebo group.
The researchers concluded: “This is the first evidence of durable BP reduction with dietary nitrate supplementation in a relevant patient group. These findings suggest a role for dietary nitrate as an affordable, readily-available, adjunctive treatment in the management of patients with hypertension (funded by The British Heart Foundation).”