A New Way to Lower Blood Pressure

By Dr. Andrew Weil

June 30, 2010

Cut back on sugar-sweetened drinks. A study from Louisiana State University Health Science Center School of Public Health found that reducing daily intake of sweetened beverages may lower blood pressure enough to decrease deaths from stroke by eight percent and from coronary heart disease by five percent. The trick is to eliminate an average of two servings a day of soft drinks, fruit drinks, lemonade and fruit punch drinks sweetened with sugar or high-fructose corn syrup. The study included 810 adults age 25 to 79 who had been diagnosed with high blood pressure or prehypertension. At the beginning of the study, the participants reported drinking an average of 10.5 fluid ounces of sweetened beverages daily; by the end, they were consuming only a half serving a day and their blood pressure had dropped significantly. While part of the decline could be related to weight loss during the 18-month study, the investigators said that the blood pressure change was statistically significant. They now plan to study the effects of cutting back on sweetened drinks in adults who have no blood pressure problems.

Instead of drinking sugar-laden fruit juice, try my recipe for Frosted Orange Ginger Fruit Salad. Not only will you consume less sugar, but you'll get a serving of fiber too.

Source : http://www.drweilblog.com/home/2010/6/30/a-new-way-to-lower-blood-pressure.html