Hypertension (HTN) can lead to many dangerous
conditions of the heart, such as heart attack, heart failure, and thickening
and narrowing of small blood vessels. Blood pressure is the force exerted by
blood against the walls of blood vessels. Over time, if the force of blood is
consistently high, the tissue that makes up our blood vessels gets stretched
and damage occurs. Anthocyanins, a powerful antioxidant, may promote arterial
pressure control by reducing the free radicals in our bodies.
Purple
corn has a very deep purple pigment due to a high amount of anthocyanins, a
water-soluble pigment that is found in plants. Anthocyanins are part of the
family of flavonoids that have been found to have powerful antioxidant effects
in animal studies. To investigate the potency of this antioxidant and blood
pressure reduction in humans, scientists from Weill Cornell Medical Center and
Universidad San Martin de Porres in Peru conducted a randomized study utilizing
subjects from a local hospital in Lima.
The study was divided into four
phases and the 30 participants were placed into either a placebo or an
intervention group. The intervention group was given 300mg of anthocyanin from
purple corn extract for three weeks.
The
researchers discovered that in mild-to-moderate hypertensive men and women, the
administration of 300mg of anthocyanin from purple corn resulted in a drop in
arterial blood pressure by up to 22 points. Previous studies suggest that purple corn may reduce
oxidative stress, help fight inflammation and reduce arterial blood pressure.
Bottom Line: Incorporate dark purple fruit and vegetables to aid in the fight
against oxidative stress and improve blood pressure. In addition to purple
corn, common fruits and vegetables rich in anthocyanins include blueberries,
black grapes, raisins, blackberries, plums, purple cabbage, eggplant, purple
cauliflower and purple potatoes.
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