Fruit Juice Lowers Blood Pressure—Expert

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

A famous health and fitness consultant, Dr Bisi Abiola, has said that fruit juice could reduce the risk of high blood pressure (BP) if taken regularly.

Dr Abiola stated this during the January edition of the monthly healthy living dialogue, an event sponsored by Chi Limited. The platform gives experts an opportunity to x-ray the benefits of 100% fruit juice.

The fitness coach said that drinking a glass of fruit juice gives an individual the opportunity to get at least eight per cent of daily potassium, which neutralises sodium and helps to lower BP.

She explained that, “The overall amount of sodium and potassium in your diet affects your BP. Sodium makes it go up while potassium offsets sodium and helps to lower BP. Researches have shown that consuming more potassium reduces BP in people with hypertension; and this has huge benefit for consumers as long as they do not suffer from kidney disease”.

“Most of us only get about half of the recommended dietary allowance for potassium. What many people do not know is that taking a glass of orange juice allows you to get at least eight per cent of your daily potassium,” she stressed.

While many hypertensive individuals resort to medication, Ms Abiola stated that “medication is not the only way to control high BP, otherwise known as hypertension. Lifestyle and diet also play an important role in managing such a health challenge”.

According to her, fruit juices from trustworthy brand like Chivita produces bioflavonoids such as hesperidin – functions as an antioxidant and can help to lower cholesterol.

She continued: “When healthy, reasonably overweight men drink orange juice daily for four weeks, and their diastolic BP goes down, the researchers who were searching for hesperidin’s role concluded that the bioflavonoid was probably linked to the beneficial effects. Another study confirmed that regular consumption of hesperidin helps to prevent hypertension.”

Ms Abiola also reiterated that B vitamin folate from fruit juice also helps to prevent hypertension. In her view, individuals who consumed folate from their early adult age are at a lower risk of high BP later in life. “A number of reputable authors have concluded that 100% fruit juice or whole fruit is not significantly associated with increased risk of hypertension or diabetes. Evidence indicates a modest but consistent reduction in BP with 100% fruit juice,” she said.