Eating Blueberries Helps Lower Blood Pressure

By : Jodie Shield | 0 Comments | On : June 9, 2015 | Category : Adults, Kids, Seniors, Teens

A cup of blueberries a day may keep the doctor away!

By: Jodie Shield, RDN

If you’re a woman, between the ages of 45 and 65, and a berry lover, here’s another reason to go blue. A recent study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (JAND) concluded that daily blueberry consumption reduces blood pressure and may prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD). This is good and delicious news for the one in three American adults who suffer from hypertension.

In the study, researchers fed 48 postmenopausal women with pre- and stage 1-hypertension, 22 grams of freeze-dried blueberry powder (this equals 1 cup of fresh blueberries) every day for eight weeks. The result: they were able to lower systolic blood pressure by 5.1% and diastolic blood pressure by 6.3%. Although the study sample size was small, and only included women, it was a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial – the gold standard for research studies. Men, no need to feel left out. Looks like blueberries are good for your blood pressure and prevent CVD, too. Another research study involving middle-aged obese men and women with metabolic syndrome achieved similar blood pressure lowering results as the JAND study.

One important caveat: the effectiveness of the dose of blueberry powder used for the studies does not match the effectiveness of hypertensive medications. Stay tuned, as more research is needed. In the mean time, eating one cup of blueberries every day is something all of us can do. In addition, here are three of my favorite blueberry recipes: Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins, Blueberry Crisp, and Easy Blueberry Pie. I recently added all of them to my iTunes recipe app Time To Eat Healthy – Homemade Meals in Minutes!