Is Vitamin C a High Blood Pressure Natural Remedy?

Researchers in the United Kingdom are not willing to say that Vitamin C supplements are a high blood pressure natural remedy, although having high levels of Vitamin C in your blood may be.

At first this may sound contradictory, but these findings implicate a diet high in fruits and vegetables to shave off years from high blood pressure risk.

Hypertension increases with age. Phyo Mint and colleagues showed that people who frequently consume fruits and vegetables had statistically lower blood pressure levels - levels equivalent to a person 2-3 years younger.

The study published in the September 2011 issue of Hypertension, studied over 20,000 patients in the United Kingdom. Vitamin C biomarkers in the blood were used as an indicator of regular fruit and vegetable intake, which was correlated with self-reports of each person's diet.

The researchers do not advocate direct Vitamin C supplementation however, for several reasons:

• Vitamin C levels are tightly managed by the body, and megadoses of Vitamin C supplements are not associated with dramatic increases in blood plasma levels of the vitamin.
• Vitamin C has a short lifespan in the blood, with only half of the original quantity present after 30 minutes.
• When the data considered those people who reported taking Vitamin C supplements, there was no significant difference.

This study did control for other variables that can contribute to high blood pressure: age, weight, BMI, smoking status, employment grade, physical activity, etc.

As a result, it appears as though regular consumption of fruits and vegetables (a routine that will ensure somewhat steady levels of vitamin C in the blood) is associated with a lower risk of high blood pressure.

Simply put, the high blood pressure natural remedy is to eat your fruits and vegetables.

It is important to note that these effects were seen at approximately 5 servings of fruits and vegetables throughout the day.

The study did not differentiate between cooked and fresh fruits and vegetables, which is potentially important since Vitamin C is easily degraded by heat during cooking. To ensure the largest amount of Vitamin C in your produce, eat it fresh and raw as often as possible.

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