Milk Protein May Help Lower Blood Pressure
Diet and high blood pressure:
It has been demonstrated that changing your diet can help regulate high blood pressure. You can reduce weight and decrease your risk of heart disease and stroke by making these adjustments.
Your doctor may recommend a dietician who may assist you in developing a healthy eating plan. Find out what your goal blood pressure is. Your goal will be determined by your risk factors and other health issues.
Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) The low-salt DASH diet has been shown to help decrease blood pressure. Sometimes after a few weeks, its effects on blood pressure become noticeable.
This diet is rich in fiber and other minerals. Additionally, it contains foods that are lower in sodium (salt) and richer in potassium, calcium, and magnesium than the normal American diet.
The DASH diet’s objectives are:
- Limit your daily salt intake to 2,300 mg (eating only 1,500 mg a day is an even more effective goal).
- Reduce total fat to 27% of daily calories and saturated fat to no more than 6%. Systolic blood pressure is particularly helped by low-fat dairy products.
- Choose monounsaturated oils like olive or canola when choosing fats.
- Pick whole grains over pasta or flour made from white flour.
- Pick daily servings of fresh fruits and vegetables. Most of these food items are high in fiber, potassium, or both. Consume legumes (dry beans or peas), nuts, or seeds every day.
- Limit your protein intake to no more than 18% of your daily calorie intake. The finest sources of protein include fish, skinless poultry, and soy products.
- The DASH diet also sets a daily dietary cholesterol objective of 150 mg and a carbohydrate goal of no more than 55% of daily calories. Try to consume 30 grams (g) of fiber every day.
Before adding more potassium to your diet or using salt replacements, consult your doctor (which often contains potassium). People who take certain medications or have kidney issues need to be cautious about their potassium intake.
Diet For Heart Health:
Consume foods that are low in fat by nature. Whole grains, fruits, and vegetables are a few of these.
- Observe the food labels. Pay close attention to how much-saturated fat is present.
- Foods that are high in saturated fat (more than 20% of the total fat) should be avoided or limited. One of the main risk factors for heart disease is consuming excessive amounts of saturated fat. Egg yolks, hard cheeses, whole milk, cream, ice cream, butter, and fatty meats are examples of foods high in this type of fat (and large portions of meats).
- Pick foods with lean proteins. These consist of dairy products with 1% or less fat, soy, fish, skinless chicken, and very lean meat.
- On food labels, look for the terms “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated.” Eat nothing that contains these substances. They contain a lot of trans and saturated fats.
- You should consume fewer processed and fried foods.
- Limit the number of baked items (such as crackers, cookies, and doughnuts) that you consume. They could be very saturated or trans fatty acid laden.
- Pay attention to the preparation of the food. Broiling, grilling, poaching, and baking are all healthy methods for preparing fish, chicken, and lean meats. Do not add sauces or condiments with a lot of fat.
- Eat meals that are high in soluble fiber, for example. Oats, bran, split peas, lentils, various portions of cereal, brown rice, and beans (such as kidney, black, and navy beans), split peas, and lentils are some of them.
- Discover how to prepare and buy heart-healthy foods. To select nutritious foods, learn how to read food labels. Avoid fast food establishments because it can be challenging to locate healthy options there.
Milk products: do they help?
A larger diet of dairy products, especially whole-fat versions, is associated with a lower risk of high blood pressure and diabetes, according to a study involving almost 150,000 individuals.
More full-fat dairy consumption, according to recent studies, may help prevent diabetes and hypertension. Type 2 diabetes and hypertension, sometimes known as high blood pressure, are becoming more prevalent in the US.
Currently, according to specialists, there are over 34 million Americans living with diabetes, and half of the adult population has high blood pressure. Additionally, rates are rising in other parts of the world, particularly in the West. As a result, medical practitioners are interested in learning ways to stop these disorders.
Since both problems have a high risk associated with an unhealthy diet, changing the diet appears to be a promising solution.
Dairy products are of special importance because studies have found a link between dairy consumption and decreased blood pressure. Studies have also revealed that consuming more dairy is associated with a lower risk of developing diabetes. Most of this research, however, only involved people from Europe and North America, which constrained how broadly the results could be applied. An increased intake of dairy, especially whole-fat kinds, is now linked to a decreased risk of diabetes and high blood pressure, according to a big international study that analyzed data from 150,000 people.
According to the study’s findings, consumers consumed 179 grams of dairy products daily on average. This is a little less than a daily serving of yogurt or a glass of milk, both of which have 244 grams. On average, dairy consumption was higher in Europe, North and South America, and the Middle East than it was in Asia and Africa. Additionally, people in Europe and North America tended to consume more low-fat dairy items than people in other locations, who preferred whole-fat kinds.
In their analysis of the correlations, the scientists discovered that consuming at least two servings of dairy each day was linked to a 24% lower risk of metabolic syndrome than consuming no dairy at all.
Meanwhile, consuming at least 2 servings of full-fat dairy was linked to a 28% decreased chance of developing metabolic syndrome. Only consuming low-fat dairy products were not linked to a lower risk of developing metabolic syndrome. Although butter consumption was also linked to a lower incidence of metabolic syndrome, the data were scarce, and daily intake was very low, only 3 grams on average.
Milk proteins and blood pressure:
Many foods or parts of them are utilized in the therapy and/or prevention of cardiovascular disease. It has been proposed that milk proteins have hypotensive effects. Numerous studies have been conducted to determine how milk proteins from whole foods and supplements affect blood pressure (BP). However, it is unclear how milk proteins affect blood pressure. Therefore, to shed light on and give solid data regarding the overall effect of milk proteins on BP, we did a meta-analysis of randomized control studies. Up until 2016, some databases were searched for articles pertaining to milk proteins’ impact on blood pressure. The pooled estimates and 95% confidence ranges of effect were calculated using a random effects model. Seven randomized control studies with 412 participants made up the final analysis. Overall, milk protein treatments significantly reduced systolic blood pressure by -3.33 millimeters of mercury (95% confidence interval: -5.62, -1.03) and diastolic blood pressure by -1.08 millimeters of mercury (95% confidence interval: -3.38, -0.22). Statistically, there was no evidence of publication bias in any of the research. As a result, this meta-analysis offers more proof that milk proteins moderately but significantly reduce both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
A small study published in the December 2016 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that whey protein, one of the main proteins present in milk, may reduce blood pressure.
The liquid that remains after milk has been curdled and filtered to form cheese is known as whey. Whey protein powder, a popular supplement used by athletes and bodybuilders to increase muscle mass, is made by evaporating this liquid (despite insufficient evidence for this claim).
42 individuals with mildly raised blood pressure were enlisted by the researchers for the study. The individuals had two shakes each day that contained maltodextrin, whey, or casein (another milk protein) (a carbohydrate that served as a control). The participants ingested the three supplements for a total of eight weeks, each in a different order. The entire study was completed by 38 participants. 56 grams of whey protein per day resulted in a 2-point reduction in diastolic blood pressure and an approximate 3-point decrease in systolic blood pressure (the first number in a blood pressure reading) compared to the control group. Whey and casein both improved blood vessel function and reduced blood cholesterol levels.