A couple of tablespoons added to breakfast cereals or a cup eaten on its own, yogurt is a delicious food that, when it comes to having breakfast or a snack, really makes everyone agree. And from today we know that we have one more reason to eat yogurt! In fact, yogurt helps lower blood pressure in those suffering from hypertension. This emerges from a recent scientific research published a few months ago in the International Dairy Journal by an Australian team from the University of South Australia in collaboration with American scientists from the University of Maine (Wade et al, International Dairy Journal, 2021).
The problem of hypertension
Hypertension is a condition that, it is estimated, can affect more than a billion people in the world. Blood pressure values that are too high, namely higher than 140/90 mmHg, increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attack or stroke, in the long term. This is why it is important that science is always looking for foods and lifestyles that, without side effects and easily inserted into everyday life, can help keep blood pressure under control or reduce it, if it is too high. Yogurt is one of the most popular and consumed foods, fresh and tasty, and can be eaten anywhere, at home, in the office or at school, alone or with the addition of cereals or spices, such as cinnamon. Therefore, the researchers developed the study we are talking about today to understand the benefits that yogurt can bring to our blood pressure.
Yogurt and blood pressure
Researchers analyzed health and nutrition data from 915 adults participating in the Maine Syracuse Longitudinal Study. Scientists relied on questionnaires completed by volunteers to assess the amount and regularity with which the yogurt was consumed, while the study provided for each participant the results of medical examinations that included, among other things, systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Well, what emerged was that, among hypertensive people, the consumption of yogurt, even in small quantities, led to lower blood pressure values, both systolic and diastolic. Regular consumption of yogurt made it possible to observe significant differences, with blood pressure values that were even 7 points lower than those who did not consume yogurt. The explanation for what has been observed is that yogurt contains important micronutrients, including calcium, magnesium and potassium, which are involved in regulating blood pressure. Not only that, yogurt also contains bacteria that promote protein synthesis, which, in turn, reduces blood pressure.
Conclusions
So let's eat yogurt! Always without exaggerating, of course, and within a balanced and varied diet. But, of course, a little yogurt consumed for breakfast or as a snack is a fresh, nutritious, satiating food and, from today, we also know that it is able to keep blood pressure values under control.
