Drinking cherry juice may help reduce high blood pressure

ISLAMABAD: Drinking cherry juice can reduce high blood pressure, particularly in males, with early hypertension to a level comparable to that achieved by medication, a study says.

High blood pressure, if left untreated, increases risk of heart attack, heart failure, kidney disease, stroke or dementia.

The findings showed that men who drank tart Montmorency cherry juice saw a peak reduction in their blood pressure of seven millimetre of mercury (mmHg) in the three hours after consuming the drink, Health News reported.

This reduction is comparable to the level achieved by anti hypertensive drugs, the researchers said.

When phenolic acids, proto-catechuic and vanillic compounds, present within the cherry concentrate, reached their peak levels in the plasma, systolic blood pressure showed greatest improvement.

The magnitude of the blood pressure lowering effects, we observed, was comparable to those achieved by a single anti-hypertensive drug and highlights the potential importance that Montmorency cherries could have in the effective management of high blood pressure, said lead author Karen Keane, lecturer at Northumbria University in Britain.

Raised blood pressure is the leading cause of deaths from heart diseases yet relatively small reductions in blood pressure can have a large impact on mortality rates.

The team worked with fifteen participants who were displaying early hypertension with blood pressure readings of at least 130/90 mmHg meaning they were at higher risk of experiencing heart related problems.

They were given either 60ml of a Montmorency cherry concentrate or the same amount of a commercially available fruit flavoured cordial.

Blood pressure and bloodsamples were taken before the cherry concentrate was consumed and bloodpressure was measured on an hourly basis thereafter.