Acai Berries may help lower blood pressure

Acai Berries help beat blood pressure

Almost every time you go to the doctor, you’ll get your blood pressure taken. What your doctor is actually doing is measuring the amount of force your heart is using as it pumps the blood around your body.

When it’s too high, you’re at increased your risk of developing cardiovascular problems due to the extra stress on your blood vessels (hence the medical name for high blood pressure, ‘hypertension’).

High blood pressure is incredibly common, affecting as many as one in seven Australian adults, and becoming more prevalent as we get older.

In the 1990s, the famous Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) studies demonstrated that changing your diet can help lower or manage high blood pressure.

This series of clinical trials showed that the most effective diet against hypertension is one that avoids salt (aiming for less than 2300 mg, and preferably less than 1500 mg of sodium per day), saturated fat and cholesterol (from meat and full-fat dairy products).

On the other hand the DASH diet contains plenty of foods rich in potassium, magnesium, calcium and fibre, including fat-free or low-fat dairy products, whole grains, fish and nuts.

In particular, it contains 4-5 servings per day of fruit, and 4-5 servings of vegetables. These foods contribute potassium to the diet in abundance, which in turn helps to balance sodium levels and maintain healthy blood pressure.

Now, new research suggests that the type of fruit and veggies you choose could also be important in managing your blood pressure.

In a study that tracked the diets of nearly 157,000 people over 14 years, consuming high dietary levels of a group of antioxidant compounds called anthocyanins was shown to have a significant protective effect against hypertension. Participants in the study who ate the highest levels of anthocyanins had an 8% lower risk of developing high blood pressure than those who ate them in small quantities or infrequently.

So where do you find anthocyanins? They’re a group of flavonoids, typically found in red, blue and purple coloured foods, such as strawberries, blueberries and raspberries.

Anthocyanins are particularly rich in the acai berry, an extremely nutritious, high-energy superfood from the Amazon rainforest. Since fresh açaí berries spoil extremely quickly, here in Australia they’re mostly consumed in freeze-dried powdered form, which has the advantage of also concentrating the antioxidant levels in every serve. For example, just 5 grams of RioLife Organic Acai Berry Powder provides a similar level of antioxidants to around 120 blueberries.

Other ways to help manage your blood pressure include stopping smoking, avoiding excessive quantities of alcohol, participating in regular exercise, and keeping to a healthy body weight.

Selected references:

Cassidy A, et al. Habitual intake of flavonoid subclasses and incident hypertension in adults. Am J Clin Nutr 2010 doi: 10.3945/ajcn.110.00678

US Dept Health and Human Services, NIH. Your guide to lowering your blood pressure with