Recent studies have pointed to 3 foods with powerful effects at lowering blood pressure.
The first of these foods is oat bran. A study published in April 2021 in the journal Nutrition, Metabolism, and Cardiovascular Diseases found that oat bran benefits the gut microbiome and lowers blood pressure.
In the study, 50 participants with hypertension were assigned to either an oat bran intervention or a control group (split evenly, 25 people in each group). The intervention group was given 30 grams of oat bran daily, which contained 9 grams of fiber. After 3 months of daily consumption, the oat bran group had significantly lower blood pressure compared to the controls, and their use of antihypertensive drugs was also greatly reduced.
Additionally, the oat bran consumers improved their microbiome composition –including increasing the amount of Bifidobacterium, healthy bacteria that supports the digestion of fiber and production of beneficial short-chain fatty acids.
The next blood pressure lowering food is blueberries. A 2019 study published in The Journals of Gerontology found that consuming wild blueberries daily for a period of one month — in this case, 11 grams of wild blueberry powder twice daily — reduced 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure and enhanced arterial function.
