You can now lower your blood pressure by consuming apple cider vinegar (ACV), scientists have claimed. High blood pressure or hypertension is the result of 2 forces, including the systolic and the diastolic pressure. Your blood pressure depends on the amount of blood pumped by your heart and the amount of blood flow resistance in the arteries. If your blood pressure is lower than 120/80 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), that is considered normal. If it is 130/80 mm Hg and above, it is deemed to be high.
How Blood Pressure and the Circulatory System Work
For you to survive, your organs and tissues need the oxygenated blood carried by the circulatory system throughout the body. Your heart creates pressure when it beats, pushing blood through a network of tube-shaped vessels, including capillaries, arteries, and veins. The blood pressure is the result of the systolic and the diastolic pressure. The systolic pressure occurs when blood is pumped out of the heart and into the circulatory system. As your heart rests between heartbeats, the diastolic pressure is created.
The Damage Starts in the Arteries and the Heart
Blood pressure causes harm when it increases the workload of the heart and the blood vessels. Too much pressure causes the two to work harder and less efficiently. With time, the force damages delicate tissues within the arteries. This is what causes the bad cholesterol, LDL, to form plaque in the artery walls. Once plaque is formed, it signals the start of atherosclerosis. As more damage is caused, the insides of the arteries become narrower, raising blood pressure.
Blood pressure causes harm when it increases the workload of the heart and the blood vessels. Too much pressure causes the two to work harder and less efficiently. With time, the force damages delicate tissues within the arteries. This is what causes the bad cholesterol, LDL, to form plaque in the artery walls. Once plaque is formed, it signals the start of atherosclerosis. As more damage is caused, the insides of the arteries become narrower, raising blood pressure.
Because it is a silent killer, you may not feel like anything is wrong, but it could be quietly damaging and threatening your health. As the level of damage increases, arteries narrow further, and it is a vicious cycle that further harms your heart and the rest of your body. Ultimately, this could cause life-threatening conditions, including heart attack, stroke, and arrhythmia. How do natural products such as apple cider vinegar bring the numbers down? Let’s find out.
What is Apple Cider Vinegar?
Apple cider vinegar is made in a two-step process. The first step is composed of crushed apples to yeast, which ferment the sugars, turning them into alcohol. In the next step, bacteria are added to the alcoholic solution to ferment it further to acetic acid. Acetic acid is believed to be responsible for most of the health benefits. In French, vinegar means sour wine. In its organic form, apple cider also contains strands of protein, good bacteria, and enzymes. It does not contain many minerals or vitamins but has some amounts of potassium. Quality branded ones are also rich in antioxidants and amino acids.
The Medicinal History of Apple Cider Vinegar
In the natural health community, apple cider vinegar is the most popular type of vinegar. Science has found it to contain many health benefits from weight loss, lower blood pressure, diabetes, and reduced cholesterol. Traditionally, it has been used for decades to cure sore throats and stomach upset. Doctor Hippocrates, the ancient Greek used ACV to treat wounds, and in the 10th century, it was used in combination with sulfur as a disinfectant during autopsies.
Studies now show that apple cider vinegar could be used to control high blood pressure. However, to some degree, the answer to how apple cider vinegar brings hypertension down is complex. It does control blood pressure, but only when taken effectively and only for some types of hypertension. An individual who acquires high blood pressure as a secondary effect to an underlying condition, such as kidney disease, would benefit from apple cider vinegar to some extent.
Understand that all outcomes are not restorative. The highlight to utilizing apple cider vinegar is using it effectively alongside medication, embracing a proper food regimen, and exercising regularly to bring down circulatory strain. The bottom line is; ACV does work in different cases and could improve your situation if added to your eating regimen. Analysts say that individuals who consumed about a spoonful of apple cider vinegar daily for about a month managed to enhance the levels of good cholesterol in their bodies.
How Does Apple Cider Vinegar Maintain Healthy Blood Pressure?
Apple cider vinegar is a perfect element for lowering bad cholesterol, which has an effect on blood pressure. ACV is also a detoxifier which enables the body to destroy illnesses and discharge free radicals which wreck the functioning of the circulatory system and the entire body. Using apple cider vinegar in recommended dosages means you are also giving your body a lift to wellness.
How ACV manages high blood pressure is not completely established. However, several studies show that expending apple cider vinegar daily lowers blood pressure readings. If you are not into the harsh flavor, you can still get it in its pill form. It can also be mixed in soups to conceal the strong flavor. You could also mix it with honey, lemonade, and warm water to manage your blood pressure and get a metabolic boost.
Although ACV brands are not equal, the legitimate amount to take is a maximum of 2 tablespoons daily. The best ACV is the virgin or natural assortment. However, before adopting this regimen, consult your specialist to ensure it will not react with your medication. Because apple cider vinegar is an incredible method of expelling poisons, decreasing high blood pressure, and boosting the health of the body, it can be a useful basis for the cardiac function.
How Apple Cider Vinegar Affects the Heart’s Health
Heart disease, including strokes, artery blockages, hypertension, irregular pulses, and heart attack, are life-threatening. Your entire body needs your heart to function. Apple cider vinegar is a proven remedy for coronary diseases, alongside other supplements, herbs, and dietary changes. It contains a cancer prevention agent known as chlorogenic acid (CGA) which prevents LDL cholesterol particles from oxidation. This is a process that prevents the heart from coronary illnesses.
ACV Benefits in High Blood Pressure
Most of the studies conducted on apple juice vinegar and how it can impact high blood pressure have been largely conducted on animals. While more research is needed, the studies have revealed several benefits of the juice and how it could help hypertension:
1. Lower Renin Activity
Apple cider vinegar is rich in acetic acid. A study done on rats over an extended period showed a decrease in high blood pressure and the enzyme renin. ACV was believed to have triggered the decrease of the enzyme and the blood pressure.
2. Lower Blood Glucose
A reduction in the levels of blood glucose would have a direct effect on blood pressure. Because some studies show that vinegar can lower blood glucose, it is also believed to bring hypertension down in the same way.
3. Weight Loss
Obesity and hypertension are highly related. Use apple cider vinegar in your diet instead of high-fat or high-salt dressings. Cutting your salt and fat intake could help you manage your high blood pressure. An overall healthy diet would have a better outcome.
4. Lower Cholesterol
A different study was conducted and showed that acetic acid present in apple cider vinegar might improve cholesterol levels. Some rats were put on a daily ACV regimen and others on a cholesterol-rich eating routine. After some time, the cholesterol levels had gone down significantly in those on ACV compared to those on the cholesterol-rich diet.
It means that acetic acid, which is the primary compound in the juice, restrains lipogenesis (the process of transforming simple sugars into fats). In addition to using apple cider vinegar, be sure to restrain your intake of Trans fats and saturated fats to maintain a healthy weight. Understand that hypertension and high cholesterol increase the risk of heart disease and can damage your heart and blood vessels quickly.
How to use Apple Cider Vinegar
With the vinegar being a little challenging to handle on its own, what should your diet look like when using it? The trick is to mix the vinegar with other flavors for easier consumption. Here is a quick guide:
- Add 2 tablespoons to a smoothie
- Add it to cooked popcorn
- Spread it over vegetables or meat
- Mix it with sweet-flavored herbs for salad dressing
- Drink a shot if you can handle it
- Sprinkle in tea and follow it with honey
Other dietary changes could increase the effectiveness of apple cider vinegar. It is best to use it in its uncooked form. Uncooked form of apple cider vinegar ensures nutrients and fermentation are retained.
1. Regulated Sodium
The first step is to mix apple cider vinegar with about a tablespoon of honey in a glass of warm water. Drink the mixture twice daily. Both of these ingredients are rich in potassium, which is necessary for balancing sodium levels in the body. This means it can also lower high blood pressure.
The second step is to read food labels to ensure the product is low in sodium. Watch out on soups, bread, medication, and canned food. They may contain a sodium content which could negatively interact with your blood vessels.
2. Cayenne Pepper Tonic
Combine a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with 1/16 of cayenne pepper to decrease hypertension. In several studies, cayenne pepper has been found to have tremendous effects on blood pressure even when used alone.
3. Salad Dressing
Mix apple cider vinegar, spices, and olive oil to make a salad dressing. Increase the effectiveness of this dressing by consuming more fresh vegetables and reducing the intake of saturated fats which are present in whole-milk dairy products and meats.
4. Replace Coffee
Coffee is a harmful stimulant which can raise blood pressure. On the other hand, apple cider vinegar lowers blood pressure and reduces fatigue. If you want to stay awake for longer periods of time, replace coffee with a shot of ACV.
Lifestyle Changes to Adopt for a Lower Blood Pressure
Lifestyle modifications can lower elevated blood pressure without medication. Here are a few of the most effective:
1. Increase physical activities
Increasing the heart rate regularly through exercise can strengthen your heart and help it to pump with less effort. Physical activity puts less pressure on the arteries, which in turn lowers the blood pressure levels. Some of the less cumbersome exercises include doing house chores, walking up the stairs, biking, and walking instead of driving. Experts recommend at least 30 minutes of activity per day.
2. Lose Weight
If you are overweight, lose at least 5-10 pounds. This will reduce elevated blood pressure and the risk of other medical conditions.
3. Eliminate Sugars and Refined Carbs
Research shows that cutting back on sugars and refined carbs can boost weight loss and lower elevated blood pressure. The effect of low carb and low sugar diet is that you feel fuller longer.
4. Quit Smoking
Smoking increases the heart rate and blood pressure temporarily. With time, the chemicals present in tobacco may damage the walls of the blood vessels leading to inflammation and the narrowing of the arteries. Once the arteries harden, they cause hypertension. The chemicals can also harm your arteries if you are a secondary smoker.
5. Sleep Enough
When you sleep, your blood pressure tips down. People who suffer from insomnia and sleep deprivation are at a higher risk of high blood pressure. If you struggle to sleep at night, practice meditation, relax more, avoid daytime naps, exercise during the day, and keep your sleeping area comfortable.
6. Consume BP-Lowering Supplements
Omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, magnesium, whey protein, and coenzyme Q10 have been found to contain promising effects on blood pressure.
Many dietary measures can be embraced to bring blood pressure levels down. Most of them have been thoroughly studied and proved to work. Be careful to check the labels to ensure the contents are not high in sodium. If you suffer from high blood pressure, you are advised to make food from scratch to control the amount of salt consumed.
Cutting back on caffeine, avoiding alcoholic drinks, eating healthy high protein foods, reducing stress, and meditating are among other effective lifestyle changes you could adapt to lower blood sugar. If your blood pressure is still high, your doctor might choose to prescribe high blood pressure medications. Prescription drugs can improve your long-term outcome. However, it may take longer to find the best combination of drugs.
Heart disease is currently the world’s leading cause of death. Several biological factors are to blame, most of which can be improved through the consumption of apple cider vinegar. Most studies have shown that apple cider vinegar does in fact decrease blood pressure, which is the top trigger of heart disease. It has also been evidenced to improve insulin sensitivity and help fight diabetes, as well as lower blood sugar levels. These are factors which should also lower the risk of heart disease.