I received an email asking about a post I published a bit back about beet juice and hypertension. The reason that beet juice helps in lowering high blood pressure because they are high in dietary nitrate and increase the amount of nitric oxide in the body. Nitric oxide (NO) helps blood vessels relax, lowering blood pressure. Nitric oxide has anti-inflammatory activity and discourages blood clot formation.
The research that supported this stated that two cups (500 ml) of beet juice lowered blood pressure by approximately 10 points and the effect lasts up to 24 hours.
I hope that helps and good luck!

Our last poll of 2007! Have a happy and safe new year!
{democracy:12}

I’m not gonna lie to ya! I’ve got nothing tonight. I have been searching and searching for news worthy, exciting, groundbreaking information or research and have yet to find anything so I will share a little something that I have been observing a lot of lately.
High blood pressure among our children… Working in an urgent care facility, I see every single age group and demographic every single time I work. But I am getting very bothered by the number of children whose blood pressure is alarmingly high! I mean like 152/96 and 146/94. That is no joke high!! What will …read more

Do you want to hear something scary? On average, doctors spot only 1 in 4 children that have high blood pressure. I would say that is a reason for concern. And when you do the math, that would mean that there are over 1.5 million kids that are “living” with undiagnosed hypertension.
What is the reason behind this very, very frightening little statistic…
One of the biggest reasons that hypertension is missed in children is that normal blood pressure values change based on a child’s age, gender and height. So, while 120/80 mm/Hg is a normal reading for an …read more

Blood pressure control is critically important for pregnant women and is a significant risk factor for preeclampsia. Up to now, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors have not been prescribed for women past their first trimester because they’re known to cause birth defects. A study of 29, 507 infants suggests that ACE inhibitors, such as captopril and lisinopril, may also cause birth defects in the first trimester as well. Birth defects resulting from ACE inhibitor use in later pregnancy include:

Bone abnormalities in the skull
Inhibition of growth
Fatal kidney damage

Diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD) go hand-in-hand. People with diabetes are two to four times more likely to develop CVD with CVD being the leading cause of death in diabetic individuals.
Cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity, physical inactivity, abnormal blood lipid pattern, hypertension and smoking predispose a person to atherosclerosis. Evidence also suggests that insulin resistance itself, independent of other risk factors, could be a major determinant of atherosclerosis.
For the latest news and info on diabetes, check out our sister b5media blog: Diabetes Notes.