Coconut oil can can help lower blood pressure
Kounteya Sinha
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London:
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The humble coconut oil has now been found to be a giant slayer of hypertension.A new experiment performed on rats shows the potential for combining coconut oil and exercise to successfully reduce hypertension. Coconut oil is one of the few foods that can be classified as a “superfood“. Its unique combination of fatty acids can have profound positive effects on health, including fat loss, better brain function and many other remarkable benefits.
Researchers working at the Federal University of Paraiba in Brazil set out to test the hypothesis that a combination of daily coconut oil intake and exercise training would restore baroreflex sensitivity and reduce oxidative stress, resulting in reduction in blood pressure (BP).
Their experiments were performed on spontaneously hypertensive rats. They found that both coconut oil and exercise training were able to reduce weight gain compared to rats given saline and not exposed to the exercise training protocol along the five weeks of study. Either coconut oil supplementation or exercise training was shown to reduce BP . However, only coconut oil and exercise training combined were able to bring the pressure back to normotensive values.The reduction in BP caused by the combination of coconut oil and exercise training might be explained by the improvement of the reduced baroreflex sensitivity and by reduction in oxidative stress in the serum, heart and aorta.
“This is an important finding as coconut oil is currently being considered a popular superfood and it is being consumed by athletes and the general population who seek a healthy lifestyle,“ explained Dr Valdir de Andrade Braga, co-author of the study .
Researchers working at the Federal University of Paraiba in Brazil set out to test the hypothesis that a combination of daily coconut oil intake and exercise training would restore baroreflex sensitivity and reduce oxidative stress, resulting in reduction in blood pressure (BP).
Their experiments were performed on spontaneously hypertensive rats. They found that both coconut oil and exercise training were able to reduce weight gain compared to rats given saline and not exposed to the exercise training protocol along the five weeks of study. Either coconut oil supplementation or exercise training was shown to reduce BP . However, only coconut oil and exercise training combined were able to bring the pressure back to normotensive values.The reduction in BP caused by the combination of coconut oil and exercise training might be explained by the improvement of the reduced baroreflex sensitivity and by reduction in oxidative stress in the serum, heart and aorta.
“This is an important finding as coconut oil is currently being considered a popular superfood and it is being consumed by athletes and the general population who seek a healthy lifestyle,“ explained Dr Valdir de Andrade Braga, co-author of the study .
