High blood pressure affects one in four adults in the UK, according to the NHS, but many people don’t realise they have it because symptoms are rarely noticeable. The best way to find out if you have high blood pressure is to have your reading regularly checked – either by your GP or a pharmacist or using a blood pressure monitor at home. High blood pressure can often be prevented or reduced by eating healthily. As a general rule, experts recommend cutting down on the amount of salt in food and eating plenty of fruit and vegetables.
But specific food and drink have also been found to hold blood pressure lowering properties.
One drink which has been proven to significantly lower blood pressure is olive leaf extract tea.
In a 2011 study, researchers randomised people with state 1 hypertension (high blood pressure) to take either 500milligrams of olive leaf extract or 12.5 to 25 milligrams of captopril, a medication for high blood pressure, twice a day.
After an eight week period, blood pressure showed to be significantly lower for both groups.
The team concluded olive leaf extract was as effective at lowering blood pressure in people with early hypertension as captopril.
Another study from 2017 saw people with stage 1 hypertension take either an olive leaf extract containing 136mg of oleuropein or a placebo each day.
After six weeks, participants who took the olive leaf extract had much lower blood pressure than those who took the placebo.
A double-blind, controlled study in humans showed olive lead tea reduce systolic blood pressure (the higher number on a blood pressure reading) by an average of 11.5mmHg, and diastolic blood pressure (the lower number) by 4.8mmHg in just eight weeks.
Olive leaf extract is available in the form of capsules, tablets and tea.
The tea can have a slight bitter taste, but the addition of a slice of fresh lemon can make the taste mellower.
Other drinks have also been shown to help reduce and prevent high blood pressure.
Another tea is hibiscus tea, with several studies demonstrating its ability to lower both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
In one study involving 65 people with high blood pressure participants were given hibiscus tea or a placebo.
After six weeks, those who drank hibiscus tea had a significant decease in systolic blood pressure compared to the placebo.
A 2015 review of five studies also found hibiscus tea decreased both systolic and diastolic blood pressure (the lower number on a reading) by an average of 7.58mmHg and 3.53mmHg.
Pomegranate juice and kombucha are also drinks that have been shown to have a positive impact on blood pressure.
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