Orange Juice Lowers Blood Pressure

[Guest guest]

-

" Ken " <shining

Tuesday, March 19, 2002 8:44 AM

Cleveland Clinic Research Shows Orange Juice Lowers Blood Pressure

 

 

> Cleveland Clinic Research Shows Orange Juice Lowers Blood Pressure

> March 2002 (Newstream)

>

http://www.newstream.com/us/story_pub.shtml?story_id=5401 & user_ip=216.93.112

> .38

>

> Drinking two glasses of orange juice daily for six weeks significantly

> reduced blood pressure in a pilot study conducted at The Cleveland Clinic.

>

> Dennis Sprecher, M.D., presented the findings of the JUICE study on March

19

> in Atlanta at the annual Scientific Session of the American College of

> Cardiology. Dr. Sprecher is head of the section of Preventive Cardiology

in

> the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at The Cleveland Clinic. The

JUICE

> (Juice Utilization Improves Cardiovascular Endpoints) study is the first

> research to indicate that an everyday food or beverage can lower blood

> pressure.

>

> " Previous studies have suggested that many of the nutrients found

naturally

> in orange juice, such as potassium, vitamin C and other antioxidants, have

a

> beneficial effect on blood pressure, " Dr. Sprecher said. " The next logical

> step was to find out whether orange juice itself could provide a

measurable

> improvement. "

>

> In this study, sponsored by a grant from Tropicana, Dr. Sprecher tested

four

> different beverages, including three 100% orange juices, for two weeks

each.

> There were 24 subjects who had partial blockage in the arteries leading to

> their heart but whose hypertension and serum cholesterol were then under

> control. The beverages tested were: (1) a vitamin C-fortified juice drink;

> (2) not-from-concentrate orange juice; (3) not-from-concentrate orange

juice

> fortified with vitamin C; and (4) not-from-concentrate orange juice

> fortified with vitamins C and E.

>

> During the trial period, all medications were discontinued immediately

> before each clinic visit. Patients drank two glasses (16 ounces) of the

test

> beverage daily. At the end of each two-week period measurements were taken

> of blood pressure and " brachial artery reactivity " or BART, an indicator

of

> vessel flexibility.

>

> " After adjusting for age, gender and baseline blood pressure, we found

that

> orange juice produced on average about a 10mm/Hg or 7 percent reduction in

> systolic blood pressure and about a 3.5 mm/Hg or 4.6 percent reduction in

> diastolic blood pressure, " Dr. Sprecher said. None of the patients in the

> study gained weight.

>

> The researchers concluded that " orange juice appears to positively

influence

> vascular regulation and may have implications for public health strategies

> toward blood pressure control. "

>

> Hypertension is the most common cardiovascular problem in the United

States

> and is a major risk factor for coronary artery disease. It is the leading

> risk factor for stroke, which kills more than 150,000 people each year and

> disables three times that number. Doctors call hypertension the " silent

> killer " because often there are no symptoms.

>

> Although the causes of hypertension are unknown in 95 percent of cases,

diet

> and lifestyle factors are known to play a key role. Factors that have been

> found to reduce risk include maintaining a healthy weight, having a

> physically active lifestyle and following a diet high in fruits and

> vegetables, whole grains, lean meats and fish, legumes, seeds and nuts.

>

> " The findings from this pilot study are consistent with the results of

> research on the impact of the DASH program, " Dr. Sprecher said. DASH

stands

> for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension and is a program that was

> clinically proven to lower systolic blood pressure.

>

> " As a next step, we plan to repeat our experiment in a larger number of

> people, " Dr. Sprecher said. " The potential public health impact could be

> very exciting. "

>

> The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, founded in 1921, integrates clinical and

> hospital care with research and education in a private, not-for-profit

group

> practice. Approximately 1,100 full-time salaried physicians at The

Cleveland

> Clinic and Cleveland Clinic Florida represent more than 100 medical

> specialties and subspecialties. In 2000, there were more than 2 million

> outpatient visits to The Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Patients came for

> treatment from every state and from more than 80 countries. There were

more

> than 51,000 hospital admissions to The Cleveland Clinic Foundation in

2000.

> The Cleveland Clinic website address is www.clevelandclinic.org.

>

> ---------------

>

> Produced for Tropicana

>

> Contact:

>

> Paige Moore, 212-812-7082