Seasoning dishes with herbs and spices can lower blood pressure.
- Seasoning foods with 6.5 grams, or about 1.3 teaspoons, of herbs and spices per day is linked to lower blood pressure after four weeks.
- This limits sodium intake via salt while keeping meals tasty.
Adding spices and spiced herbs isn’t just a way to make your meals tastier, but it could also benefit your heart health. This is what American researchers suggest in a study published on September 12 in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. They found that seasoning foods with 6.5 grams, or about 1.3 teaspoons, of herbs and spices daily is linked to lower blood pressure after four weeks.
A salt substitute
One of the most effective ways to improve blood pressure is to limit their sodium intake, usually by adding less salt to their meals. While this can sometimes lead to flavor being taken away from food, this research shows that replacing it with herbs and spices can restore flavor while being healthy. “As nutritionists, we are interested in new ways to use food to improve health, and cardiovascular health in particular.continues Kristina Petersen, co-lead author of the study. We were curious about how herbs and spices might affect heart health, as they are versatile and can be added to many different types of foods..”
For the study, the researchers recruited 71 people with risk factors for heart disease. Each participant consumed three spice diets – one low, one moderate, and one high in herbs and spices – in random order for four weeks, with a two-week break between each dieting period. The low-dose, medium-dose, and high-dose diets included approximately 0.5 grams, 3.2 grams, and 6.5 grams of herbs and spices, respectively, per day. The doses included a blend of 24 different herbs and spices, ranging from basil and thyme to cinnamon and turmeric, designed to simulate how people use different herbs and spices. Blood samples were taken from each participant at the start of the study as well as after each diet period.
Lower systolic and diastolic blood pressures
The researchers found that after consuming the diet including a high dose of herbs and spices, the participants had lower systolic blood pressure than after the medium dose diet. Participants also had lower diastolic blood pressure after the high-dose herbs and spices diet than after the low-dose diet.
.
