This red onion skin stuff can lower blood pressure

study overview

Researchers at the University of Bonn have conducted a study suggesting that quercetin, a natural extract from red onion skins, may be helpful in lowering high blood pressure in overweight and obese individuals.

What is quercetin?

Quercetin is a type of flavonol, a polyphenol commonly found in fruits, vegetables, seeds, grains, and other plant foods. Foods high in quercetin include capers, red onions, and kale.

Previous research has shown that quercetin has antihypertensive properties, meaning it may help lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease.

Research

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether regular intake of quercetin can help lower blood pressure in overweight and obese individuals who had pre-hypertension or had stage I hypertension.

The study involved 70 participants who were given either 162 mg/day of quercetin from onion skin extract powder or a placebo for six weeks.

Researchers monitored ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) and in-office blood pressure before and after the procedure.

Results

Results showed that in the high blood pressure group, quercetin was able to reduce 24-hour systolic blood pressure by 3.6 mmHg compared to placebo.

In addition, quercetin significantly reduced systolic blood pressure both during the day and at night in patients with high blood pressure.

However, it was found that quercetin had no effect on blood pressure biomarkers, oxidation, inflammation, lipid and glucose metabolism, either in the total group or in the subgroup of hypertensive subjects.

implications

The researchers concluded that supplementing with 162 mg/day of quercetin from onion skin extract powder could lower blood pressure, indicating a potential cardio-protective effect of quercetin.

These findings are significant because high blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular complications.

According to the World Health Organization, around 1 billion people worldwide suffer from high blood pressure, which is responsible for around 8 million deaths every year.

While the study was relatively small and more research is needed to confirm these results, it provides promising evidence that quercetin could be a natural remedy for high blood pressure, particularly in overweight and obese people.

The research was conducted by Verena Brüll and colleagues and published in the British Journal of Nutrition.

If you are concerned about blood pressure, please read Studies on Cannabis Linked to Lowering Blood Pressure in the Elderly This common plant nutrient may help lower high blood pressure.

You can find more information on the topic of health in current studies on how to deal with high blood pressure. The results show that antimicrobials commonly found in toothpaste are linked to inflammation in the gut.

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