Each time your heart beats, its powerful muscles send blood through the arteries. Maintaining a normal blood pressure is critical to one’s health, as hypetension damages the arteries and increases the risk of a stroke or heart attack. It’s especially important to maintain healthy blood pressure early in life; prehypertension in adolescence can get carried on into adulthood. Aside from maintaining an ideal body weight, the inclusion of more vegetables, fiber, calcium, magnesium, into one’s diet can do much to prevent this from happening. Double-blind studies have also shown that omega-3 supplements containing EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) can help. The latest research on the subject shows that daily consumption of these essential fats were able to improve blood pressure levels among overweight, prehypertensive teenage boys.
The study involved the participation of 78 slightly overweight teenage boys between the ages of 13 and 15. They were randomly assigned to consume a placebo (vegetable oil) or 1.5 grams of DHA and EPA everyday for 16 weeks. By the end of the trial period, the study’s authors observed an increase in EPA and DHA levels in the omega-3 group. Those who took the DHA and EPA supplements were also observed to have lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The authors explained these benefits by pointing out the effects of omega-3 fatty acids against pro-inflammatory arachidonic acid (AA), an omega-6 fatty acid found in vegetable oil. AA was found to constrict the blood vessels, thereby increasing blood pressure. However, high levels of EPA and DHA were found to inhibit this action.
Despite these exciting findings, it should be noted that omega-3 fatty acids are no magic bullet for hypertension. In order to regulate your teen’s blood pressure, omega-3 supplements have to be a part of a healthy lifestyle that involves:
Diet
Clinical studies discovered that hypertension can be normalized by a diet that is high in vegetables, fruits, and low-fat dairy, and low in cholesterol, total fat, and saturated fat. Try following the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hyertension (DASH) eating plan, a diet that reduces amounts of red meat, fat, sugary beverages and emphasizes whole grains, nuts, fish, and poultry. A similar diet called DASH-Sodium involves reducing dietary sodium consumption, which is found to lower blood pressure.
Quitting smoking
Although smoking does not cause hypertension per se, cigarette smoke hardens the arteries and injures blood vessels, increasing the risk of a heart attack.
Regular exercise
Studies show that brisk walking and other forms of regular exercise can lower blood pressure by nearly 8mmhg over 6mmhg. Why? Exercise makes the heart use oxygen efficiently so that pumping blood requires less effort.
Dr. Yannick Pauli is a Swiss natural health expert and the author of “The Healing Power of Omega-3s. To get your free copy of this e-book or watch educational videos (no sign-up required!), visit his site Omega 3 Fish Oil Vitamins.
