Researchers recommend people who wish to stay healthy to regularly consume probiotics

Jul 22, 2014 20:13 GMT  ·  By

Writing in a recent issue of the journal Hypertension, a team of scientists in Australia argue that folks who wish to stay healthy and who are especially preoccupied about the wellbeing of their circulatory system would do well to consume probiotics.

This is because, according to evidence at hand, these microorganisms that people can ingest either by eating yogurt or by taking supplements can help keep the average Joe and Jane's blood pressure levels in check.

More precisely, it appears that people who consume probiotics on a regular basis are likely to experience a drop in their blood pressure levels, provided that these levels are a tad too high for their own good to begin with.

On the other hand, folks who do not yet have any issues with their blood pressure can also benefit from consuming probiotics, in the sense that a diet rich in these microorganisms has the potential to stave off health issues leading to elevated blood pressure levels.

“The small collection of studies we looked at suggest regular consumption of probiotics can be part of a healthy lifestyle to reduce high blood pressure. They can also help maintain healthy blood-pressure levels,” says Jing Sun with the Griffith University School of Medicine.

Live Science tells us that, while trying to determine how probiotics affect a person's overall wellbeing and especially their blood pressure levels, Jing Sun and colleagues looked at the medical records and dietary choices of as many as 543 adults whose blood pressure was either high or normal.

It was thus discovered that, when compared to folks who never consumed probiotics, those who ate yogurt, fermented dairy drinks and cheese, or took supplements on a regular basis had a systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure about 3.56 and 2.38 lower, respectively.

In their paper in the journal Hypertension, the scientists behind this research project argue that this drop in blood pressure was the equivalent of reducing one's daily salt intake to under 2,000 milligrams of sodium. Presently, it is unclear which probiotics, i.e. from food or from supplements, work better in terms of reducing blood pressure levels.

Besides, researchers are yet to figure out which strains of probiotics work best when it comes to reducing elevated blood pressure and helping people keep their circulatory system healthy. What is known is that, in order for probiotics to work their magic, people must consume them for at least 8 weeks in a row.

Jing Sun and colleagues recommend that future investigations into how probiotics affect one's overall health condition be carried out. The researchers say that these investigations should focus on pinning down the exact reasons why these microorganisms influence blood pressure levels.