Sesame Oil Lowers Blood Pressure
SAN ANTONIO (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A new study shows cooking with sesame oil helps reduce high blood pressure and lower the amount of medication needed to treat hypertension.
Researchers tested more than 300 patients with high blood pressure who were taking 10 milligrams to 30 milligrams of the calcium channel blocker drug, nifedipine. The participants had moderate to severe long-term hypertension but no history of heart disease or stroke.
Researchers gave the patients an average of 35 grams of sesame oil to consume for 60 days. They measured the participants' baseline blood pressure about every two weeks.
After 60 days, the patients' systolic blood pressure levels dropped from 166 to 134. Their diastolic blood pressure levels fell from 101 to 85.
Patients also needed less medication after 60 days. Doses of nifedipine were reduced by more than 15 milligrams a day by the end of the study.
Researchers say the compounds in sesame oil -- polyunsaturated fatty acids along with sesamin -- are what lower patients' blood pressure. Both compounds reduce blood pressure in hypertensive rats. Sesamin also inhibits the absorption of cholesterol in lab tests.
Devarajan Sanker, D.O., Ph.D., of Annamalai University in India, tells Ivanhoe Broadcast News there are no disadvantages to consuming sesame oil.
Sanker says, "Overall, we've added to the growing body of knowledge that suggests regular consumption of sesame oil as the sole edible oil is beneficial in many ways, including blood pressure reduction."
SOURCE: The XVth Scientific Meeting of the Inter-American Society of Hypertension in San Antonio, April 27-30, 2003
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers a searchable archive of its medical reports written since 1995. To search, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/search/.