Fruit Juices and BP

A glass of fruit juice a day may not be as ‘healthy’ as previously thought as researchers found that those who regularly drink fruit juice have significantly higher blood pressure than those who have it occasionally. With high amounts of sugar with negligible fibre, a daily glass of fruit juice could lead to high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease, the researchers explained.

A daily glass of fruit juice leads to people having significantly higher central blood pressure – which can increase the risk of problems such as a heart attack or angina, the findings showed. ‘Although juices may have essential vitamins, they commonly contain high amounts of sugar with negligible fibre,’ said Matthew Pase from the Swinburne University of Technology in Australia.


‘Thus, frequent fruit juice consumption may be contributing to excessive sugar intake, typical of the Western population, exacerbating the prevalence of hyper-tension (high blood pressure) and cardio-vascular disease,’ Pase pointed out. Fruit juice has also been blamed for helping fuel obesity and diabetes epidemics in Britain as a 250 ml serving contains 115 calories, the equivalent of seven teaspoons of sugar, Daily Mail reported.

Here are some fruits vegetables for reducing high blood pressure

Bananas – Bananas are the most common and easily available fruits that are loaded with potassium, a mineral whose shortage is found to trigger hypertension. Also, potassium is found to flush out the harmful effects caused by excess of sodium by acting as a powerful diuretic agent thereby preventing as well as lowering blood pressure.

Citrus fruits – Citrus fruits such as oranges, grapefruit, etc are full of phytonutrients and bioflavonoids along with possessing high levels of potassium, vitamin and dietary fibre. These fruits not only exert anti-inflammatory effect but also help in lowering cholesterol levels as well as high blood pressure levels. more