Is Guava the Secret to Lowering High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)?
6 minute read
High blood pressure (hypertension) is a contributing factor to heart disease, which is a top cause of death in the United States. As dangerous as high blood pressure can be, it is possible to control it. With the right changes to your lifestyle you can lower and regulate your blood pressure. The best changes to make losing weight and adding the right foods to your diet. One of the best foods to add is the guava fruit.
Guava and Your Heart
Guava and guava juice have been found to reduce high blood pressure, thereby protecting your heart. Beyond its sweet, tropical taste, this fruit is packed full of potassium and vitamin C, which both promote heart health in several ways. These nutrients help support heart health and regulate blood pressure in different but complementary ways.
Potassium
Potassium helps counteract the effects of sodium, which increases blood pressure. With the typical Western diet full of processed, sodium-rich foods, this additional potassium is essential.
As an important electrolyte, potassium also serves to promote a healthy heartbeat. Your body requires a delicate balance of potassium in order for your heart muscles to function efficiently, and excess sodium is responsible for disrupting this balance.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is mostly known for its support of your immune system, but it plays an important role in heart health too. Vitamin C promotes health in your blood vessels and protects them from damaging inflammation.
By protecting your arteries from chronic inflammation and lowering cholesterol, vitamin C also helps prevent arterial clogs in the heart.
The guava, like most fruits, is also full of other antioxidant compounds that work to protect the heart and blood vessels from oxidative damage. In doing so, guava helps to protect your heart from arterial damage.
Heart tissues and blood vessels are highly susceptible to oxidative damage. Guava also reduces overall cholesterol levels, which contribute to lower and healthier blood pressure.
The Guava and Your Health
The fruit and seeds of the guava are proven to be full of potential benefits, and the leaves can even be used to make healing teas. In fact, beyond regulating blood pressure and protecting your heart, the guava can do much more to elevate your well-being.
Lower Blood Sugar Levels
The abundance of unhealthy foods in the Western world contributes to an increased presence of diabetes as well as hypertension. Guava can help to lower blood glucose levels, helping prevent or control diabetes.
Extract from the guava leaf has been shown to improve blood sugar levels and insulin resistance. This is just as important for diabetics as it is for anyone seeking to prevent diabetes.
Better Digestion
Dietary fiber can help promote healthy, regular bowel movements, so it is beneficial that guava, like most fruits, is rich in fiber. Dietary fiber helps to slow digestion down, which allows time for your body to absorb nutrients from the food you consume. It also slows the absorption of sugars which can benefit diabetics.
When used as a tea, the leaves provide the same benefit—just in case you don’t have access to the fresh fruit.
Support Healthy Weight Loss
Guavas are a great weight-loss friendly food. They are very low in calories and the high fiber content fills you up. When you feel full, you don’t overeat or crab unhealthy snacks which benefit your waistline. You also get all the vitamins and nutrients to support overall health which will help you achieve and maintain a healthy wright.
Boost Your Immunity
The high vitamin C content in guava benefits your heart and your immune system. As one of the richest food sources of vitamin C, guava provides almost twice as much an orange will. By boosting your immune system, your body is better able to defend against and protect you from infections.
With guava on board, you can even reduce the amount of time needed to fight the common cold. Guava is also full of antimicrobial compounds which can help you fight bad bacteria and viruses.
Healthier Skin
The antioxidant content of guava helps to protect you from oxidative damage. Your skin is commonly a target of oxidative damage, and this causes premature aging and wrinkles.
The guava fruit and leaf extract both help treat acne and infuse your skin with protective antioxidants to ward off aging and wrinkles. The antimicrobial compounds also help to protect your skin from invading pathogens.
Anticancer Agent
Guava contains beneficial compounds that may help you prevent cancer. Studies have found that compounds in guava extract can interfere with the growth of cancer cells.
While research continues, the outlook is promising that guava extract may be a beneficial ally in the fight against cancer.
Relieve PMS Symptoms
Many women suffer from uncomfortable and sometimes severe PMS symptoms. Guava has been found to reduce the intensity of these pains and bring relief to women during menstruation.
| Related: How Krill Oil Can Help Relieve PMS Symptoms |
The guava leaf seems to be the best for this, so enjoy warm cups of guava tea during that time of the month to melt your cramps and discomfort away.
The Bottom Line
Hypertension is one of the most common health conditions today, largely as a result of the unhealthy Western diet. The excess fat, sugar, and sodium found in foods today cause high blood pressure along with a host of other health problems.
Cutting these foods out is the first step to lowering blood pressure. The next step is to add beneficial and heart-healthy foods, like the guava.
