This tea has numerous health benefits that can aid in the prevention of specific ailments.
Keeping your blood pressure in a healthy range is critical to your overall health. Blood pressure is a measurement of how much power your blood exerts on the walls of your arteries throughout the day, and having too much of it can be dangerous.
High blood pressure, commonly known as hypertension, increases your risk of severe health problems such as heart disease and stroke. This is why it's crucial to keep an eye on your numbers and do everything you can to keep them in check.
One method to achieve this is to make changes to your nutrition, and one of the best places to start is with one of the important meals of the day: breakfast!
We asked Lauren Harris-Pincus, MS, RDN, creator of Nutrition Starring YOU and author of The Everything Easy Prediabetes Cookbook about several morning foods and drinks that can help us lower our blood pressure, and the answer was unexpected!
"A wonderful cup of hibiscus tea helps lower your blood pressure in the morning," Pincus explains, "and if you want extra added health advantages, sweeten your hibiscus tea with some pomegranate juice!"
Hibiscus Tea
"Hibiscus tea can be a relaxing way to start your day, with the added benefit of lowering blood pressure," Pincus explains.
Studies show that drinking hibiscus tea daily helps lower blood pressure in those who are pre-hypertensive or have stage 1 hypertension.
According to Pincus, "subjects drinking 3 cups of hibiscus tea every day reported similar decreases in levels as when taking some conventional treatments."
The blood pressure levels of persons with pre-hypertension or moderate hypertension, all between the ages of 30 and 70, were monitored in this study, published in the Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter.
The participants who drank three cups of hibiscus tea a day for six weeks had their blood pressure drop by an average of 7.2 points. This figure is comparable to what they believe they would see if they were given medicine instead of placebos.
Although some may perceive a 7-point drop in blood pressure to be insignificant, it is more than enough to have a long-term impact, according to the team's leading researcher, especially considering even a 3-point drop in blood pressure can reduce a patient's risk of mortality.
Recent studies, such as one published in The Journal of Advanced Pharmaceutical Technology & Research in 2019, indicated that drinking hibiscus tea twice a day could help people with stage 1 hypertension lower their blood pressure.
Adding Pomegranate Juice
According to a study published in the Atherosclerosis Journal, patients with hypertension could drop their blood pressure by up to 5% by drinking pomegranate juice daily.
"Polyphenols are antioxidants found in pomegranate juice, and entire pomegranates have multiple types," explains Pincus. "Anthocyanins are found in the deep red pomegranate arils, whereas ellagitannins are found in the rind and white pith surrounding the arils."
Thanks to these antioxidants, pomegranates are a fantastic source of nutritional content, significantly when lowering our blood pressure.
So, whether you have high blood pressure and want to lower it or prevent it, start tomorrow with a cup of hibiscus tea and go one step closer to a better life!