Blood pressure measures the force or pressure of blood against the vessel walls. The normal blood pressure of a healthy adult is 110 over 80 mmHg. If not treated, high blood pressure, or HBP, can lead to serious medical problems, including strokes and heart and kidney diseases. In the United States, an estimated 50 million people are affected with high blood pressure, according to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Resveratrol, an active ingredient in red wine, may have very potent properties in reducing high blood pressure. However, you should not take this supplement without your doctor's advice.
Blood Vessel Damage
Resveratrol can lower blood pressure by preventing blood vessel damage caused by atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries. Resveratrol helps improve immunity and decrease inflammation, according to doctors at the University of Michigan Health System. These immune and inflammatory components are important to combat the development of atherosclerosis, which blocks the flow of blood passing through the blood vessels and increases blood pressure.
High Blood Pressure: A Common Complication of Diabetics
Hypertension affects almost two out of three adults with diabetes. Uncontrolled hypertension can increase your risk for diabetic nephropathy, or diabetic kidney failure. In addition to kidney damage, you may also experience other forms of kidney diseases like nephrotic hematuria, proteinuria and kidney stones. According to the scientists at The Organic Center, Colorado, resveratrol can significantly lower blood pressure, as well as its complications in fructose-fed rats.
Dosage
Dietary supplements based on resveratrol are available. These supplements contain roughly 10 to 50 mg of resveratrol. Due to the limited number of human studies, the ideal dose of resveratrol has not been determined. The best approach to any condition is to begin with low doses of resveratrol. According to the doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Center, doses between 25 to 150 mg of a standardized grape seed extract taken one to three times a day provide a safe and adequate amount of resveratrol to obtain its health benefits. You should not give resveratrol supplements to a child without a doctor's advice.
Side Effects
There are no serious side effects of resveratrol, even when consumed at high concentrations. However, if you are pregnant or nursing, do not take this supplement. High intakes of resveratrol may cause adverse drug-drug interactions in some individuals. It reduces the effectiveness of anticoagulants, or blood thinning medications like warfarin.
References
- Cedars-Sinai Medical Center: High Blood Pressure
- University of Michigan Health System: Healing Foods Pyramid; Monica Myklebust and Jenna Wunder; 2010
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Grape Seed; August. 26, 2010
- The Organic Center: Obesity, Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes; McCullum-Gomez, Charles Benbrook and Richard Theuer; March 2009
- NYU Langone Medical Center: Resveratrol
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Grape Seed; September. 26, 2010
