Some nutritional websites and books suggest juicing -- the consumption of juices made from various foods -- has a number of health benefits, including helping to lower blood pressure. There is no scientific evidence to support this notion, however. You should talk to your doctor if you have high blood pressure.
Hypertension
High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, occurs when the amount of pressure in your vascular system -- your blood vessels -- is too high. There are many possible causes of hypertension, including kidney and arterial disease, but most of the time, doctors don't know what causes hypertension, explains PubMed Health. It can also be difficult to tell you have high blood pressure, because many times, you won't experience any symptoms.
Juicing
Juicing is popular in some health food circles. Fruits and vegetables are full of nutrients that you need to maintain cellular function. These include energy-providing carbohydrates, small amounts of protein and fat, and large quantities of the vitamins and minerals your body needs. Many of the nutritional compounds in fruits and vegetables pass into juice made from the raw produce, but there's no evidence to suggest that juice made from a food has any nutritional benefit not found in the whole food itself.
Considerations
There's no reason to juice to lower your blood pressure. Not only is there no evidence that juicing lowers blood pressure, there is nutritional benefit in whole fruits and vegetables that you don't get when you consume only the juice of those items. For instance, juicing a fruit leaves the fiber -- important to digestive health -- behind. The peels of fruits and vegetables, also left out of most juices, contain a variety of valuable vitamins and minerals.
Healthy Eating
According to the University of Maryland Medical Center's Index of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, eating plenty of whole fruits and vegetables -- especially brightly colored ones -- can help lower your blood pressure. You should talk to your doctor if you have, or think you have, high blood pressure. He can help you determine whether diet alone is sufficient to control your blood pressure, or whether you need medication.
