A third of adults in the United States have high blood pressure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and another 25 percent have borderline levels. High blood pressure places you at an increased risk for heart disease and stroke, one reason you should try to get your numbers down. Dietary modifications can help, with supplements such as red ginseng showing promise to be an important tool in fighting this deadly disease.
Blood Pressure
High blood pressure, or hypertension, is called the “silent killer” because it often causes no symptoms until you have a heart attack or stroke. A normal resting blood pressure is considered to be less than 120/80 mmHg, the first number being your systolic pressure, or the pressure against the artery walls when your heart contracts. The second number is called your diastolic pressure, or the pressure against artery walls between heart beats.
Red Ginseng
Red ginseng is made from the species of ginseng plant known as Panax, Chinese or Korean ginseng. The "red" refers to the processing, with white ginseng air-dried in the sun and red ginseng steamed before drying, giving it a shiny reddish-orange color. Red ginseng is considered more potent than white, with a higher concentration of steroid-like compounds called ginsenosides that are thought to be responsible for the root's beneficial effects.
Artery Stiffness
One of the possible causes of high blood pressure is a stiffness in your arteries that makes them unable to relax and allow normal blood flow. Researchers in Canada studied red ginseng's effects on arterial stiffness by giving healthy subjects either 3 grams of red ginseng extracts or a placebo. The results, published in 2010 in the "American Journal of Hypertension," showed that, although the ginseng didn't cause a change in blood pressure, it did lower the radial augmentation index, a measure of arterial stiffness. A study published in the January 2011 issue of the "Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine" found, however, that treatment with red ginseng did not improve arterial stiffness in subjects with hypertension.
Nitric Oxide
Nitric oxide is a colorless gas that helps protect the artery lining to keep your arteries from becoming clogged. The inner layer of cells, called the endothelium, releases nitric oxide, which then sends a signal to the smooth-muscle cells of your artery walls telling them to widen. Red ginseng improved endothelial dysfunction in patients with high blood pressure by increasing production of nitric oxide, in a study published in the "American Journal of Chinese Medicine" in 2000.
Reduction in Blood Pressure
Researchers at the Seoul National University College of Medicine in Korea in 1998 investigated red ginseng's effects on patients with regular high blood pressure and also those who had "white coat" hypertension, a phenomenon that causes temporary spikes in blood pressure when people see a doctor. Although the red ginseng had no effect on the white-coat hypertension, it did significantly decrease systolic blood pressure and mildly reduced diastolic pressure in the patients with chronic high blood pressure.
Considerations
Do not take red ginseng for high blood pressure without first consulting your doctor. It can cause gastrointestinal problems, insomnia and nervousness. It may also increase the effects of insulin in diabetics as well as the effects of blood thinners that could cause serious bleeding.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; High Blood Pressure Facts; March 2011
- "Planta Medica"; Cellular Uptake of Ginsenosides in Korean White Ginseng and Red Ginseng; J.L. Lee; 2011
- Sloan-Kettering Memorial Cancer Center; Ginseng (Asian); August 2011
- "American Journal of Hypertension"; Effects of Korean Red Ginseng and Its Isolated Ginsenosides and Polysaccharides on Arterial Stiffness in Healthy Individuals; E. Jovanovski, et al.; May 2010
- "Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine"; Effect of Korean Red Ginseng on Arterial Stiffness in Subjects with Hypertension; M.Y. Rhee, et al.; January 2011
- "American Journal of Chinese Medicine"; Effects of Red Ginseng Upon Vascular Endothelial Function in Patients with Essential Hypertension; J. Sung, et al.; 2000
