In addition to selling nuts and dried fruit, our goal at Haft Magaz nut shop is to provide useful, documented and valuable content about the health of the body and especially the properties of nuts for health. In this article, we intend to introduce another unique property of almonds for body health. Blood pressure is one of the diseases that affects many adults in the world. In our country, Iran, many people suffer from this disease. High blood pressure can lead to cardiovascular diseases and increase the risk of stroke. The good news is that lifestyle changes can help improve the condition of these patients. The American Heart Association (AHA) has recommendations for people with high blood pressure. The association notes that lifestyle changes, including following a heart-healthy diet, can support high blood pressure treatment. Almonds are rich in magnesium and therefore can play an important role in this matter.
What is blood pressure
You have probably come across this case where your blood pressure was measured when visiting a doctor. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends annual blood pressure screening for people 20 years and older. This can be done easily by placing a pressure gauge around the arm. After the armband is filled with air, it compresses the main artery of the body and stops the blood flow temporarily. When the pressure in the cuff decreases after deflation, the amount of pressure exerted on the artery wall is recorded. Systolic blood pressure is the highest number that the device shows. This number indicates the amount of pressure when the heart beats. Diastolic blood pressure is also the lowest number that the device shows and represents the pressure applied between heartbeats.
Normal blood pressure is less than 80.120 mm Hg. A systolic value of 120 indicates high blood pressure, and if this number reaches 130 or more, it indicates high blood pressure. A diastolic number above 80 also indicates high blood pressure.
Amazing benefits of almonds
If your blood pressure is high, taking medication can be a good option. Your doctor may also recommend lifestyle changes, including a heart-healthy diet. As part of these reforms, almonds, which are rich in magnesium, can be a good option to add to your diet as a healthy snack. A review of 34 studies published in the journal Blood Pressure in July 2016 found that magnesium supplementation led to significant reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Magnesium appears to be a key mineral for the body to control blood pressure.
For this purpose, the American Heart Association (AHA) has a recommendation. The recommendation states that the recommended daily amount of magnesium can be obtained by following a heart-healthy diet. Therefore, taking nutritional supplements is not necessary for most people.
“Almonds as part of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can help reduce high blood pressure,” says Kylie Proctor, a nutritionist at St. Joseph’s Hospital in California. He continues that almonds are rich in magnesium. Magnesium can help reduce blood pressure by relaxing blood vessels. It is estimated that one ounce of almonds (about 30 grams) has 80 milligrams of magnesium. This amount of magnesium is 20% of the recommended daily amount based on a 2000 calorie diet. Also, this nutritionist says: “Potassium is another mineral that can lower blood pressure. This amount of almonds contains a little more than 200 milligrams of potassium, or about 6% of the recommended daily value based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
Almonds and blood pressure in overweight people
The study was published in November 2016 in the Journal of Nutrition. Participants, including healthy but overweight and obese adults, were asked to follow either a calorie-restricted, almond-rich diet or a calorie-restricted nut-free diet. After 12 weeks, participants who ate the almond-enriched diet had greater improvement in blood pressure compared to those who ate the nut-free diet. Both groups in this study lost weight and their systolic blood pressure decreased, but in the group that consumed almonds, the amount of abdominal fat and diastolic blood pressure measurements decreased significantly.
Add almonds to your diet
Adding almonds to your diet is not that difficult. They can be eaten alone or with other nuts as a snack. Almonds are a good source of plant-based protein and heart-healthy fats, but they are also high in calories due to their high fat content. Therefore, balance should be considered when consuming almonds. About a quarter cup of almonds a day provides magnesium, potassium and fiber needed to lower blood pressure.
This article was about almonds and blood pressure. It should be noted that, in general, nuts have unique properties for the health of the human body, and therefore, the daily consumption of nuts and dried fruits also helps to maintain and improve the health of the body.