Cardiovascular disorders are officially the #1 cause of death in the world. Take a moment to think about that: more people die as a result of (often avoidable) health problems like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular diseases.
Cardiovascular disorders are officially the #1 cause of death in the world. Take a moment to think about that: more people die as a result of (often avoidable) health problems like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular diseases.
High blood pressure is among the most severe of the cardiovascular problems. According to the CDC, high blood pressure increases your risk of heart attacks and strokes, the leading cause of American deaths.
It’s estimated that 1 in 3 American adults has high blood pressure or hypertension. What’s worse is that less than 54% of people suffering from high blood pressure are effectively managing their condition.
However, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2016, there may be a simple solution for young people to reduce their risk of high blood pressure. It all comes down to Omega-3s.
A team of researchers evaluated over 2,000 healthy young adults. They not only examined the blood pressure of the young adults, but also measured the Omega-3 fatty acid content of their blood.
Their examinations revealed that the adults with the highest Omega-3 fatty acid blood content tended to have lower blood pressure—on average, 4mm Hg lower systolic and 2mm Hg lower diastolic pressure.
The higher fatty acid content led to lower blood pressure overall, whereas those with the lowest amount of Omega-3s in their bloodstream tended to have higher blood pressure.
For many young, healthy adults, high blood pressure is a distant worry—something the “older them” will have to deal with. But, as this study proved, taking steps now can help to reduce your risk of high blood pressure in the future.
Even something as simple as eating Omega-3 fatty acids may be enough to prevent the problem.
The best food sources of Omega-3 fatty acids include: fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines, and tuna), walnuts, almonds, flax seeds, fish liver oil supplements, chia seeds, soybeans, spinach, and seafood.
Add more of these foods to your diet and your risk of high blood pressure will decrease. The more you take steps to prevent cardiovascular health problems now, the lower your risk later in life.
Reference:
1. “The Omega-3 Index is Inversely Associated With Blood Pressure in a Large Cohort of Young Healthy Adults“, Abstract S2066, Mark G Filipovic, Cantonal Hosp of Baden, Baden, Switzerland; Stefanie Aeschbacher, Univ Hosp of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Martin F Reiner, Cantonal Hosp of Baden, Baden, Switzerland; Simona Stivala, Sara Gobbato, Nicole Bonetti, Univ of Zurich, Schlieren, Switzerland; Martin Risch, Labormedizinisches Zentrum Dr Risch, Schaan, Liechtenstein; Lorenz Risch, Medical Univ Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria; Clemens von Schacky, Ludwig-Maximilians-Univ München, München, Germany; Giovanni G Camici, Thomas F Luescher, Univ of Zurich, Schlieren, Switzerland; David Conen, Univ Hosp of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Juerg H Beer, Cantonal Hosp of Baden, Baden, Switzerland, American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2016, November 12-16 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
