A reduction in tension already after 6 days…
From the age of 40 and older, blood pressure tends to increase, particularly due to a progressive increase in the rigidity of the arteries. In France, nearly 17 million people are hypertensive (6 million are unaware of it), exposing them to a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases (stroke, heart attack, kidney failure, etc.). We have known for a long time that diet can help lower blood pressure. Among the best foods, a salad that we love to eat in summer would be particularly beneficial.
Featuring a “key nutrient” for regulating blood pressure, this salad promotes the dilation of blood vessels and the reduction of blood pressure. Particularly because of its high nitrate content, substances which often have a bad reputation.Nitrates and nitrites are mostly known to the general public as undesirable residues from the agri-food chain, since they are associated with potentially carcinogenic effects (in fact, they are often mistakenly confused with nitrites from curing to transform meats into charcuterie). However, these molecules are naturally found in fruits and vegetables (nitrate) as well as in the human body (nitrate and nitrite) where they participate in important physiological functions, particularly at the cardiovascular level. It is now established that dietary nitrates can be beneficial for cardiovascular health.“, insists Dr. Martin Juneau, cardiologist and Director of the Prevention Observatory at the Montreal Heart Institute.
A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine showed that a high-nitrate diet (during two 3-day periods separated by a 10-day period) was associated with a significant decrease in blood pressure (-3.2 mm Hg) and diastolic pressure (-3.7 mm Hg), compared with a low-nitrate diet. These effects on blood pressure were observed with a daily dose of nitrates corresponding to the dose present in 150 to 250 g of nitrate-rich vegetables, including this salad. The authors emphasize that the decrease in blood pressure they observed in the study was similar to that observed in the DASH study (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), ten years ago.
Among the fruits and vegetables richest in nitrates, it is rocket which contains the most (2.44 mmol per portion of 80 g), a real “mine of antioxidants“(vitamin C, polyphenols, etc.) that can be easily found in markets from May to November (and in bags all year round) and that we like to eat with tomatoes, burrata and a drizzle of olive oil. However, this Italian salad from the same family as watercress or cabbage is not always unanimous, because of its slightly bitter and peppery flavor. For a milder and less spicy taste, choose young shoots.