Nutritional Advice El Mondo
Objectives:
Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, myocardial infarction, stroke and renal failure. Sesame consumption may benefit blood pressure (BP) due to its high polyunsaturated fatty acids, fibre, phytosterol and lignans content. To clarify this association, this review article (meta-analysis) has been conducted.
Does sesame consumption reduce blood pressure?
Study design:
This review article included 8 controlled trials with a total of 843 participants.
Results and conclusions:
The investigators found that sesame consumption significantly reduced systolic blood pressure with 7.83 mmHg [95% CI = -14.12 to -1.54, p 0.05, I2 = 99%].
The investigators found that sesame consumption significantly reduced diastolic blood pressure with 5.83 mmHg [95% CI = -9.58 to -2.08, p 0.01, I2 = 98%].
However, to reduce the heterogeneity, the meta-analysis was limited to high methodology quality trials (n = 4), which resulted in a significant reduction of 3.23 mmHg in systolic blood pressure [95% CI = -5.67 to -0.79, I2 = 33%] and a non-significant reduction of 2.08 mmHg in diastolic blood pressure [95% CI = -4.85 to 0.69, I2 = 62%].
The investigators concluded that sesame consumption reduces the systolic blood pressure but not the diastolic blood pressure. However, further investigations with larger sample sizes and better methodology quality are required to confirm the blood pressure lowering effect of sesame consumption.
Original title:
Can sesame consumption improve blood pressure? A systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials by Khosravi-Boroujeni H, Nikbakht E, [...], Khalesi S.
Link:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28387047
Additional information of El Mondo:
Find more information/studies on cardiovascular diseases and how to reduce a high blood pressure right here.