Naturally Inspired Report

Drinking hibiscus tea lowered blood pressure in a group of pre-hypertensive and mildly hypertensive adults, according to a report being presented today by nutrition scientist Diane McKay at the American Heart Association‘s annual conference in New Orleans, La. Hypertension is a condition in which blood pressure is chronically high, and it affects one-third of all U.S. adults.

McKay’s research was funded by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), a scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and by Boulder, Colo.-based Celestial Seasonings, a brand of The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. McKay works in the Antioxidants Research Laboratory of the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston, Mass.

In a clinical trial, McKay tested 65 volunteers, aged 30 to 70 years, whose systolic blood pressure was 120 to 150 mm Hg and whose diastolic blood pressure was 95 mm Hg or less at the start of the study. Blood pressure readings of 120 over 80 or greater are considered a risk factor for heart disease, stroke and kidney disease.

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