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CLA And Hypertension

 
Many people have heard of the term ‘high blood pressure’ or ‘hypertension’, but don’t really understand what it means. Worse still, many people think they don’t have it and don’t have to worry about it.

Here’s some quick hypertension 101:
Hypertension is the medical term for high blood pressure. It does not have anything to do with being tense, nervous or hyperactive. You can be a calm, relaxed person and still have high blood pressure. High blood pressure usually has no symptoms, which is why it’s called “the silent killer.” In fact, many people have high blood pressure for years without ever even knowing it; which is why it's so dangerous. Hypertension is one of the most common and potentially dangerous medical problems in our society.

Blood pressure is the result of two forces. One is created by the heart as it pushes blood into the arteries and through the circulatory system. The other is the force of the arteries as they resist the blood flow. If you’ve ever been confused about the numbers regarding your blood pressure, maybe this will help: The higher (systolic) number represents the pressure while the heart is beating. The lower (diastolic) number represents the pressure when the heart is resting between beats. The systolic number is always stated first and the diastolic number is listed second. For example, 122/76
(122 over 76); systolic = 122, diastolic = 76. Blood pressure of less than 140 over 90 is considered a normal blood pressure reading for adults. A diastolic pressure of 85 to 89 needs to be watched carefully. A blood pressure reading equal to or greater than 140 over 90 is considered elevated or high.
 
Now I’m sure you came to this page trying to find information about CLA and hypertension, so let’s get on to that. There have been countless studies done on CLA and its effects on the body regarding insulin sensitivity, hypertension, cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, weight loss and lean muscle building. The results from the studies speak for themselves (and will be discussed shortly). CLA is involved in the body in a much more complicated manner than doctors or scientists understand. The results of these studies can tell you what happens when you supplement your diet with CLA, but as far as to how it all works? That’s still quite a mystery of science.

The effects that CLA has on cardiovascular variables are very interesting. In both rabbits and hamsters that were fed fatty diets, CLA inhibited atherosclerotic plaque formation and reduced both total and LDL cholesterol levels. CLA also suppresses hypertension in rats (the official study is discussed below). In one study on lipid metabolism in humans, the results indicated that different isomeric blends of CLA improved a certain type of fat (triacylglycerol) metabolism.
In a study done by the Laboratory of Nutrition Biochemistry, Department of Applied Biological Sciences, at Saga University in Saga, Japan, researchers found that CLA “can suppress the development of non-obese essential hypertension…” Excerpts from the study follow:
 
…In previous studies, we provided evidence that dietary CLA could prevent the development of obesity-related hypertension in obese animals. Here, we show that CLA suppresses the development of non-obese essential hypertension in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). After 4 weeks of feeding with CLA, the increase of systolic blood pressure was significantly suppressed compared with rats fed linoleic acid. Abdominal adipose tissue weight was also significantly lowered in CLA-fed SHRs. In addition, we found increased level of plasma adiponectin, suggested as a regulatory factor of hypertension, through the enhancement of mRNA expression in CLA-fed SHRs…

Please keep in mind that high blood pressure or hypertension is very dangerous. If you have been diagnosed with it, please consider only supplementing your diet with CLA, rather than using it as a medical alternative.

The American Society of Hypertension released these recent shocking statistics regarding hypertension and we thought it relevant to share them with you:
  • High blood pressure (hypertension) killed 39,981 Americans in 1995 and contributed to the deaths of another 190,000 persons.
  • As many as 50 million Americans aged 6 and older have high blood pressure.
  • Of those people with high blood pressure, 35 percent don't know they have it.
  • Of all hypertensive, 52 percent are not on therapy (special diet or drugs), 27 percent are on inadequate therapy, and only 21 percent are on adequate therapy which controls their blood pressure.
  • The cause of 90-95 percent of the cases of high blood pressure isn't known; however, high blood pressure is easily detected and usually controllable.
  • From 1985 to 1995 the death rate from high blood pressure remained the same.
  • Blacks, Puerto Ricans, and Cuban and Mexican Americans are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure than are non-Hispanic whites.
  • People with lower educational and income levels also tend to have higher levels of blood pressure.
  • In 1995 the death rates from high blood pressure were 6.8 per 100,000 white males, 31.0 per 100,000 black males, 5.0 per 100,000 white females and 22.2 per 100,000 black females.
  • Cardiovascular disease (heart attacks, stroke) claims more lives annually than all cancers combined, killing approximately one million people in the U.S. each year. It disables countless others. Hypertension is often intimately involved in this process
  • Individuals with uncontrolled high blood pressure are: Seven times more likely to have a stroke. Six times more likely to develop congestive heart failure. Three times more likely to have a heart attack.