New Research on Rooibos Tea
Filed under: General Health, Nutrition
I came across some really interesting new research that I thought I would share with you guys.
There was a recent study looking at the effects of green and black tea, as well as rooibos tea on angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE). I have written about tea many times, check here and here for more.
On a quick aside, my favorite rooibos tea (above) was ranked as the best rooibos tea on realsimple.com. Check out their list of best teas.
Angiotensin-converting enzyme has two main functions: converting angiotensin I to angiotensin II and to degrade bradykinin. This is a problem because angiotensin II constricts blood vessels and bradykinin relaxes blood vessels.
As such ACE inhibition is a goal in the treatment of many conditions: high blood pressure, heart failure, diabetic nephropathy, and type 2 diabetes.
The problem is there are many problems associated with ACE inhibitors: hypotension, cough, hyperkalemia, fatigue, and renal impairment. Renal impairment is a problem with all ACE inhibitors, with no known cause. This can be especially problematic when taken in conjunction with NSAIDs and a diuretic there is a very high possibility of going into renal failure.
As such it is important to know which real whole foods can impart some of the benefits of ACE inhibitors, without the side effects (this is true of all drugs really).
This study had patients drink 400ml of green, black or rooibos tea once daily. It then monitored ACE activity for up to 3 hours after consumption.
It was found that green tea and especially rooibos tea significantly inhibited ACE activity. While this does not definitely show that consumption of green and rooibos tea can be used to replace ACE inhibitors, it does show that they might help in the treatment of high blood pressure and can be used as part of a dietary intervention before putting someone on powerful ACE inhibitors.
More research is needed to see how much this ACE inhibition actually contributes long-term benefits, but the results are promising none the less.
Here is the study abstract if you want to take a look at it yourself.
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Posted on August 3rd, 2010 by Brian St. Pierre
3 Comments
August 10th, 2010 at 4:08 pm
Hey Brian, just wanted to say after reading your article I finally picked up a container of this today and I have to say, it’s probably one of the best teas I’ve ever tasted. Thanks for the post!
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:11 pm
What a great post! Thanks again!
August 9th, 2016 at 4:33 am
Hello, everything is going nicely here and ofcourse every one is sharing
data, that’s genuinely fine, keep up writing.