Gazpacho soup lowers blood pressure

Posted on Sat, 2 Feb 13

Raw, super foods may be a fad, but in the Mediterranean they are simply lunch. A study of raw, phytonutrient dense gazpacho soup has found unique heart health benefits.

Gazpacho is a popular cold soup typically made from tomato, cucumber, green peppers, garlic and olive oil and many of these ingredients protect against high blood pressure which is a major risk factor for heart attack or stroke.

By analysing the diets of some 3995 Spanish individuals at high risk of heart disease, it was found that people who reported regularly consuming Gazpacho were much less likely to have high blood pressure (hypertension).  Also gazpacho was associated with lower blood pressure in a dose dependent fashion even after adjustment for potential confounders including total fruit and vegetable intake.

“The association between gazpacho intake and reduction of blood pressure is probably due to synergy among several bioactive compounds present in the vegetable ingredients used to make the recipe” concluded the study investigators.

Reference:

Medina-Remón A, Vallverdú-Queralt A, Arranz S, et al. Gazpacho consumption is associated with lower blood pressure and reduced hypertension in a high cardiovascular risk  cohort. Cross-sectional study of the PREDIMED trial. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2012 Nov 10. doi:pii: S0939-4753(12)00181-0. 10.1016/j.numecd.2012.07.008. [Epub  ahead of print]