Apple Peel Extracts Can Help Lower Blood Pressure

Posted by clnews _Featured_, Food, Health-Wellness Tuesday, August 28th, 2012

(NaturalNews)

In the fight against chronic illness, researchers have potentially discovered a new all-natural weapon that can help keep your blood pressure down: Apple peel extracts.

Writing in the journal Food Chemistry, researchers from the Nova Scotia Agricultural College in Canada said the outer layer of an apple contains as much as six times the amount of chemical ingredients that can help combat potentially life-threatening hypertension, or high blood pressure.

Natural medicine enthusiasts have long known that apples are a rich source of antioxidants and chemical compounds called flavanoids that are heart-healthy and good for the cardiovascular system in general.

But if you peel that Granny Smith or Golden apple first before you eat it, you’re robbing yourself of most of the health benefits contained in the fruit, the researchers noted.

The proof is in the peel

In conducting their research, scientists tested the peel against the apple’s fleshy portion for an enzyme called ACE, which is known to cause elevated blood pressure in humans (in traditional medical circles, doctors often prescribe so-called ACE-inhibitors to control hypertension). The research team found that the peel was significantly more effective in acting as a natural ACE inhibitor in living organisms.

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