Just over one in every five Australians have high blood pressure. Your blood pressure influences how hard your heart must work. If your blood pressure is too high this can cause problems to the health of your heart. Over time high blood pressure can lead to a stroke or heart attack.

Your blood pressure reading is made up of two numbers, the systolic is the pressure on your heart when it is contracting. Your diastolic blood pressure is when the heart is at rest and relaxes between each heartbeat.

Healthy blood pressure is less than 120/80 mm Hg. The top number is your systolic blood pressure and the bottom number is your diastolic. Elevated blood pressure is 120-129/80 mm Hg.

High blood pressure starts from 130/80-89 mm Hg.

Dietary fibre can help to reduce both your systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Analysis of research available suggests an 11.5g of dietary fibre may reduce your systolic blood pressure by an average of 1.1 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure by 1.3 mm Hg. The reduction in blood pressure was greater than these numbers if you already have high blood pressure and are older. A reduction of systolic blood pressure of 6mmHg and 4mmHg for diastolic blood pressure was recorded in individuals with high blood pressure.

By adding just one pouch of South Australian Gourmet Food Company Fruit Custard with Added Fibre you are giving your body 10.9g of dietary fibre. Just one pouch a day can help to make a difference in your blood pressure.

Take home message:

Your body is a complex system. Take advantage of the power fibre can provide to the health of your whole body which includes your heart.

Reference:

1. Aleixandre A, Miguel M. Dietary fiber and blood pressure control. Food Funct. 2016 Apr;7(4):1864-71. doi: 10.1039/c5fo00950b. PMID: 26923351.
2. Anderson JW, Baird P, Davis RH Jr, Ferreri S, Knudtson M, Koraym A, Waters V, Williams CL. Health benefits of dietary fiber. Nutr Rev. 2009 Apr;67(4):188-205. doi: 10.1111/j.1753-4887.2009.00189.x. PMID: 19335713.