SATURDAY, May 10, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- Using sesame oil instead of other cooking oils helps reduce high blood pressure and lower the amount of medication required to control high blood pressure, says a study by researchers in India.
The study looked at the effect of sesame oil on 328 people with hypertension who were taking 10 to 30 milligrams a day of the calcium channel blocker drug nifedipine, which lowers blood pressure by relaxing arterial membranes.
The average age of the people in the study was 58, and they had moderate to severe long-term hypertension but no history of stroke or heart disease.
They consumed an average of 35 grams of sesame oil a day for 60 days. Their blood pressure was measured at the start of the study, every 15 days during the study and on day 60.
The study found using sesame oil as their sole cooking oil lowered their blood pressure levels from 166 mm Hg systolic to 134 mm Hg and from 101 mm Hg diastolic to 84.6 mm Hg.
The average dose of nifedipine taken by the people in the study was reduced from 22.7 milligrams per day to 7.45 milligrams per day by the end of the study.
The findings were presented recently at the Scientific Meeting of the Inter-American Society of Hypertension.
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