SPOKANE, Wash., Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Supplementing diet with whey-based protein may help reduce high blood pressure, a U.S. researcher says.
Nutritional biochemist Susan Fluegel of Washington State University in Spokane says daily doses of commonly available whey brought a more than 6-point reduction in the average blood pressure of men and women with elevated systolic and diastolic blood pressures. Whey is a by-product of cheese-making.
"One of the things I like about this is it is low-cost," Fluegel says in a statement. "Not only that, whey protein has not been shown to be harmful in any way."
The study, published in International Dairy Journal, finds not everyone drinking the whey-supplemented drink has changes in blood pressure.
The supplement did not lower the blood pressure of subjects who did not have elevated pressure to begin with. That's good, says Fluegel, since low blood pressure can also be a problem.
However, blood-pressure reductions -- as seen in those with elevated pressure in this study -- can bring a 35 percent to 40 percent reduction in fatal strokes, says Fluegel.
Fluegel and colleagues looked at 71 student subjects ages 18-26, but Fluegel says older people with blood pressure issues would likely get similar results.
The supplement was delivered in fruit-flavored drinks developed at the university's creamery.
