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The latest in research appears to point to serious health risk to those who those who imbibe diet sodas. It is not surprising at all. I am sure most people are aware that drinking sodas in large quantities must have some serious health risks. I hope this article motivates some folks to take another look at their habits.

Like this:

A variety of bioactivities have been attributed to these compounds, she noted, including the ability to act as an ACE inhibitor. Earlier short-term trials in humans used black tea as a control, which also has an effect on vascular reactivity, making it not a proper control to look at the effects of hibiscus tea, she pointed out. “It is also interesting to note that a study comparing hibiscus tea with captopril, an ACE inhibitor, found no difference in blood-pressure-lowering effects.”

The aim of their study, she said, was to determine whether hibiscus tea, “in an amount that can be readily incorporated into the diet,” will lower blood pressure in prehypertensive and mildly hypertensive adults compared with a placebo beverage.

The study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 65 generally healthy men and women aged 30 to 70 years who had SBP readings of 120 to 150 mm Hg and a diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of <95 mm Hg.

Subjects were not taking antihypertensive medications or other supplements or medications that could affect their blood-pressure level. They were not excluded on the basis of body-mass index (BMI), and BMIs in the study ranged from 18.5 to 34.9.

Participants were randomized to receive either three 8-oz servings daily of hibiscus tea for six weeks or a placebo beverage. The hibiscus tea was prepared by brewing one tea bag containing 1.25 g of dried hibiscus calyces in 8 oz of boiled water for six minutes, after which the tea bag was removed. The placebo beverage was prepared by adding a small amount of hibiscus-flavored concentrate to 8 oz of water.

The beverage had to be consumed within 12 hours of preparation and could be served hot or cold and with or without milk and a sweetener of the subjects’ choice, she noted. The placebo beverage had no anthocyanins, which they believe is the active component, McKay pointed out. Read the entire article here..