Fermented milk's potential to reduce hypertension

A review has found fermented dairy foods may hold the key to reducing high blood pressure.

The research, published in the Journal of Dairy Science, suggests that there is potential for the creation of tailor-made fermented milks to help reduce hypertension — a risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease.

A team of investigators from the Center for Food Research and Development in Sonora, Mexico, and the National Technological Institute of Mexico in Veracruz reported on numerous studies of fermented milks as antihypertensive treatments and in relation to gut microbiota modulation.

They also examined the potential mechanistic pathways of gut modulation through antihypertensive fermented milks.

In addition to the impact of genetics and the environment, there is growing evidence that gut microbiota may also influence the development of hypertension.

In this sense, gut dysbiosis (a marked decrease in richness and diversity of the gut microbiota) has been linked to different metabolic diseases, including hypertension.

Belinda Vallejo-Córdoba, researcher at the Center for Food Research and Development, said several studies have indicated that fermented milks may positively affect gut microbiota or provide antihypertensive effects.

"However, few studies have shown a link between the antihypertensive effect of fermented milks and induced microbial balance (or eubiosis). Remarkably, the antihypertensive effect has been attributed mainly to ACEI peptides, and few studies have attributed this effect to gut modulation."

The new evidence suggests that antihypertensive fermented milks, including probiotics, bioactive peptides and exopolysaccharides obtained from milk fermented with specific lactic acid bacteria, may modulate gut microbiota.

The review concludes that there is potential for the development of tailor-made fermented milks with gut microbiota modulation and blood pressure-lowering effects, although further research is needed.

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