Probiotics may help reduce blood pressure

2014-09-10 11:25:18

A recently conducted systematic review and meta-analysis (essentially the highest level of evidence) was conducted to analyze the effect of probiotics on blood pressure ^[1]. Previous studies have shown that probiotic consumption may help improve blood pressure control. These researchers wanted to clarify the effects. By searching a number of high-level databases, they found eligible articles to include in their analysis. Nine trials were included. Probiotics decreased systolic blood pressure by almost 4 points and diastolic by over 2 points, compared with control groups. A larger reduction was found with multiple species as opposed to single species of probiotics for both systolic and diastolic pressure. The higher the starting blood pressure, the more significant the effect of the probiotics. However, they have to be taken for at least 8 weeks to show an effect. The other important factor was dosing: the dose had to be at least over 10 billion colony-forming units. Overall, the researchers suggest that probiotics may improve blood pressure to a modest degree.