High Blood Pressure Treatment - New Study Shows Whey Supplements Can Help Lower Blood Pressure

A recent Washington State University study has found that drinks with whey- based protein added can drastically lessen high blood pressure which in turn lowers the risk of heart and stroke disease.

Susan Fluegel, nutritional biochemist and lead researcher of the study appearing in the International Dairy Journal, concluded that daily intake of whey protein resulted in excess of a 6-point drop in blood pressure. The study included 71 participants aged 18 to 26. Fluegel says that even older individuals with higher than normal blood pressure would see results akin to her study.

“One of the things I like about this is it is low-cost,” says Fluegel, a nutritional biochemistry instructor interested in treating disease through changes in nutrition and exercise. “Not only that, whey protein has not been shown to be harmful in any way.”

Terry Shultz, emeritus professor working in the former Dept. of Food Science and Human Nutrition and co-author of the study comments that the results have real world uses for individual health as well as the dairy industry.

“These are very intriguing findings, very interesting,” he said. “To my knowledge, this hasn’t been shown before.”

Various other studies have proven that lowering high blood pressure, as results indicate in Flugel’s study, can in fact minimize cardiovascular disease and reduce fatal strokes by an estimated 35 to 40 percent.

On top of health benefits, researchers are intrigued about possible new markets for whey. Right now, much is disposed during the cheese making process and at the expense of the cheese maker.

Its potential economic impact is unclear, says Shannon Neibergs, a WSU extension economist, “but any positive use of that product is going to be beneficial.”