Blood, being pumped out of our heart to different parts of the body, is carried by arteries and arterioles (smaller diameter). When blood passes through arteries or arterioles, it exerts certain pressure on the wall of the vessels, which is called Blood Pressure (BP). So, BP is a normal physical force, with the help of which all exchanges of nutrients and excretions happen between tissues or cells and blood. Hence, BP is crucial to sustain our life processes!

BP is measured at two points, when heart pumps (called Systolic BP) and when heart relaxes to receive blood through veins (called Diastolic BP).

However, there is a range of BP which is considered to be the normal range (called Normal-BP or Normotension). If the BP remains consistently more than this defined normal range, it is termed High-BP or Hypertension (HT) and in case it is lower than the normal range, Low-BP, or Hypotension.

When HT cannot be ascribed to any particular cause, is called essential or Primary HT; when the cause can be clearly identified, it is termed as Secondary HT.

HT is called a silent killer. As per study published in BMJ, prevalence of HT in India is 11.3% estimated (between age group: 15 - 49); for the male population it is 13.8% and female it is 10.9%¹

"Reports suggest that functional foods and nutraceutical ingredients might support patients to obtain the desired therapeutic blood pressure (BP) goals and reduce cardiovascular risks by modulating various risk factors such as oxidative stress, renin-angiotensin system hyperactivity, inflammation, hyperlipidemia, and vascular resistance. We review clinical experiments that have evaluated the biological and pharmacological activities of several types of nutraceuticals, including sour tea, cocoa, common spices, vitamin C, vitamin E, lycopene, flavonoids, coenzyme Q10, milk's tripeptides, calcium, magnesium, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and prebiotics in preventing and treating HTN. This review summarizes recent knowledge about the impact of common nutraceuticals for the regulation of BP.³"

"Curcumin exerts beneficial effects on cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension. However, its mechanisms are unknown. We propose that curcumin prevents the development of hypertension by regulating AT1 receptor (AT1R) expression in arteries. The present study examined how curcumin regulates AT1R expression in vascular smooth muscle cells and investigated the physiological significance of this regulation in angiotensin (Ang) II-induced hypertension.⁴"

"We conclude that coenzyme Q10 has the potential in hypertensive patients to lower systolic blood pressure by up to 17 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure by up to 10 mm Hg without significant side effects.⁵"