We all know it’s true: Regular exercise makes us healthy.
Now new research from the Federal University of Paraiba in Brazil reveals it can treat a new health condition–as long as you also combine it with a special oil.
According to the findings, a combination of regular exercise and coconut oil helped reduce blood pressure levels, as well as increase weight loss in laboratory rats.
Now researchers are hopeful the same effects can be replicated in humans.
“This is an important finding as coconut oil is currently being considered a popular “superfood” and it is being consumed by athletes and the general population who seek a healthy life style,” says Valdir de Andrade Braga, co-author of the study and a researcher from Federal University’s Biotechnology Center. “The possibility of using coconut oil as an adjuvant to treat hypertension adds to the long list of benefits associated with its consumption.”
The findings, which were published in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, examined laboratory rats who had high blood pressure, otherwise referred to as hypertension. Researchers theorized that both coconut oil and regular exercise would improve baroreflex sensitivity, a homeostatic mechanism in the body that helps maintain normal blood pressure levels. By improving this, a person or animal with high blood pressure would have better luck lowering it–and thus reduce their risk of other diseases caused by high blood pressure, such as heart disease.
Splitting the rats into 5 groups, researchers gave them different variations of coconut oil and regular exercise, and found that combining the two made a big difference.
“The hypothesis that oral supplementation with virgin coconut oil (Cocos nucifera L.) and exercise training would improve impaired baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) and reduce oxidative stress in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) was tested,” write researchers in the online version of Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. “Oral supplementation with coconut oil combined with exercise training improved impaired BRS and reduced oxidative stress in SHR.”
In addition to improving baroreflex sensitivity, researchers also found that it reduced their weight, something else that could help lower high blood pressure. Of course, it’s not a benefit most people would reject either–after all, everyone wants to lose a few pounds.
Testing on humans is still pending, however.
“Our next step is to start some clinical trials in order to verify whether we can reproduce those findings in hypertensive human patients,” says Braga.
What This Means For You
While it isn’t proven yet, research shows a combination of coconut oil and regular exercise is good for lowering high blood pressure in rats. That’s good news–especially considering rats share similar biological characteristics with us. Want to reap these benefits yourself? Try adding a tablespoon of coconut to your daily diet, and make exercise a daily habit–it’s proven that exercise is good for your health in general too!
Readers: Do you think coconut oil has other health benefits?
Sources:
Beating High Blood Pressure with a Combination of Coconut Oil and Physical Exercise (Animal Study) – ScienceDaily.com
Coconut Oil Supplementation and Physical Exercise Improves Baroreflex Sensitivity – NRCResearchPress.com
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