The Sourdough School

BALM – Proven as one of the healthiest approaches to bread in the world.

Based in the walled gardens of Dr. Vanessa Kimbell's beautiful Victorian home in rural Northamptonshire, UK, we tutor individuals and train bakers and healthcare professionals in Baking as Lifestyle Medicine (BALM). Personalising bread to your lifestyle, gut microbiome, and unique genetics for optimal health—tailoring fermentation, fibre, and diversity so that your daily bread becomes the foundation of your health.

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480 - ‘Can sesame consumption improve blood pressure? A systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials’. Journal of the Science of Food & Agriculture. 97(10): 3078-3094

Reference Number: 480

Year: 2017

Authors: Hossein Khosravi-Boroujeni, Elham Nikbakht, Ernesta Natanelov, Saman Khalesi

Link: Link to original paper

Health: Blood pressure

Nutrition: Polyphenols | Prebiotic

Summary

Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, myocardial infarction, stroke and renal failure. Sesame consumption may benefit blood pressure (BP) owing to its high polyunsaturated fatty acid, fibre, phytosterol and lignan contents. To clarify this, a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials was conducted. The PubMed (MEDLINE), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and Cochrane Library (Central) databases were systematically searched until August 2016. Eight controlled trials with a total of 843 participants met the eligibility criteria. A random effect meta-analysis showed that sesame consumption can reduce systolic BP (-7.83 mmHg, 95% CI: -14.12, -1.54; P < 0.05, I2 = 99%) and diastolic BP (-5.83 mmHg, 95% CI: -9.58, -2.08; P < 0.01, I2 = 98%). To reduce the heterogeneity, the meta-analysis was limited to high methodology quality trials (n = 4), which resulted in a significant reduction in systolic BP (-3.23 mmHg, 95% CI: -5.67, -0.79; I2 = 33%) and a non-significant reduction in diastolic BP (-2.08 mmHg, 95% CI: -4.85, 0.69; I2 = 62%). This study concluded that sesame consumption can reduce systolic and diastolic BP. However, further investigations with larger sample sizes and better methodology quality are required to confirm the BP-lowering effect of sesame consumption.

 

Significance of this study to the baker:

Sesame seeds are rich in health fats, and the antioxidant vitamin, vitamin E. This human study finds sesame seed consumption may improve blood pressure, particularly sesame oil. Sesame is included in may of our bakes, such as our Sesame Seed & Honey Sourdough Recipe.

Take a look at our courses at The Sourdough School

All reasonable care is taken when advising about health aspects of bread, but the information that we share is not intended to take the place of treatment by a qualified medical practitioner. You must seek professional advice if you are in any doubt about any medical condition. Any application of the ideas and information contained on this website is at the reader's sole discretion and risk.

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