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The effect of vitamins and minerals enriched milk on blood pressure in mildly hypertensive subjects

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 22, pages 54–56 (2008)Cite this article

In a randomized controlled study, we found no effect of a dairy drink containing additional amounts of potassium, calcium, magnesium, selenium and vitamins C and E on blood pressure (BP). The results of this study confirm the discrepancy between dietary intervention studies showing reasonable BP lowering effects and intervention studies with a combination of minerals or vitamins showing no effect. Future studies should focus on assessing the effect of subsets of combinations of minerals and vitamins in natural matrices to get a better understanding of the possible antagonistic action between some of these ingredients.

The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) study showed an impressive reduction on BP.1 The effective components of this diet probably include minerals and vitamins. Several meta-analyses and intervention studies investigated the relationship between individual minerals and vitamins and their effect on BP. A meta-analysis showed a significant effect of potassium supplementation on systolic blood pressure (SBP) of −3.11 mm Hg and of diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of −1.97 mm Hg.2 Studies on the effect of a combination of minerals3, 4, 5, 6 and vitamins7 showed mixed results. The present study is, to the best of our knowledge, the first study investigating the effect of a combination of minerals and vitamins on BP.

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Acknowledgements

Financial support for this study has been obtained from Unilever Nederland BV, Weena 455, 3013 AL Rotterdam, The Netherlands, on behalf of Unilever Research & Development Vlaardingen, Olivier van Noortlaan 120, 3133 AT Vlaardingen, The Netherlands.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unilever Food and Health Research Institute (UFHRI), Vlaardingen, The Netherlands

    L A J van Mierlo, H C M van der Knaap, M M G Koning & J Kloek

  2. Department of Medicine, University Hospital Maastricht, and Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    A J H M Houben & P W de Leeuw

Authors
  1. L A J van Mierlo
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  2. A J H M Houben
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  3. H C M van der Knaap
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  4. M M G Koning
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  5. J Kloek
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  6. P W de Leeuw
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Correspondence to P W de Leeuw.

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van Mierlo, L., Houben, A., van der Knaap, H. et al. The effect of vitamins and minerals enriched milk on blood pressure in mildly hypertensive subjects. J Hum Hypertens 22, 54–56 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jhh.1002256

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