High blood pressure affects over 30% of the global adult population – that’s more than 1 billion people! Hypertension, as it’s also known, is the primary risk factor for cardiovascular disease (especially heart disease and stroke), chronic kidney failure, and even dementia. So, it’s a darn good idea for us to keep our blood pressure down. This juice recipe for hypertension is one easy thing you can do to help make that happen.
The Juice: The Great Pumpkin
Makes 24 fl oz
Ingredients
1 Small Pie Pumpkin
4 Carrots
3 Oranges
1 Lemon
Dash of Cinnamon
Directions
Cut the pumpkin into chunks, don’t peel or deseed.
Scrub the carrots
Peel (optional) the oranges and lemon.
Run all ingredients through your juicer, add a dash of cinnamon to the top, and enjoy!!!
Juicer Test Kitchen Insider Tip: By including the seeds and skins of most fruits and vegetables when juicing you’ll gain additional nutritional and health benefits.
The Details: Ease Up the Pressure
Potassium and Vitamin C in pumpkin work to support heart health. Both help the kidneys excrete excess sodium in the body, thereby helping to ease tension in our blood vessel walls. Even pumpkin seeds get into the act due to their concentration of blood pressure-controlling nutrients, such as arginine (an amino acid crucial to producing nitric oxide), magnesium, and (of course) potassium. (See why we didn’t have you remove them in this recipe?)
Oranges and lemons are also loaded with Vitamin C, as well as flavonoids (particularly hesperidin), pectin, and essential oils that are thought to combat hypertension.
High in compounds that help relax blood vessels and reduce inflammation, carrots may help lower blood pressure levels.
Cinnamon isn’t in this recipe just for its great taste. It, too, is thought to help reduce hypertension through its ability to relax and dilate blood vessels.
Find tons more amazing juices on my recipe page!
The Juicer: Nama J2
I made The Great Pumpkin on the Nama J2! I love this juicer for its speed and ease of use!
With the Name J2, there’s not much more you can ask of a juicer. Thanks to its huge top hopper you’re juicing will be quick and easy. If the produce fits, it will juice, so there’s very little produce prepping needed. It even handles the tough pumpkin rind and seeds with ease! Just fill it up, close the lid, and let it do the work!
It gives a good yield and nutrient extraction thanks to its cold press juicing technology, and it’s been engineered to be super easy to clean. I use this machine for the majority of my personal juicing and highly recommend it for any home juicer.
Post a comment below if you try this recipe. We’d LOVE to hear from you!