High blood pressure is a major health problem for many Canadians, affecting an estimated one in five people. Compounding the matter are the various drugs used to treat high blood pressure, which often make patients feel worse. Fortunately, there is an amazing new natural approach that is both safe and effective in helping to lower blood pressure.

This new therapy is a mixture of nine small peptides (proteins) derived from bonito (a member of the tuna family) called anti-ACE peptides. They work to lower blood pressure by inhibiting ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme). This enzyme converts angiotensin I to angiotensin II, a compound that increases both the fluid volume and the degree of constriction of the blood vessels. To illustrate the pressure in your arteries, think of a garden hose: the formation of angiotensin II is similar to pinching off the hose while turning up the faucet full blast. By inhibiting the formation of this compound, anti-ACE peptides relax the arterial walls and reduce fluid volume. Anti-ACE peptides exert the strongest inhibition of ACE reported for any naturally occurring substance available.

Anti-ACE peptides do not appear to produce any side-effects, according to human safety studies. The typical daily dosage is 1.5 grams, but even at a daily dosage of 30 grams per day, not a single subject experienced any side-effect including the dry nighttime cough so typical with ACE-inhibitor drugs.

The unique and amazing action of anti-ACE peptides does not lower blood pressure in people with normal blood pressure–even when administered at levels 20 times greater than the dosage level for high blood pressure. In other words, it is a blood pressure normalizer.

Are there other naturally occurring peptides that inhibit ACE? Yes, there are other peptides that have been shown to inhibit ACE, including peptides from milk, chicken and other fish. What makes anti-ACE peptides unique and superior to these other peptides is that while other peptides show activity in test tube studies, when they are administered to animals (or humans), they are not active. The difference appears to be the fact that the anti-ACE peptides are absorbed intact when taken orally, while the other peptides are broken down by digestive enzymes.

Three clinical studies have shown that anti-ACE peptides exert significant blood pressure-lowering effects in people with high blood pressure (hypertension). The peptides appear to be effective in about two-thirds of people with high blood pressure–about the same percentage as many prescription drugs. (People who do not respond to anti-ACE peptides after a two-month trial should try celery seed extract.) The degree of blood pressure reduction in these studies was quite significant, typically reducing the systolic by at least 10 mm/Hg and the diastolic by 7 mm/Hg in people with borderline and mild hypertension. Greater reductions will be seen in people with higher initial blood pressure readings.

Ask your natural health practitioner or health food store staff about anti-ACE peptides. The typical dosage is three 500-milligram capsules daily. No side-effects were reported in the clinical studies, and a safety study showed no side-effects with dosages as high as 30 grams daily.

High blood pressure should not be taken lightly. By keeping your blood pressure in the normal range, you can improve not only the length but also the quality of your life.

Michael T. Murray, ND, is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading authorities on natural medicine. He has written more than 20 books including the best-selling Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine.

Source: alive #240, October 2002