Whey Protein Reduces Blood Pressure and Improves Vascular Health

01 Nov 2016 --- People could reduce their risk factors of heart disease and stroke by drinking whey protein, normally favored by bodybuilders, research has found. By drinking whey protein, study participants with mild hypertension had an estimated 8% reduction in risk of heart disease and stroke, showed the study.Those taking the supplement had lower blood pressure and cholesterol and healthier blood vessels.

Funded by dairy protein business Volac and BBSRC UK, the study is part of a five-year industry-academia partnership between Volac and the University of Reading.

The findings “may have important implications for public health”, concluded the researchers, bringing good news for the 18 million adults in the UK living with high blood pressure, which can cause cardiovascular diseases responsible for 155,000 deaths in the UK every year.

Suzane Leser, Head of Nutrition for Volac, explains the importance of the results for the business: “Our Volactive UltraWhey90 was shown to reduce blood pressure, and this outcome contributes to Volac’s long-term ambition to prove a number of health benefits for whey protein that builds on its well-established role in muscle health.”

Ms. Leser continues: “As we get older and require more protein to kick-start muscle protein synthesis, it is important to also consider the other barriers for nutrient use by the body, where a healthy circulatory system is crucial for the uptake of nutrients into muscles. This is in addition to all we know about the importance of reducing the risk of heart disease later in life.” 

“As for what is in whey protein that delivers a benefit that not all other proteins do, the study hints that this is greatly explained by the biological activity that we are able to protect during a gentle membrane filtration process.”

The study is the first to use an in vitro digestion model to throw some light on the human trial results. The in vitro bioactivity of the supplements was tested for ACE-inhibitor activity. The Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme, or ACE, is well-known for increasing blood pressure by causing the blood vessels to constrict. The effect in vitro was found significantly higher for whey protein, consistent with the results from the human trial.

The research was carried out at the University of Reading's Hugh Sinclair Unit of Human Nutrition, led by Professors Julie Lovegrove and Ian Givens.

Professor Givens said: “By giving people a high dose of whey protein, similar to the amount used by athletes, we were able to see a significant impact over an eight-week trial.”

The study looked at the impact of drinking two protein shakes per day for eight weeks on a range of heart and vascular health markers, including blood pressure, arterial stiffness and cholesterol. 

The 38 participants that took part in the double blind, randomized controlled trial drank 56g of protein each day, which is equivalent to protein supplements used by bodybuilders.

Whey protein also reduced cell-adhesion molecules to blood vessels - a marker of atherosclerotic plaque formation that leads to cardiovascular disease, and triacylglycerol, a triglyceride, the form in which fat is stored in the body.

The protein supplements contributed 214 kilocalories to the study participants' daily energy intake - around 10% of their recommended daily calorie intake. However, there was no significant weight gain during the eight-week study period because the participants were asked to exchange the protein for other foods in their diet.

Professor Julie Lovegrove, Director of the Hugh Sinclair Unit of Human Nutrition at the University of Reading, said: “One of the important impacts of this study is that whey protein may have a role, as part of a healthy diet, to reduce risk factors for cardiovascular disease, although further studies are required to confirm these results.”

Ágnes Fekete, the researcher who carried out the study at the University of Reading, said: “The results of this trial are very exciting. It shows the positive impact that dairy proteins can have on blood pressure.”

“Long-term studies show that people who drink more milk tend to be healthier, but until now, there has been little work to evaluate how dairy proteins affect blood pressure in particular.”

Ms. Leser reveals what is next for Volac: “Whilst performance nutrition will always be exciting, it is studies like this that will keep whey protein relevant for a new wave of older adults taking up exercise to work on their health, and for a generational shift of current sports nutrition consumers to whom training will one day move from being only about muscle performance and size, to muscle maintenance, mobility and metabolic health.”