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# Buckwheat fights hypertension
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/buckwheat_fights_hypertension_0811160147/
- Published: 2016-08-11T14:46:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-20T15:41:56.000Z
- Description: Rats fed a diet with 8 percent salt developed higher blood pressure, but adding Tartary or common buckwheat largely prevented the rise, reduced oxidative damage and improved Na+/K+-ATPase activity. The salt level used far exceeds what people normally eat.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Food, Nutrition, #vivvo-import

Thursday Aug 11, 2016 (foodconsumer.org) -- If your suffer kidney injury and or high salt induced hypertension, what can you eat to protect your kidney or lower your blood pressure? A study in Food Function suggests that a buckwheat-enriched diet can render a protective effect against renal injury and high-salt induced hypertension.

Hypertension or commonly known as high blood pressure is both a sign of certain health problems and a risk factor for adverse events such as strokes. Hypertension is often times linked to kidney diseases. The current study was intended to examine the effect of buckwheat enriched diet on hypertension.

For the study, rats were fed one of three different diets - high salt (8%), high salt (8%) plus Tartary buckwheat (15%), high salt (8%) plus common buckwheat for seven weeks. 

(Note that 8% salt is extremely high, compared to normal intake of salt by humans. Researchers used that high level to demonstrate that high salt can increase blood pressure. Normally 1.5% salt can taste fairly salty. When buckwheat was found to be able to handle such a high level of salt, it is logical to guess that this food at this level may also likely help a much lower salt level).

During the study, blood pressure was monitored. As a result, the high salt only diet (control diet) significantly increased blood pressure. Buckwheat enriched diets significantly prevented the increase of blood pressure, reduced oxidative damage and improved the Na+/K+-ATPase activity in high salt treated rats.

(Na+/K+-ATPase known as sodium-potassium adenosine triphosphatase or sodium-potassium pump is an enzyme found in the plasma membrane of all animal cells. The enzyme helps pumps sodium out of cells while pumping potassium into cells. High activity of this enzyme means that it functions well to get sodium out of the cells. Also, when a diet with high potassium, high sodium may not be in a place to influence blood pressure as much. That is why with the presence of high potassium, high salt does not impose a harmful effect as thought.)

The study shows that a diet supplemented with whole buckwheat renders beneficial effects against hypertension by decreasing blood pressure and oxidative stress.

Buckwheat is a nutritious grain. It provides a wide spectrum of B vitamins like B 2, b3 and B5, also a high amount of protein (13%) including all sorts of essential amino acids, and many minerals like manganese, magnesium, and potassium. It is also gluten free. (David Liu)

*Dai Cheng, Xinyu Zhang, Meng Meng, Lirong Han, Zheng Li, Lihua Hou, Wentao Qi and Chunling Wang, The protective effect of a buckwheat-enriched diet on renal injury in high salt-induced hypertension in rats, Food Function., 2016,7, 3548-3554*