Oligofructose isn’t just for dieting anymore.

Oligofructose, or OFS, has long been used to replace sugar in items such as ice cream and baked goods, but it may also help to lower blood pressure and cholesterol, according to Chinese researchers.

The study involved 96 adults, ages 32 to 63, with mild or borderline hypertension. That means their systolic blood pressure reading (top number) was 120 to 139 and/or their diastolic (bottom number) reading was 80 to 89.

In the study, reported at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association (AHA), participants were given either 20 grams of OFS or a placebo daily for 12 weeks.

“Beneficial changes in both blood pressure and cholesterol were observed in the OFS group,” says researcher Dan Qu, MD, PhD, of Changhai Hospital in Shanghai, China.

Both systolic and diastolic blood pressure decreased significantly in the OFS group (6.9 and 7.3 percent, respectively), while cholesterol levels also dropped for the OFS group.

Source: WebMD

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