A study has revealed that Italian cheese Grana Padano PDO can help in fighting against chronic blood pressure conditions such as hypertension.
The study was conducted by researchers from the hypertension unit of Guglielmo da Saliceto Hospital and Catholic University in Piacenza, Italy.
The cheese was first created by Cistercian monks around 1,000 years ago to help dairy farmers in northern part of Italy to preserve milk when there is surplus supply.
A pale yellow cheese, Grana Padano is prepared with partially skimmed milk from Italian Holstein-Friesian cows and one of the most consumed PDO cheeses in the world with almost 1,600 million wheels being exported from the country.
According to the report, inclusion of the cheese in a diet may help control blood pressure levels.
The study's lead author Giuseppe Crippa said: "The effects are similar to what you would expect with antihypertensive medications.
"Adding a little Grana Padano to a healthy diet may provide clinically significant blood pressure lowering benefits."
The chains of amino acids, or peptides, present in the Italian cheese relax blood vessels similar to drugs prescribed to control blood pressure.
In a randomised placebo controlled study, participants were given either an ounce of Grana Padano PDO 12-month aged cheese every day or a placebo for two months.
The results indicated that systolic blood pressure showed a drop between a 7mmHg-8mmHg while diastolic blood pressure dropped between 5mmHg and 7mmHg.
However, there were no changes in body mass index, blood lipids or blood sugar levels of the participants.
