Rice Protein Powder Could Have An Unexpected Effect On Your Blood Pressure

Do you have hypertension? If so, you're like nearly half of all adults in the U.S., according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, just because high blood pressure is common doesn't make it any less problematic. After all, the CDC reports that cardiovascular disease (CVD, or heart disease) is the number one cause of death in U.S. adults.

Even if your blood pressure is just a little higher than normal, you run the risk of developing cardiovascular problems. Researchers of a 2023 study in the Journal of the American Heart Association tracked the health of individuals who had been diagnosed with stage 1 hypertension (just above normal levels) over the course of a decade. They found that those who remained in at least the stage 1 hypertension category increased their chances of CVD. 

Although medications can help you manage hypertension, dietary changes can, too. And this potentially includes regular consumption of rice protein powder.

Rice protein powder looks and functions like whey protein powder, a product that's often used to reduce muscle soreness after exercise and build muscle mass. In fact, rice protein powder can offer a fairly balanced 1:1 substitute for whey protein powder.

For example, a 2020 article in The Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition compared the effects of rice and whey protein on subjects engaged in resistance training. After eight weeks, the subjects experienced the same relative outcomes regardless of which type of protein they consumed.

Yet rice protein powder has characteristics that set it apart from whey powder. For one, it's plant-based. This makes it suitable for vegetarians and vegans. As noted by Kayla Kopp, a registered dietitian interviewed for a Cleveland Clinic article, rice protein powder may also be better tolerated by individuals with food allergies or who "can't tolerate other types of protein powder."

But what exactly seems to give rice protein hypertension-fighting power? According to science, the answer is the protein's unique amino acids. Consider the observations made during a 2019 study in Nutrients. The study explored the blood pressure effects on participants who consumed a supplement made from protein-rich rice bran and containing the unique amino acid peptide Leu-Arg-Ala (LRA). After 12 weeks, participants who began the study with slight hypertension saw improvements in their readings.

In a 2020 study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, researchers genetically manipulated rice to ensure it contained peptides known for causing the vascular system to relax. After feeding protein created from the rice to laboratory animals, the researchers noticed a drop in the animals' blood pressure readings within two hours. This experiment led the researchers to estimate that approximately one-half of a tablespoon of the same rice protein could have a similar antihypertensive outcome on a 150-pound adult.

The aforementioned study wasn't the first time that rice had been manipulated to enhance its antihypertensive properties. A 2015 study in the Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine explored what would happen if rats were given rice enriched with gamma-aminobutyric acid, a neurotransmitter known for its calming abilities, for eight weeks. During three out of the eight weeks, the rats showed blood pressure level improvements in the morning. Though not conclusive, the findings suggested that altering rice plants could produce desirable antihypertensive effects.

You certainly don't have to be hypertensive to try rice protein powder, especially if you're looking for a plant-based alternative to whey protein powder or you're allergic to a different vegan alternative like soy protein powder. However, if you lean toward higher blood pressure, it's nice to know that you might be doing your cardiovascular system some extra good by adding rice protein powder to your smoothies or workout shakes.