A Canadian study has found that proteins contained in yellow garden peas appear to help lower hypertension. Also, they may delay and control kidney disease, and perhaps even prevent it.

High blood pressure poses a significant risk for disease of the kidneys, which is thought to affect around 13% of American adults. Difficult for doctors to treat, kidney disease is responsible for taking the lives of many due to cardiovascular issues and can progress to a level of severity that requires kidney diaysis or a transplant.

A team of medical researchers was looking for a way to affect patients’ blood pressure, and focused their approach on the possible effect of yellow peas, which is a vegetable we know to be a low fat, cholesterol free source of vitamins, protein and fiber.

What they did was use a complicated protein purification process to trigger an otherwise unseen benefit from yellow peas. During this work a mixture of yellow garden pea proteins, labeled ‘pea protein hydrolysate’ was created and given to rats that had kidney disease.

After eight weeks had passed, the blood pressure of these rats decreased by 20% in comparison to the blood pressure of a group of untreated kidney diseased rats.

Researchers think that’s a pretty considerable improvement, and were pleased that there were no apparent adverse effects from the pea protein. Unfortunately, to make such a product available to humans isn’t a simple thing. It would have to be mixed with enzymes in order for it to take the form of a nutritional supplement or food additive.

Trials in people are being undertaken right now, and should these prove successful, the protein could be available in pharmacies in two to three years.