Natural ACE-Inhibitors

Perhaps the thought crossed your mind that maybe you could get a prescription for an ACE-inhibitor. Maybe it was fleeting, just a wisp of a thought floating by, but it was there. Remember, a couple of studies do not a treatment make, and connecting dots doesn’t always end with the picture you think it might. We have no idea whether ACE-inhibitors will make any difference in dealing with the pneumonia from COVID-19.

Still, if there were something that we could do that might give us an edge from a natural source, wouldn’t that be a plus? It looks like some researchers have been examining that question for a long time; I read a review paper that provided some guidance.

Are ACE-Inhibitors Found in Nature?

Yes, is the short answer. The chemical structures of natural ACE-inhibitors vary, but they’re food peptides—short strings of amino acids, generally 2–50 amino acids long. When checking the BIOPEP Database, there were 891 peptide sequences that have been identified as having ACE-inhibitory traits.

The foods are diverse; they range from different types of fish such as sardines and Alaskan pollack, to chicken, eggs, beef, pork, and milk products. Vegetarian? No problem. Corn, wheat, soybeans, soy milk, garlic, chick peas, mushrooms, walnuts, and most likely, many more have the right properties.

Are All Natural ACE-inhibitors Biologically Active?

The ability of any peptide to work depends on its ability to survive the digestive system. Peptides can be broken down into their individual amino acids and may not reconstitute the sequence once absorbed. There’s limited research on extracts from foods and less on the foods themselves actually lowering BP.

We do have some research on whether a diet with these types of foods will lower hypertension; it’s called the DASH Diet. The foundation is whole grains, beans and legumes, lean proteins from meat, dairy, eggs, and fish. Together with reducing sodium and getting some exercise, the diet itself contains many naturally occurring ACE-inhibitory peptides. It may be that what lowers BP is the combined shift from a highly-processed, high-fat diet to the DASH Diet full of the right peptides.

The Bottom Line

Hypertension is one of the leading comorbidities for a severe case of COVID-19 if you get the virus. If you’ve been prescribed an ACE-inhibitor, I would recommend that you take it as directed. But it’s just as smart to add the foods with naturally occurring ACE-inhibitors in them. It may be that it’s what we’ve not been eating that’s putting us most at risk for a severe case of COVID-19.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: doi: 10.1111/1541-4337.12051