Study Shows Vegetarian Diets Reduce Hypertension
A PCRM report published in the January 2005 issue of the journal
Nutrition Reviews finds that a vegetarian diet is an effective
way both to prevent and regulate high blood pressure.
Authors Susan E. Berkow, Ph.D., C.N.S., and PCRM president Neal
D. Barnard, M.D., reviewed 80 previously published studies, including
both observational and randomized controlled trials. They found
abundant evidence supporting the blood-pressure-lowering effect
of a vegetarian diet.
In analyzing the potential mechanisms by which diet affects blood
pressure, the authors concluded that vegetarians enjoy lower rates
of hypertension. Partly, this is because they typically weigh less
than nonvegetarians. But there is more to it. Plant-based diets
also modulate blood viscosity (“thickness”), and the
high potassium content of plant products also reduces blood pressure
directly.
Hypertension affects approximately 50 million Americans and approximately
1 billion individuals worldwide. This silent killer increases the
risk of coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure, stroke,
and renal disease. Vegetarian diets can reduce this threat and,
in some studies, have been shown to help individuals reduce or eliminate
their use of blood pressure medications.
The New York Times science section featured the report
on January 11.
Berkow SE, Barnard ND. Blood pressure regulation and vegetarian
diets. Nutr Rev. 2005;63:1-8.
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