Eating a vegetarian diet could be linked with a lower blood pressure.
Influences such as "diet, body weight, physical activity and alcohol intake," can affect one's blood pressure, a JAMA Network Journals news release reported. Diet modifications have been long-considered to be an excellent weapon against hypertension.
Researchers looked at 32 studies and found patients on a vegetarian diet had a reduced average systolic "(peak artery pressure) and diastolic (minimum artery pressure) BP" when compared to those on a omnivorous diet.
The team looked at both observational and controlled trials. Observational trials showed how habits paid off over time, such as eating a vegetarian diet; controlled studies showed how a lifestyle change could influence health factors, Reuters reported.
"Unlike drugs, there is no cost to a diet adjustment of this type, and all the 'side effects' of a plant-based diet are desirable: weight loss, lower cholesterol, and better blood sugar control, among others," lead author Yoko Yokoyama told Reuters Health.
"Individuals who adhere to vegetarian diets are likely to use fewer processed foods, the major source of dietary sodium, and adhere to healthy lifestyles behaviors such as maintaining a body weight in the optimal range and engaging in regular physical activity," Alice Lichtenstein, director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory at Tufts University (who was not involved in the study told Reuters Health in an email.
The researchers hope to follow up on the studies; possibly even leading to plant-based diets taking over for hypertension medication as a healthier and effective alternative.
"Further studies are required to clarify which types of vegetarian diets are most strongly associated with lower BP. Research into the implementation of such diets, either as public health initiatives aiming at prevention of hypertension or in clinical settings, would also be of great potential value."
