It May Only Take A Mostly Plant-Based Diet To Reap Blood Pressure Benefits

High blood pressure is one of the highest risk factors for heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular diseases. As a result, researchers are actively seeking lifestyle interventions to limit its damaging effects and lower blood pressure over time.

For this new report, which was published in the Journal of Hypertension today, researchers analyzed data from previous studies to compare the impact of plant-based diets on blood pressure.

"We reviewed 41 studies involving 8,416 participants, in which the effects of seven different plant-based diets (including DASH, Mediterranean, vegetarian, vegan, Nordic, high fiber, and high fruit and vegetables) on blood pressure were studied in controlled clinical trials," explains Joshua Gibbs, the paper's lead author. "A systematic review and meta-analysis of these studies showed that most of these diets lowered blood pressure."

Plant-based diets technically differ from vegan diets based on one major factor: They place an emphasis on whole, unprocessed foods. Essentially, a plant-based diet is all about fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds.

Senior author Francesco Cappuccio, M.D., does say that while the study indicates the power of a plant-based diet for lowering blood pressure, "the translation of this knowledge into real benefits to people [...] depends on a variety of factors." "For an individual, the ability to adopt a plant-based diet would be influenced by socio-economic factors (costs, availability, access), perceived benefits and difficulties, resistance to change, age, health status, low adherence due to palatability, and acceptance."