High-Fiber Diet May Fight High
Blood Pressure
March 4, 2004
By Jennifer Warner
Increasing Intake of Dietary Fiber Linked to Lower
Blood Pressure.
Bulking up on fiber may help people keep their blood
pressure under control, a new study shows.
Researchers tallied the results of 25 studies on the
effects of dietary fiber on blood pressure and found
that a high-fiber diet was associated with a significant
reduction in blood pressure levels among people with
high blood pressure or hypertension.
Nearly 50 million Americans and 1 billion people worldwide
have high blood pressure.
Aside from treatment with blood pressure-lowering medications,
several other lifestyle and dietary modifications have
already been shown to help keep blood pressure levels
under control, including weight loss, reduced sodium
intake, moderation in alcohol use, increased potassium
intake, increased physical activity, and following the
DASH (dietary approaches to stop hypertension) diet.
Although other dietary changes have been suggested
for blood pressure control, researchers say there hasn't
been enough evidence to recommend their use to the public.
Researchers say their findings represent the first
comprehensive report of the effect of increasing dietary
fiber on blood pressure and warrant additional studies
in larger groups of people on the long-term effects
of dietary fiber on blood pressure.
"We performed a comprehensive analysis of data
from 25 clinical trials and all the data pointed to
one strong conclusion -- adding fiber to a person's
diet has a healthy effect on their blood pressure,"
says researcher Seamus Whelton, a medical student at
the Tulane University School of Medicine, in a news
release. "Analyzing a large number of studies lends
strength to the conclusions of clinical trials that
involved too few participants to show an effect of dietary
fiber on blood pressure."
Dietary Fiber May Lower Blood Pressure
In the study, which appears in the March issue of the
Journal of Hypertension, researchers evaluated the results
of 25 studies on the effects on blood pressure of adding
fiber to the diet. Fiber intake in the studies ranged
from 3.8 grams per day to125 grams per day.
The type of fiber added to the diet in the studies
included fruit, cereal, fiber pills, and vegetables.
Overall, the results showed that adding fiber to the
diet was associated with a significant reduction in
both systolic (the bottom number in a blood pressure
reading) and diastolic (the top number) blood pressure
in people with high blood pressure.
In studies lasting at least eight weeks, the average
reduction in blood pressure was 3.12 mmHg systolic and
2.57 mmHg diastolic.
A small drop in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure
readings was also seen in people without high blood
pressure.
"Our results suggest that increased dietary fiber
consumption may provide a safe and acceptable means
to reduce blood pressure in patients with hypertension,"
write Whelton and colleagues. "Increased intake
of fruits and vegetables may provide the best means
to supplement dietary fiber intake because of its potential
beneficial health effects."
Source:http://my.webmd.com
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