Dietary Approaches to Prevent Hypertension

Abstract

Elevated blood pressure arises from a combination of environmental and genetic factors and the interactions of these factors. A substantial body of evidence from animal studies, epidemiologic studies, meta-analyses, and randomized controlled trials has demonstrated that certain dietary patterns and individual dietary elements play a prominent role in the development of hypertension. Changes in diet can lower blood pressure, prevent the development of hypertension, and reduce the risk of hypertension-related complications. Dietary strategies for the prevention of hypertension include reducing sodium intake, limiting alcohol consumption, increasing potassium intake, and adopting an overall dietary pattern such as the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet or a Mediterranean diet. In order to reduce the burden of blood pressure-related complications, efforts that focus on environmental and individual behavioral changes that encourage and promote healthier food choices are warranted.

Association of major dietary patterns and blood pressure longitudinal change in Bangladesh

“…Our findings are also consistent with our earlier finding in the same cohort that “western diet”, which displayed high factor loadings for meat, milk, poultry and eggs, was associated with an increased risk of CVD mortality [17]. The study results are also consistent with findings, largely from developed countries, as recently reviewed [23], diets rich in fruits, vegetables and reduced saturated and total fat (DASH diet) as well as the Mediterranean diet are protective for BP control. Our results indicated that the effects of dietary patterns on BP change observed in a western population can be generalized to low-income countries, where rapid urbanization has resulted in increased consumption of meats and increased incidence of CVD.…”

Effects of flaxseed supplements on blood pressure: A systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled clinical trial

“…Dietary interventions have been recommended as attractive add-on therapies to control blood pressure and decrease the burden of hypertension [1]. Flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum), an oilseed crop grown on all continents and highly accessible, has been shown to decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease by decreasing lipid profile parameters [2], plasma trans fats [3], atherogenicity [4,5], glycemia [2] or pro-inflammatory oxylipins [6].…”

Nutritional Counseling for Hypertensive Patients: Have Final-Year Nursing Students Learnt Enough to Be Able to Offer Advice to Such Patients?

“…Mineral intakes have been found to lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Dietary potassium intake has been demonstrated to significantly lower blood pressure (BP) in a dose-responsive manner in both hypertensive and nonhypertensive patients in both observational studies and clinical trials [14,26]. Intake of magnesium in particular has been shown to enhance the BPlowering effect of antihypertensive medications [27,28].…”

“…These findings suggest that generally more than 70% of populations in most African countries are not consuming adequate quantities of fruits and vegetables, which is defined as five or more servings of fruits or vegetables per day. It has been reported that nutritional factors may explain 30-75% of cases of hypertension, and therefore recent efforts to reduce the prevalence of hypertension have focused on nonpharmacologic strategies, specifically diet [14].…”