Recent studies reveal changes to diet may be more instrumental than even medication in combating high blood pressure
A study conducted by Harvard University revealed that altering your diet to include primarily vegetables and fruits, in conjunction with lowering salt consumption, can positively impact blood pressure within four weeks.
Blood pressure may be reduced by as much as 21 mm Hg, the study reveals – to demonstrate how impressive that is, the FDA does not accept medications for hypertension that does not lower pressure by a minimum of 4 mm HG.
Hypertension medications come with negative side effects that can impair a person’s quality of life, such as dizziness, headaches, and fatigue, as well as other side effects if taken with medications for other conditions.
Diet is the better option for handling hypertension
Comparatively, altering your diet costs less than medication, and has a range of additional health benefits aside from reducing blood pressure, such as potential weight loss, improved energy levels and overall improvement of well-being.
Researchers analyzed over 400 individuals who were in the early stages of hypertension, none of whom were taking medication. Participants were given a diet regime heavy in dairy products (low-fat), vegetables, fruits and a minimal consumption of saturated fat.
The results of the study revealed that even participants possessing highest hypertension levels had lowered pressure at the end of the study, at a high average – higher than that of most FDA approved drugs.
The participants possessing lower pressure also noticed a general lowering from the diet, again greater than what would have been achieved by taking drugs.
Researchers recommended to doctors and patients alike to first consider altering their diets rather than immediately jumping to prescription medications, especially since changing their lifestyles diet-wise is proven to be more effective.