A British study shows that vegetarians have lower blood pressure than meat-eaters.

Healthful eating habits can lower high blood pressure. In fact, dietary changes are often the first line of treatment once the diagnosis is made. To see how various eating styles are associated with differences in blood pressure, British researchers compared the blood pressures of meat eaters, fish eaters, vegetarians, and vegans. Their findings were published in Public Health Nutrition.

A closer look at diet

Over 11,000 adults - some with high blood pressure and others with normal blood pressure levels - completed a questionnaire that addressed eating habits, alcohol consumption, physical activity, smoking status, and medical history. The volunteers were asked specifically if they ate meat, fish, dairy products, and eggs. Based on their answers, the volunteers were categorized into four groups: meat eaters, fish eaters (ate fish, but no meat), vegetarians (ate no fish or meat but did eat eggs and/or dairy products), and vegans (no meat, fish, dairy, or eggs).

The volunteers were considered to have high blood pressure if they reported a physician's diagnosis or if they had ever been advised to make dietary changes due to high blood pressure.

More meat eaters with high blood pressure

More meat eaters reported having high blood pressure than did vegans. Fish eaters and vegetarians were in the middle. These differences remained even after the researchers considered that the meat eaters tended to be older and heavier, two factors that increase the likelihood of high blood pressure.

Body weight is key

Among volunteers who did not report high blood pressure, the meat eaters still had higher blood pressure than did vegans - again, fish eaters and vegetarians fell somewhere in between. However, the differences appeared to be related to body weight rather than food choices - the heavier volunteers in this group tended to have higher blood pressure when compared with their leaner counterparts.

Vegetarian advantages

There are health advantages of eating a diet that relies more heavily on plant foods. Among these is that such individuals may be likely to consume less saturated fat, which is found largely in red meat. But as this study indicates, achieving and maintaining a healthful body weight may be one of the most useful methods to keep blood pressure under control.

Whether your diet contains meat, fish, dairy, eggs, or none of these, make sure to include plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. If you do eat meat and dairy, be sure to emphasize the lean and low-fat choices. Combining good eating habits with exercise - and no smoking - will benefit blood pressure, as well as other health markers such as cholesterol levels and body weight.

Source

• Hypertension and blood pressure among meat eaters, fish eaters, vegetarians and vegans in EPIC-Oxford. PN. Appleby, GK. Davey, TJ. Key, Public Health Nutrition, 2002, vol. 5, pp. 645--654

Related Links
A Produce-Rich Diet Helps Keep Blood Pressure in Check
Modest Weight Loss Helps to Control High Blood Pressure
Diet and Exercise Help Keep High Blood Pressure in Check
To quickly access additional accurate information on this and other nutrition-related topics, visit Tufts University's Nutrition Navigator