Yogurt Helps to Lower Blood Pressure

A number of previous studies suggest that routine consumption of low-fat dairy products can be effective in helping to reduce blood pressure.  Huifen Wang, from Tufts University (Massachusetts, USA), and colleagues studied 2,197 adults in the offspring cohort of the Framingham Heart Study who did not have high blood pressure at the  study’s start.  Subjects were surveyed for dietary habits, tand followed for blood pressure along with other measures.  On the baseline food-frequency questionnaire, 44% of the participants reported that they ate yogurt at least once a month. During the 14 years of follow-up, blood pressures rose and 913 of the participants developed hypertension. Yogurt intake rose too, and those with high intake — more than 2% of their daily calories from yogurt — were less likely to develop hypertension. The odds ratio of incident hypertension was 0.69 compared with individuals who didn’t eat yogurt, and systolic blood pressure rose less in the high-consumption group as well — by 0.19 mmHg less than among nonconsumers.  People who ate at least the equivalent of one serving every three days were 31% less likely to develop high blood pressure than those who ate no yogurt at all.