Valuable Veggies

High blood pressure (hypertension) contributes to a person’s risk of life-threatening medical conditions – most notably, heart disease and stroke.  Yoko Yokoyama, from the National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center (Japan), and colleagues completed a meta-analysis of seven clinical trials and 32 studies, involving a total of nearly 22,000 subjects.  For the trials, the researchers observed that eating a vegetarian diet reduced both the mean systolic, and diastolic, pressures, as compared to subjects who ate meat as well.   Lower average systolic and diastolic pressures were observed among vegetarians in the studies, as compared to those who ate omnivorous diets.  Reporting that: “Consumption of vegetarian diets is associated with lower [blood pressure],” the study authors submit that: “Such diets could be a useful nonpharmacologic means for reducing [blood pressure].”