Low-salt diets packed with fruit and vegetables lower blood pressure more than medication after just four weeks, a Harvard University study reveals.
Cutting out salt and eating lots of fruit, vegetables and low-fat dairy, reduces people with high blood pressure’s results by an average of 21 mm Hg, the research adds.
To put that into context, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the US’ drug-approving body, will not accept anti-hypertension medications unless they lower blood pressure by at least 3-4 mm Hg.
Most medications typically reduce hypertension readings by between 10 and 15 mm Hg, but come with side effects including fatigue, dizziness and headache.
Study author Dr Lawrence Appel said: ‘What we’re observing from the combined dietary intervention is a reduction in systolic blood pressure as high as, if not greater than, that achieved with prescription drugs.
‘It’s an important message to patients that they can get a lot of mileage out of adhering to a healthy and low-sodium diet.’
Around 32 percent of adults in the US have high blood pressure, which puts them at risk of heart disease and stroke.
Low-salt, healthy diets lower blood pressure more than medication after just four weeks
How the research was carried out
The researchers analyzed 412 people with early-stage hypertension who were not taking high blood pressure medication.
Some of the study’s participants were fed a ‘DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet’, which includes lots of fruit, vegetables and low-fat dairy products, with minimal saturated fat.
The remaining participants ate a typical American diet.
All of the participants were fed different sodium levels equaling around 0.5, one or two teaspoons of salt a day over four weeks with five-day breaks in between.
Approximately one teaspoon is the maximum recommended salt intake in the US to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Healthy diet as good as medication
Results reveal that, among the participants with the highest blood pressure levels, following a low-salt, DASH diet for just four weeks reduced their hypertension readings by an average of 21 mm Hg.
For the FDA to approve any anti-hypertension medication, it must lower blood pressure by 3-4 mm Hg.
Drugs such as ACE inhibitors, calcium blockers and beta blockers typically reduce blood pressure by between 10 and 15 mm Hg.
Participants with lower blood pressure results at the start of the study also saw their readings reduce by between five and 10 mm Hg.
Dr Appel said: ‘What we’re observing from the combined dietary intervention is a reduction in systolic blood pressure as high as, if not greater than, that achieved with prescription drugs.
‘It’s an important message to patients that they can get a lot of mileage out of adhering to a healthy and low-sodium diet.’
The findings were published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.