Vegetarian Blood Pressure Study Finds No Meat Diet Lowers Blood Pressure

There are many health benefits that are commonly associated with a vegetarian diet, including: lower risk of heart disease, less risk of cancer, and weight loss. But now, a new review of past studies from Japan, published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, has found that giving up meat for a vegetarian-only diet can lower your blood pressure similar to the drop seen after taking prescription drugs.

The findings of this study were determined through seven clinical trials and 32 studies from 1900 to 2013. The final conclusion: Those who had a vegetarian diet has a systolic blood pressure that was 5mmHg lower and a diastolic blood pressure that was 2.2 mmHg to 5 mmHg lower than those who consumed meat and seafood.

Blood pressure is split into two readings--systolic and diastolic. The former is the pressure inside your arteries when the heart is sending blood and the latter is the pressure when the heart is relaxed. The American Heart Association states that a healthy blood pressure reading would be under 120 mm Hg systolic and 80 mm Hg diastolic (120/80).

"A reduction in systolic blood pressure of 5mmHg would be expected to result in a seven per cent, nine per cent and 14 per cent reduction in mortality due to all causes, coronary heart disease, and stroke, respectively," says the report from the National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center in Osaka. Keeping one's blood pressure in check is important, as high blood pressure contributes to an array of other conditions, including: heart disease, stroke, and kidney disorders.

"If a diet change can prevent blood pressure problems or can reduce blood pressure, it would give hope to many people," said lead author Yoko Yokoyama to Reuters Health. "However, in order to make healthful food choices, people need guidance from scientific studies. Our analysis found that vegetarian diets lower blood pressure very effectively, and the evidence for this is now quite conclusive. Unlike drugs, there is no cost to a diet adjustment of this type, and all the ‘side effects' of a plant-based diet are desirable: weight loss, lower cholesterol, and better blood sugar control, among others."