A Vegetarian Diet Could Help Lower Blood Pressure


Older adults need to pay more attention to medical conditions such as high blood pressure, cholesterol and other factors that can increase the risk of heart disease. An excellent way to keep these health issues in check is for seniors to alter their diets. Senior care services can assist people with grocery shopping and meal preparation.

Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine found that a vegetarian diet could help some people lower their blood pressure without medication, and individuals who follow this sort of meal plan may have lower blood pressure than non-vegetarians.

Investigators examined results from 39 prior studies, which included seven controlled trials and 32 observational works. Collectively, information was gathered from almost 22,000 people.

In the observations, the team found that men and women who ate vegetarian diets had a systolic (top number) blood pressure that was 7 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) lower than their meat-eating counterparts as well as a diastolic (bottom number) blood pressure of 5 mm Hg lower. In the trials, participants who took part in a vegetarian meal plan showed a systolic reading of 5 mm Hg lower and a diastolic reading that was 2 mm Hg lower than the control groups.