What you eat is as important as what you limit

Most nutrition studies rely on people reporting about what they eat. The quality of such reports, as you can imagine, relies on people’s memory and dependability – our memory and food diaries can be flawed, and even with the best intentions people often delude even themselves regarding their diet and weight. Nevertheless, when large sets of data from many different studies continue to point in the same direction, the connection between diet components and outcomes grows more and more robust despite these limitations.

But proving a dietary connection through objective measurements offers extra support.

One of the most important risk factors all over the world is high blood pressure. Hypertension is a risk factor for heart disease, stroke and dementia. Hypertension worries are getting some extra attention these days – people with high blood pressure may be at greater risk of severe Covid-19. Abnormally high blood pressure is responsive to several lifestyle changes, chief among them are changes in the food we eat.

Certain plant foods contain bioactive molecules that are associated with lower blood pressure. Flavonoids are a large family of plant beneficial compounds, and they occur naturally in fruits, veggies, herbs, spices and plant-based drinks such as wine and tea. Flavan-3-ols are a major class within the flavonoid family, and are found in tea, berries, nuts and cocoa.

How to keep your blood pressure in check

A new study in Scientific Reports looked at a new nutrition marker that reflects plant food intake –  the flavan-3-ol and (–)-epicatechin biomarker – in more than 25,000 people, and its correlation with blood pressure. The researchers found that high flavan-3-ol intake was associated with a significantly lower blood pressure, both systolic and diastolic. People with higher the flavan-3-ol levels also had lower blood lipids.

Many studies already show a correlation between plant-centered diets and lower blood pressure. A review in JAMA Internal Medicine, analyzing 39 studies finds that vegetarian diets – emphasizing plant-foods such as veggies, fruit, grains and legumes – are associated with lower blood pressure. A Mediterranean diet is associated with improved blood pressure. The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet – which emphasizes vegetables, fruit, and low-fat dairy, while limiting salt – has been successful in delivering on the promise of its name: It's proven to reduce blood pressure in randomized controlled trials.

So the findings of this study are not surprising. The news here is the confirmation of the outcome (lower blood pressure) by verifiable measurements of a plant biomarker.  

And this is a fine reminder that to maintain healthy blood pressure what you do eat (plant foods) is as important as what you limit in your diet (alcohol, salt, highly processed food), and that a simple regimen of tea, apples, berries and cocoa can have measurable benefits.

Food, however, is only one modifiable variable that affects your blood pressure. Exercise, and maintaining a healthy weight are also important. 

As is controlling stress.

In this election season, topped by a global pandemic, it’s ever more important to Keep Calm and Eat Your Plants.

Dr. Ayala