Vegetarian Diet May Help Lower Blood Pressure

But keeping meat off your plate isnt a guarantee of blood-pressure control and weight loss. Your diet still needs to focus on nutrient-rich foods.

Published: April 23, 2014

Adults who consume a vegetarian diet tend to have lower blood pressure than non-vegetarians, according to a recent study in JAMA Internal Medicine. There may be several explanations for this relationship, the researchers noted. For example, vegetarians tend to have a lower body-mass index (BMI) than those who eat meat. A high BMI, which is a measure of the bodys shape using a formula that includes a persons height and weight, is associated with higher risks of hypertension and heart disease.