The American Heart Association estimates that 65 million Americans aged 20 years and older have high blood pressure, with one in three American adults suffering from the condition.  From 1992 to 2002, the death rate from high blood pressure increased 26.8 percent, killing nearly 50,000 Americans in 2002.¹   A recent study in the Lancet stated that high blood pressure is now a worldwide epidemic.²

 

Prescription drugs, including diuretics and beta-blockers,³ have become very popular for trying to lower blood pressure.  But a new study⁴ suggests that lowering your blood pressure may be as easy as adding more fiber to your diet.

 

In the study, researchers reviewed 25 different studies that examined the effect of dietary fiber intake on blood pressure. They found that for studies lasting longer than 8 weeks, fiber intake between 7.2 and 18.9 grams per day had a significant effect on blood pressure, lowering systolic and diastolic blood pressures by 5.95 mmHg and 4.20 mmHg, respectively, in patients with high blood pressure.  For studies less than eight weeks, however, a significant decrease was only seen for diastolic blood pressure.

 

These results led the researchers to conclude that “increased intake of dietary fiber may reduce BP in patients with hypertension” yet the same conclusion wasn’t found for people with normal blood pressure.

 

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Danville, CA. You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at ChiroDocPSUalum@msn.com or by visiting his website at www.CompleteChiropracticHealthcare.com.

 

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