In an article published in a supplement to the July issue of The Journal of Clinical Hypertension, researchers reviewed studies showing that increasing levels of potassium in the diet may lower the risk of developing high blood pressure, and may even decrease blood pressure in people with hypertension.
Dr. Mark C. Houston, from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and Dr. Karen J. Harper from Harper Medical Communications, Inc. in Nashville, reviewed findings from several published studies, concluding in part their belief that the consumption of adequate potassium is one reason why vegetarians and people in isolated areas have a very low incidence of hypertension and heart disease.
Typically, Americans consume double the sodium and half the potassium that dietary guidelines currently recommended. However, in isolated societies where diets are low in sodium and high in fruits and vegetables, and therefore include high levels of potassium, hypertension has been seen to affect roughly 1% of the population. This is contrasted with industrialized societies with diets high in sodium and hypertension present in 30-plus% of the population.
Houston and Harper theorize that if Americans were to increase their potassium intake, the instance of hypertension among adults could be reduced by 10%: "An increase in potassium with a decrease in sodium is probably the most important dietary choice (after weight loss) that should be implemented to reduce cardiovascular disease." - Houston and Harper article.
In another analysis of research done on lowering hight blood pressure, Dr. Karin Ried and colleagues from The University of Adelaide in South Australia reported in June 16, 2008, at BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, that garlic supplements may lower blood pressure just as effectively as some type of drugs.
They identified 11 studies with randomly selected patients given garlic or placebos, over 12 to 23 week periods. When reviewing the pooled findings, they found that those taking the garlic had reduced systolic blood pressure by an average of 4.6 mm Hg. An analysis of subjects with high blood pressure showed garlic reduced systolic blood pressure an average of 8.4 mm Hg, and diastolic blood pressure by an average of 7.3 mm Hg. They further saw that the higher a person's blood pressure was at the beginning of the study, the more it was reduced.
What was most striking was that the effects shown were similar to those of several widely used types of drugs used for treating hypertension, including beta blockers, which reduce systolic blood pressure by 5 mm Hg, and ACE inhibitors, which produce an 8 mm Hg average drop in systolic blood pressure. The researchers noted that reducing systolic blood pressure by an average of 4 to 5 points and diastolic blood pressure by 2 to 3 points could reduce the risk of heart disease and heart disease-related death in the general population by as much as 20%.
Whether or not these findings can be sustained over the long term will require more research, but as for now, quote Dr. Ried: "Supplementation with garlic preparations may provide an acceptable alternative or complementary treatment option for hypertension."
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