Exercise + Diet Best For Blood Pressure

Doctors typically advice patients with high blood pressure to adopt the DASH diet, a low-fat-, low-sodium diet endorsed by the American Heart Association. Research has shown that it works, but exercise has also been shown to reduce hypertension. So how do diet and exercise together compare to the DASH diet alone? Researchers from Duke University Medical center recently studied this question. One hundred-forty four overweight patients with high blood pressure were separated into three groups. One group was given a set of standard dietary guidelines for control of hypertension. A second group was instructed to follow a strict DASH diet. And the third group was instructed to follow the DASH diet and exercise regularly. On average, standard dietary controls lowered blood pressure by 3.4 mm Hg. The DASH diet lowered blood pressure by 11.2 mm Hg. And the DASH diet plus exercise lowered blood pressure by 16.1 mm Hg. So there’s your answer. The study was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.