Higher intake of vegetable protein can lower blood pressure levels

Those who eat more protein from vegetables and less from meat will tend to have lower blood pressure levels.

Researchers have previously discovered that meat eaters often have higher blood pressure than vegetarians. A vegetarian diet seems to help lower blood pressure.

Studies have also shown that those of us with a higher total protein intake are likely to have lower blood pressure. Vegetables offer protein without the added fat that can come from a meat based diet.

The recently published INTERMAP study looked at about five thousand people from four different countries.

Researchers measured blood pressure levels over a three- to six-week period. Each person in the study wrote down everything they had eaten and drank during the previous 24 hours. Urine samples were also taken on the first and third examinations.

The food diary and urine samples showed that those who ate more vegetable protein were more likely to have lower blood pressure.

The study showed some association between animal protein intake and high blood pressure, this link disappeared when they accounted for participants' height and weight. This might suggest that it is the obesity associated with a meat based fatty diet that triggers the blood pressure problems. More research is needed to clarify this issue