Experts encouraged Nigerians to eat more whole grains, vegetables and fruits regularly to help reduce their chances of developing high blood pressure, after a study to identify dietary patterns related to hypertension.
Researchers in a study published in the 2024 Journal of Hypertension found that diets that emphasise regular intake of fruits and whole grains such as ofada rice, corn, millet, acha and sorghum were linked with a low risk of hypertension.
They looked at the dietary factors associated with the high burden of hypertension among indigenous Africans and found that higher adherence to dietary consumption of whole grains and fruits was inversely associated with low odds of hypertension in the African population.
They also found a statistically insignificant inverse association between vegetable patterns and the odds of developing hypertension.
In this study, 1,550 participants with hypertension were matched for age, sex and ethnicity with 1,550 participants without hypertension identified from the stroke-free population in the Stroke Investigative Research and Educational Network study (SIREN) in Ghana and Nigeria, to evaluate the association between dietary patterns and hypertension.
They assessed their food consumption using a food frequency questionnaire and identified seven dietary patterns while taking into consideration such factors as age, education, income, smoking, alcohol use, physical inactivity, family history of cardiovascular diseases, obesity and salt intake.
According to the study, the reported likelihood for hypertension based on their dietary patterns was 0.62 and 0.70 for whole grains and fruit drinks; 0.87 for fruits and 0.85 for vegetables, legumes and potatoes.
Regular consumption of meat and processed foods presented a statistically insignificant direct association with hypertension.
The researchers in the
study suggested evidence alluding to the significance of regular consumption of plant-based diets in designing guidelines and advisories for primary prevention of hypertension among Africans.
They suggested that the beneficial association between whole grains and fruit consumption and hypertension appears complex, but possibly because whole grains are rich in complex carbohydrates linked with lower blood pressure and blood glucose concentration as well as preventing insulin resistance.
“Adherence to a diet rich in whole grains and fruits (typical of traditional African diets) was associated with lower odds of hypertension. This information can be translated into actionable advisories and tailored to support dietary recommendations for populations and caregivers with a practical and culturally relevant resource for the primary prevention of hypertension and thus support stakeholder efforts to ensure healthy lives in Africa, where the burden of hypertension is already high,”
“Current evidence from this study revealed that a diet rich in plant food sources might be a practical, non-pharmacological approach to hypertension prevention and management”, they concluded.
Study Reveals Plant-based Meals That Helps Prevents hypertension
