New scientific research indicates that a simple change in eating patterns - adding more calcium - can dramatically decrease the risk of high blood pressure.
"It will go a long way to combating a killer disease," said professor Michael B. Zemel, Ph.D. and the head of the department of nutrition at the University of Tennessee.Speaking to some 200 Utah nutrition experts recently at a Dairy Council of Utah-sponsored seminar, he said this approach can also control hypertension as well as drugs in all but the most severe cases of the disease.
"This is a hard concept to get across to doctors," Zemel said.
Under a plan he referred to as the "DASH" diet - "Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension" - the two keys are:
- Have at least two to three servings a day of lowfat/fat-free milk products each day.
- Boost fruit and vegetable consumption to eight to 10 daily servings.
Reducing saturated fat in the diet also helps.
That level of dairy consumption is the current recommended daily amount, while the fruit and vegetable level is about twice the current recommendation by most national nutrition experts.
He also indicated that for some reason, the source of the calcium is critical. Dairy products and their calcium content vs. calcium supplements are more effective. His main study involved simply giving people two yogurts a day.
Zemel spent one hour explaining the relationship between dairy consumption and blood pressure, as well as his extensive test results.
He said his studies basically show that as calcium in the diet goes up, blood pressure goes down. That's partly because calcium acts as a natural diuretic - increasing the flow of urine.
It's complicated to explain, but calcium also tends to set up a situation where blood vessels relax and do not constrict.
This dietary approach runs counter to the typical "no-salt added" method to help curb hypertension. However, Zemel said it's a more positive plan because it centers on adding, not subtracting something in a person's diet.
"It's lots easier to add something to someone's diet than to take something away," he said.
Some 60 million Americans have high blood pressure and many don't know it, he said. It's the "silent killer" that Blacks, Asians and the elderly are among the most susceptible groups to the disease.
High blood pressure is also the leading cause of strokes, kidney failure and heart disease.
The "DASH" diet lowered blood pressure in people with both normal and elevated blood pressure.