A new study has shown that if a person consumes protein from a variety of sources, they have a lower risk of high blood pressure. This research was done on about 12,200 adults in China. This suggests that consuming a balanced diet with moderate amounts of protein from a variety of food sources may help prevent early hypertension. This study is published in the journal ‘American Heart Association’.
About half of the US population has high blood pressure. Study author Jianhui Qin said, “Nutrition can be an easily accessible and effective way to fight high blood pressure. Along with fats and carbohydrates, protein is one of the three basic nutrients. There is a strong link between poor dietary quality and an increased risk of heart disease, he said.
The study authors analyzed health information for nearly 12,200 adults living in China who were part of at least 2 of the seven rounds of the China Health and Nutrition Survey from 1997 to 2015. The initial survey of participants was used as a baseline, while data from their final round was used as a follow-up for comparison.
The average age of the participants was 41 years, and 47 percent were male. Participants in the survey were given a protein “diversity score” based on the number of different sources of protein. The analysis found that participants who ate a balanced amount of protein from a variety of sources were less likely to develop high blood pressure.