Vegetarian diets lower blood pressure significantly, according to an article in this month's Nutrition Reviews. Observational studies have shown that hypertension is significantly less common among vegetarians, and subsequent clinical trials showed that such diets lower blood pressure in individuals with either normal or high blood pressure. Among the major presumed mechanisms are the diet's ability to reduce blood viscosity, its high potassium content, and its effect on body weight. The article was written by Susan Berkow, Ph.D., and Neal Barnard, M.D., of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

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