A mountain of evidence indicates that keeping blood pressure in a healthy range can help to reduce the risk of experiencing a heart attack or stroke. Some studies suggest that cruciferous vegetables like kale, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and turnips may help lower blood pressure in those with mild hypertension.
W.H.O. estimates that there are over one billion adults around the world living with high blood pressure, as such the condition is the subject of much research and health interventions. A randomized, controlled, crossover study recently published in BMC Medicine examined how cruciferous vegetables help to reduce blood pressure in adults with mildly elevated blood pressure.
“Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is the leading risk factor for heart disease, with its prevalence increasing with age,” said Ms. Emma Connolly, Edith Cowan University (ECU) PhD student. “Increasing vegetable intake is widely recommended to reduce heart disease risk, and previous observational studies have shown, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts, have stronger relationships with lower heart disease risk than other vegetables. However, while these vegetables are consumed globally, cruciferous vegetables typically make up a small portion of total vegetable intake.”
The study
This 6-week study involved 18 participants between the ages of 56 and 72 years old with mild or moderately high blood pressure, who filled out dietary questionnaires to establish baseline diets and typical consumption of cruciferous vegetables. The researchers also collected participants’ data on physical activity and stress levels.
The participants underwent two, 2-week long intervention periods with a two-week break in between each. One of the intervention periods was a control period consisting of 4 servings of root and squash vegetables each day. The other period was the active intervention which consisted of 4 servings of cruciferous vegetables each day. The vegetables were prepared and provided by the researchers as soups with lunch and dinner, and 72% of the participants adhered to consuming all of their assigned soups.
Positive effects of cruciferous vegetables
According to the researchers, consuming cruciferous vegetables led to decreased systolic blood pressure during the day after being in the two-week intervention period, however, it did not appear to impact nighttime systolic blood pressure.
It was noted that there was an observed increase in nighttime aortic diastolic blood pressure among the active intervention group compared to the controls between interventions. The researchers also reported an increase in heart rate in the active intervention group relative to the control group, however, it is believed to be due to the decreases in heart rate among those in the control group.
Additionally, the researchers found that participants in the active intervention group experienced a significant decrease in their serum triglyceride levels compared to the control group. While both groups lost weight, they lost similar amounts which did not seem to be the reason for the difference in blood pressure between the groups.
“We found a 2.5 mmHg reduction in 24-hour ambulatory systolic blood pressure, which can translate to roughly 5% lower risk of experiencing a major cardiovascular disease event, such as a heart attack or stroke. Cruciferous vegetables typically only make up a small portion of total vegetables consumed by the adult population so strategies to increase these vegetables will likely lead to substantial impacts on reducing burden of cardiovascular disease,” said the study authors Emma Connolly, PhD candidate with the Nutrition and Health Innovation Research Institute at Edith Cowan University, and Lauren Blekkenhorst, PhD RNutr, National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia Emerging Leadership Fellow.
It was also noted that this study was not without limitations such as the small sample size. It is also not clear what components of the cruciferous vegetables were responsible for these results. Moving forward, additional research should investigate why cruciferous vegetables appear to have this positive influence on blood pressure in a large and more diverse population.
“Cruciferous vegetables are the lowest consumed group of vegetables. If people can increase their intake of this group of vegetables, they will receive more bang for their buck in terms of in lowering blood pressure and reducing the subsequent risk of developing heart disease later in life,” said ECU NHMRC Emerging Leader and Heart Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Lauren Blekkenhorst. “To maintain these health benefits, you should have to ideally consume these vegetables on most days of the week.”
As with anything you read on the internet, this article should not be construed as medical advice; please talk to your doctor or primary care provider before changing your wellness routine. WHN does not agree or disagree with any of the materials posted. This article is not intended to provide a medical diagnosis, recommendation, treatment, or endorsement. Additionally, it is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
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References/Sources/Materials provided by:
Brock-u-mulative Benefits Of Broccoli – WorldHealth.net
Have You Considered Eating Cabbage? – WorldHealth.net
https://worldhealth.net/news/fresh-vegetables-consider-adding-your-diet/
https://worldhealth.net/news/which-more-heart-healthier-spinach-or-kale/
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hypertension
https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-024-03577-8
https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/cruciferous-vegetable
