MUFA-Rich Diet Lowers BP

AARHUS, Denmark—Consumption of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) lowers blood pressure (BP), according to results of a clinical trial published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (83, 2:221-6, 2006) (www.ajcn.org).

In the three-month, randomized study, healthy subjects (n=162) followed isoenergetic diets rich in either MUFAs or in saturated fatty acids (SFA diet). In addition, test subjects from both groups were randomly assigned to receive fish oil (3.6 g/d omega-3 fatty acids) or placebo. Consumption of the MUFA diet was associated with lowered systolic BP (SBP) and significantly reduced diastolic BP (DBP), the SFA diet produced no change in BP. Fish oil supplementation influenced neither SBP nor DBP.

The researchers concluded changing dietary fat profile by decreasing SFAs and increasing MUFAs decreased diastolic BP, and the addition of omega-3 fatty acids to the diet had no significant effect on BP.

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