A recent study investigated the ability of four different diets to lower blood pressure over 8 weeks in 324 overweight subjects 20-40 years old. All diets included a 30% calorie reduction from the subjects estimated energy requirements, but differed in that one included 150g of salmon three times per week, another involved 150g of cod three times per week, the third required taking 1.3g of fish oil capsules per day, and the final was the control dieting group which took sunflower oil capsules and ate no seafood.

At the conclusion …

Since the late 1990′s, the DASH diet has been promoted as the ideal diet for lowering blood pressure. The diet itself, called the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, calls for a reduction in red meats, sweets and artificial sugars, and emphasizes fruits and vegetables as well as a whole host of heart healthy foods. The full diet plan can be found at on the National Institutes of Health Website. But does this DASH diet work? What about simply reducing sodium intake?

A study involving nearly 10,000 Spanish university graduates spanning four years discovered a link between frequent use of painkillers (analgesics, such as aspirin) and an increased risk of developing high blood pressure.
After analyzing the study data, researchers found that using aspirin two or more times per week increased the risk of having high blood pressure by 1.45 times. Similar use of all other analgesics, steroid and non-steroid, was found to increase risk by 1.69 times. The study is careful to point out that they believe that other benefits of taking …