Omega-3 fatty acids reduce blood pressure: study

A diet with liberal servings of fish, nuts and seeds rich in nutrients called omega-3 fatty acids can help lower a person's blood pressure, according to Dr. Jeremiah Stamler, professor emeritus of preventive medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, who worked on the study.

The study looked at diet and its relation to blood pressure in 4,680 men and women, ages 40 to 59, who lived in Japan, China, Britain and the United States. They all provided in-depth details about their diets and alcohol consumption, gave urine samples and had their blood pressure measured twice at each of four study visits. Researchers then adjusted for 17 variables known to influence blood pressure such as age, gender, weight, salt intake and exercise. The people who ate diets rich in omega-3 fatty acids had slightly lower blood pressure, on average, than people who ate diets with less of the nutrient, the researchers reported in the American Heart Association Journal Circulation. "With blood pressure, every millimeter counts. The effect of each nutrient is apparently small but independent, so together they can add up to a substantial impact on blood pressure," said Dr. Hirotsugu Ueshima of Shiga University of Medical Science in Otsu, Japan. "If you can reduce blood pressure a few millimeters from eating less salt, losing a few pounds, avoiding heavy drinking, eating more vegetables, whole grains and fruits (for their fiber, minerals, vegetable protein and other nutrients) and getting more omega-3 fatty acids, then you've made a big difference," Ueshima said in a statement.