Researchers found:
- After five years, the average systolic blood pressure was lower (125 mm Hg) in the fruit and vegetable group than in patients receiving sodium bicarbonate (135 mm Hg) or no acidosis treatment (134 mm Hg).
- Although all groups started the study taking similar doses of common blood pressure drugs, by the end daily doses were lower in the fruit and vegetable group than in patients receiving sodium bicarbonate or no acidosis treatment.
- The average five-year drug cost for maintaining blood pressure was nearly half in the fruit and vegetable group ($79,760) than the sodium bicarbonate ($155,372) or no treatment groups ($152,305).
“In the long run, adding three to four servings of fruits and vegetables to the diet reduces blood pressure and lets people take fewer blood pressure drugs, reducing their medical costs,” Goraya said.
In an unrelated study, researchers from the University of São Paulo Medical School in Brazil, analyzed what type of exercise is the most beneficial for kidney disease patients on dialysis.
Data from 28 studies, involving 1,045 patients on dialysis, compared aerobic exercise, resistance (strength) training or both to control groups. Researchers found:
- A combination of aerobic exercise and resistance training best helped patients increase their aerobic fitness and reduce their blood pressure.
- Aerobic exercise and the combined training improved aerobic capacity when compared to control groups.
- Only the combined training reduced average systolic (top number) blood pressure (-5.88 mm Hg) and diastolic (bottom number) blood pressure (-3.93 mm Hg).
