Lowers blood pressure, improves kidney health, improves CVD risk factors.

In a randomized control trial over a five-year period, investigators divided the cohort of 153 patients with hypertension into three groups:

1. Study participants adding 2-4 cups of base-producing fruits and vegetables in addition to their usual daily food intake
2. Study participants prescribed NaHCO₃ (acid-reducing sodium bicarbonate, which is common baking soda) tablets in two daily doses of 4-5 650 mg tablets
3. Study participants receiving standard medical care from primary care clinicians

The results of the study show that both fruits and vegetables and NaHCO₃ improved kidney health, but only fruits and vegetables, and not NaHCO₃, reduced blood pressure and improved indices of cardiovascular disease risk.

The trial supports fruits and vegetables as foundational hypertension treatment to reduce chronic kidney disease progression and cardiovascular disease risk.

Elsevier. “Eating more fruits and vegetables to reduce dietary acid lowers blood pressure and improves kidney and heart health in patients with hypertension.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/08/240806131316.htm (accessed August 11, 2024).

Journal Reference:

1. Nimrit Goraya, Nicolaos E. Madias, Jan Simoni, Maninder Kahlon, Nazan Aksan, Donald E. Wesson. Kidney and Cardiovascular Protection Using Dietary Acid Reduction in Primary Hypertension: A Five-Year, Interventional, Randomized, Control Trial. The American Journal of Medicine, 2024; DOI: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2024.06.006

I had two cups of fruit in my breakfast bowl this morning.

What did you eat for breakfast?