Food Patterns, Lifestyle, and Hypertension

Abstract

High blood pressure (BP) is considered as a strong predisposing factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) Environmental and genetic factors may have a role in high blood pressures. Nutrition has a potential role in the prevention of hypertension and its sequelae. Effect of lowering blood pressure by modification of complex dietary patterns may be the result of synergism between the various components of certain foods or food combinations rather than of the specific effect of a particular nutrient. Vegetarian Diet, Mediterranean Diet, and Dash Diet are three food patterns which have been associated with lowering BP. Vegetarian Diet are characterized by high intake of legumes, nuts, vegetables, and fruits. A relatively high polyunsaturated to saturated fat ratio will make by this kind of diet. Low fat content and high potassium, magnesium, and fiber content of this diet, all factors possibly cooperating to the reduction of blood pressure. Mediterranean Diet has low animal and dairy products as well as saturated fatty acids and cholesterol; it is rich in plant food, legumes, fiber, and antioxidant vitamins with olive oil as the main source of fat. The dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) is a success process in control of hypertension, which emphasizes vegetables and fruits and dairy foods with low-fat, it also includes more nuts, poultry, fish, and, whole grains and lower amounts of red meat, fats, sweets, and sugar-containing beverages. DASH diet is poorer in total and saturated fat and cholesterol and richer in potassium, magnesium, calcium, and fiber in comparison to the habitual Western diet. In conclusion, although multiple dietary factors can influence on BP and each factor has a modest effect; the combined effects of those factors can be substantial. In the current study, we review food patterns, lifestyle, and their relationship with hypertension and the possible mechanisms involved. 1. Context Industrialized countries pay a heavy to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in terms of morbidity and mortality. In the past two decades in many developing countries an increasing load of CVD was shown. Therefore, CVD shows are considered as a main cause of disability, morbidity, and mortality worldwide [1]. Seventy-five percentage CVD results from high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure (BP), smoking, or their combination. In particular, high BP is a powerful risk factor for CVD, stroke, heart failure, renal failure, and deaths [1-4]. Specifically, nearly one billion individuals worldwide were affected by hypertension, thus hypertension representing the main cause of cardiovascu-lar disease in the world. In addition, it is responsible for 13% of all deaths worldwide [1, 2, 5]. The prevalence of hyper-tension is similarly to increase with the population ages, as suggested by current data from the Framingham Heart Study;" whereby non-hypertensive individuals at 55 years of age have a 90% lifetime risk to develop hypertension" [6]. Furthermore, high BP is less frequently a single risk factor but is more often accompanied by a bunch of other risk factors grouped under the definition of metabolic syndrome [7]. Elevated BP results from genetic factors, environmental factors, and interactive interactions among these factors. Among of the environmental factors that affect BP (inactivity, diet, and psychosocial factors), factors that have a distinguished role on BP regulation is dietary factors [8]. It follows that nutrition has a great potential role in the prevention of hypertension and its comorbid-ity. Although the range of BP reduction from dietary manipulation is slightly greater in hypertensive individuals than in non-hypertensive, even an apparently small reduction in BP could have a great beneficial impact on the whole population [8]. The aim of this paper is to review present knowledge relating lifestyle modification and complex dietary patterns to the prevention and treatment of high BP. 2. Evidence Acquisition We focus particularly on two dietary patterns habitually consumed by different populations/individuals in different parts of the world-the vegetarian diets and the Mediterranean diets-and an experimental diet that largely went into use, that is, the DASH diet.