The Study
Effects of Sodium Reduction and the DASH Diet in Relation to Baseline Blood Pressure.
This study is like a fair test where people were randomly picked to eat either healthy food or regular food, and their blood pressure was measured carefully. It shows that eating less salt and more fruits and veggies really does lower blood pressure — but only for people who don’t take medicine for high blood pressure.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
This study tested how eating less salt and more fruits, veggies, and low-fat dairy affects blood pressure in people with slightly high blood pressure.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 561 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes—a 20.8 mmHg drop is as strong as many blood pressure pills, meaning diet alone can be very powerful for people with the highest readings.
- 21.
- 3Cutting salt from 3450mg to 1150mg/day lowered BP by 7–9 mmHg in people with SBP ≥140.
- 42.
- 5DASH diet alone lowered BP by up to 10.6 mmHg in those with SBP ≥150.
- 63.
- 7Together, they dropped BP by 20.8 mmHg in the highest group.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Journal of the American College of Cardiology
Year
2017
Authors
S. Juraschek, E. Miller, C. Weaver, L. Appel
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.