High blood pressure is the leading cause of cardiovascular disease. Eating more vegetables is recommended to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. A new study suggests that eating more cruciferous vegetables may be especially effective.
Cruciferous foods are a family of vegetables that includes cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale, arugula, bok choy, collards, radish, turnip, watercress and others.
This controlled study compared a soup made of cruciferous vegetables to a soup made of root and squash vegetables. The cruciferous soup contained 40% broccoli, 25% cauliflower, 25% cabbage, and 10% kale, and the control soup contained 40% potato, 30% pumpkin, 20% carrot, and 10% sweet potato. None of the 18 participants–all of whom had mildly elevated blood pressure–knew which soup they were eating.
At the end of the 2 week study, blood pressure was reduced by a significantly greater 2.5 mmHg in the cruciferous group. That reduction could translate into a 5% reduced risk of major cardiovascular events.
That result may be especially impressive because the control group was far from a placebo. The vegetables in the control soup might also lower blood pressure. Though the cruciferous soup lowered triglycerides better than the control soup, both significantly improved total, LDL and HDL cholesterol as well as glucose levels, and both significantly lowered weight, body mass index and body fat mass.
This study suggests that eating cruciferous vegetables may be especially effective for lowering blood pressure in people with elevated blood pressure.
BMC Med 2024;22,353.