High intake of linoleic acid may keep BP in check

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a study of middle-aged adults, maintaining a diet high in linoleic acid -- the main dietary polyunsaturated fatty acid found in certain plants and vegetables -- seemed to lower the risk of developing high blood pressure.

"These results lend support to current recommendations for increased ingestion of polyunsaturated fatty acids from vegetable sources, instead of saturated fats from animal sources, for cardiovascular disease prevention," Dr. Katsuyuki Miura, of Shiga University of Medical Science, Japan said in an interview with Reuters Health.

Miura and colleagues examined ties between dietary linoleic acid and blood pressure in 4,680 men and women between the ages of 40 and 59 years from China, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

In analyses controlling for factors that might influence the results, the researchers found a trend toward lower blood pressure with higher consumption of linoleic acid for all the participants.

Moreover, they found that the relationship was stronger in a subgroup of 2,238 subjects who were not on an interventional program - that is, they were not on a special diet, not taking nutritional supplements, had no diagnosed heart disease or diabetes, and were not taking medication for high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, or diabetes.

"From our findings, we recommend that people consume a fare moderate (not low) in linoleic acid (or polyunsaturated fatty acids intake) from vegetable sources, instead of saturated fats from animal sources, in order to help keep blood pressure optimal and to prevent hypertension," Miura said.

"Favorable population-wide dietary modification can move the distribution of blood pressure of a population to a favorable direction," she added. Even a small decrease in average blood pressure of the whole population has a big effect on the risk of illness and death related to heart disease, she noted.

SOURCE: Hypertension, September 2008.