Heart-healthy and lower sodium version of traditional Chinese cuisine lowers blood pressure
DALLAS, July 11, 2022 — Blood pressure levels fell significantly among Chinese adults with high blood pressure who ate heart-healthy, low-sodium traditional Chinese cuisine for four weeks, according to new research published today in the main journal of the American Heart Association. Circulation . A key feature of the Chinese heart-healthy diet, modeled along the lines of the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), is sodium reduction. An unhealthy diet, especially one high in sodium, is a major modifiable risk factor for high blood pressure. “Compared to the nutritional composition of the typical Chinese diet in urban China, our heart-healthy diet of traditional Chinese cuisine cuts sodium in half, from 6,000 mg daily to 3,000 mg daily, reducing fat intake and doubling dietary fiber. It also increases protein, carbohydrates, and potassium,” said first author and co-chair of the study team Yanfang Wang, Ph.D., a nutritionist and research professor at Peking University Clinic