A recent study has revealed that having amino acid found in vegetable protein is connected with lower blood pressure.

Jeremiah Stamler, M.D., led the research, which showed 4.72% higher intake of glutamic acid  linked up with lower group systolic blood pressure. It was lowered by 1.5-3 mm of mercury (mm of Hg). Group diastolic blood pressure was lower by 1-1.6 mm of Hg. Researchers scrutinised dietary amino acids, the building blocks of protein.

Stamler, professor emeritus of the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, Chicago, said that glutamic acid is the commonest amino acid and contributes for almost 23% of the protein in vegetable protein and almost 18% in animal protein.

Researchers analysed data from 4,680 people in their middle age who participated in an international population study on the results of dietary nutrients on high blood pressure. Participants were from the US, UK, Japan, and China.

 

Stamler said that the study might explain why the Dieatary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet lowers blood pressure. The eating pattern of DASH, developed by the US National Institutes of Health, is rich in vegetables, fruits, low-fat and non-fat dairy products, whole grains, lean poultry, beans, and nuts.

The study has been published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.