Dietary
Oat Fiber Reduces Need for Antihypertensive Medication
Daily
consumption of whole-grain oat cereal reduces blood pressure.
In
patients already using antihypertensive medication, allows a
decrease in dosage, investigators in Minnesota report.
In
one of two separate trials, Joel J. Pins, of the University of
Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis, and colleagues randomized
volunteers with hypertension to 137 grams of oat cereal daily,
with approximately 12 grams of total fiber and 6 grams of soluble
fiber. The control groups consumed wheat cereals with total fiber
of approximately 3 grams and soluble fiber of <1.1 grams.
The
researchers report in the April issue of The Journal of Family
Practice that among the 45 subjects consuming oats daily, 73% were
able to reduce their blood pressure medication. After 12 weeks,
mean total cholesterol dropped by 15% and LDL cholesterol by 16%,
and blood glucose levels improved significantly. However, during a
6-week follow-up after the trial , two-thirds had to resume their
previous dose of medication.
In
comparison, 42% the 43 subjects given the wheat cereal diet were
able to decrease their dose of antihypertensive medication but
experienced no significant reduction in total cholesterol or LDL
cholesterol.
In
a second study, the Minneapolis investigators assigned 18
untreated hypertensives with average systolic blood pressure of
130 to 160 mm Hg and diastolic pressure of 85 to 100 mm Hg to a
similar intervention or control diet. Again, those in the oat
cereal group, but not in the control group, experienced a
"statistically and clinically significant decrease" in
blood pressure after 6 weeks. Changes in cholesterol were also
similar.
"Physicians
may be justified in recommending to their hypertensive patients a
dietary regimen that includes the daily consumption of whole-grain
oats (equaling 6 grams of soluble fiber) in conjunction with their
usual therapy," Pins and his associates conclude. J Fam
Pract 2002;51:353-359,369.
