Thanks to a mindfulness-based program, people with hypertension have changed their eating behaviors, which can help lower their blood pressure.
- As part of a mindfulness-based blood pressure reduction program, 101 people were trained in meditation, yoga, self-awareness, attention control and emotion regulation.
- After eight weeks, their interceptive awareness, the process of detecting and interpreting signals emitted by their own body, improved.
- Participants were also more likely to join and adopt the Dash diet, which is said to help control blood pressure.
We know: hypertension is a major cause of cardiovascular disease. To prevent their occurrence, blood pressure should be reduced and controlled through a healthy diet and exercise. In a recent study, published in the journal JAMA Network Openresearchers from Brown University (US) revealed that practicing mindfulness can be beneficial in improving self-awareness and helping hypertensive patients follow a heart-healthy diet.
Mindfulness: they “learn to direct these skills toward behaviors known to lower blood pressure”
As part of the work, the scientists recruited 201 adults. A total of 101 people participated in the mindfulness-based blood pressure reduction program. The latter included a group orientation session, eight weekly 2.5-hour group sessions and a one-day retreat, as well as a recommended home practice for 45 minutes, six days a week.
He trained participants in meditation, yoga, self-awareness, attention control, and emotion regulation. “What makes the program unique is that volunteers learn to direct these skills toward behaviors known to lower blood pressure,” explained Eric B. Loucks, author of the research. As for members of the control group, they were given brochures on controlling high blood pressure. Next, the team focused on getting participants to adhere to the DASH diet, which is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products.
Hypertension: improved interceptive awareness and adherence to the DASH diet
After eight weeks, the authors found that among all participants, the DASH diet adherence score, which was low at baseline, increased by 0.34 points. In the “mindfulness” group, an improvement of 0.71 points in the average score of interoceptive awareness (which is the process of detecting and interpreting signals emitted by one’s own body), compared to the previous six months, was recorded.
“Better awareness of ourselves, of how different foods make us feel, of how our bodies feel in general, as well as our thoughts, emotions and physical sensations related to eating healthy or unhealthy foods, can influence people’s food choices”, and thus help hypertensive people to reduce “their blood pressure and their risk of cardiovascular disease”explained Eric B. Loucks in a statement.