Cardiologist says ‘increase your dietary fibre intake to improve blood pressure control’: Explains how it helps

Cardiologist Dr Belardo highlights that evidence shows that whole plant foods are more beneficial than supplements for cardiovascular health.

Dr Danielle Belardo, MD (cardiology), often shares her insights on heart diseases and how to prevent them with simple lifestyle choices on her Instagram page. In a post shared in July 2024, the cardiologist stressed that increasing dietary fibre intake can help improve blood pressure control. Let's find out how:

How does dietary fibre help improve blood pressure control?

The cardiologist shared that several international, regional, and national guidelines on hypertension state that lifestyle interventions are the first-line treatment to lower blood pressure (BP). She further pointed out that though diet is one of the major lifestyle modifications described in hypertension guidelines, dietary fibre is not specified.

She wrote, “Suboptimal intake of foods high in fibre, such as in Westernised diets, is a major contributing factor to mortality and morbidity of noncommunicable diseases due to higher BP and cardiovascular disease.”

How much fibre should you take to avoid high blood pressure?

Citing an April 2024 study, Dr Belardo wrote that in the research, authors address this fibre deficiency by examining and advocating for the incorporation of dietary fibre as a key lifestyle modification to manage elevated BP.

According to the study, the minimum daily dietary fibre for adults with hypertension should be:

• >28 g/day for women
• >38 g/day for men

This should be with each extra 5 g/day estimated to reduce systolic BP by 2.8 mm Hg and diastolic BP by 2.1 mm Hg, the cardiologist stressed.

“The authors propose this would support healthy gut microbiota and the production of gut microbiota-derived metabolites called short-chain fatty acids that may lower BP,” she added.

The doctor further pointed out that: “We already know from an enormous amount of evidence derived from well-designed randomised controlled trials, that eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains, low in sodium and eliminating/greatly reducing alcohol intake, can help to reduce blood pressure and overall cardiovascular disease risk.”

“Focus on increasing fibre through eating whole plant foods, and skip the fibre supplements, as data has demonstrated that the benefits of fibre come from the whole food, not the fibre in pill form. Remember progress >>> perfection. Even small dietary changes count! And add up to make big differences in our health. Prevention is the best intervention!” she added in the end.

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.