Diet, Not Age, May Account for Rising Blood Pressure

They've shown s difference between those on a plant based diet and a meat diet, in regards to inflammation. Those on the plant based diet didn't experience inflammation but the meat eaters did. The marker which distinguished between the two diet groups was the meat eaters had higher hemoglobin, more red blood cells. The curious thing, more red blood cells hails hypertension, More red blood cells higher blood pressure. Coincidence? "Protein intake from only haem animal origin was associated with increased haemoglobin and haematocrit levels whereas protein intakes from non-haem animals and plants were not associated" "Hemoglobin Level Is Positively Associated With Blood Pressure in a Large Cohort of Healthy Individuals" One might wonder whether the Yanomami had fewer red blood cells/lower hemoglobin than the Yekwana .. ?

I suspect it is the haranguing of the missionaries, or the noise of the airplanes, all part of western life.

An important epidemiological study led by Dr Noel Mueller, Ph.D., professor at Johns Hopkins University, providing real world evidence for the detrimental effects of processed food on our health, specifically blood pressure. Dr. Mueller compares two tribes, presumably with similar cultural, environmental, and possibly hereditary characteristics, where one tribe eats their traditional hunter gatherer diet and the other eats a diet that includes modern processed food. The study shows significantly higher blood pressure in the tribe eating processed food. These data provide evidence that hypertension is not an inherent part of aging, rather the idea that rising blood pressure increases with age as a result of a number of exposome factors, including diet, is supported. Other factors affecting the tribe with access to the modern world include the presence of visitors, such as missionaries, medical people, and miners. Considering iatrogenic effects alone, the presence of physicians and other medical people, may be one factor in diminishing these people's health, including raising their blood pressure. Those visiting the tribes should understand what "Blue Zones" are, such as Ikaria, Greece - bring plant-based whole foods, and leave their medical diagnostics, drugs, and medical procedures at home.

As usual, the author blames "processed food and salt" as the components of the Western diet that cause chronic disease. As Taubes very convincingly illustrates in his latest book, "The Case Against Sugar", it is the consumption of sugar, not salt, that is the element of the western diet which is responsible for the diseases of western civilization that result from the "diet transition" ie obesity, diabetes, hypertension, vascular disease, and cancer. Metabolically, fructose leads first to hepatic insulin resistance which causes compensatory hyperinsulinemia, which in turn leads to metabolic syndrome with all the diseases which associate with it.

Perhaps we should leave the Yanomami people alone and stop using them for medical experiments.

Thank you for such an interesting article. The text says that the Yekwana receive regular deliveries of both western food and medicine, but the article only addresses the western diet as a potential cause of the increased risk of hypertension in this population. Might both be having an effect?

There are many lessons to be learned from the Yanomami dietary and exercise patterns. Most of the diet (75-80%) comes from complex carbohydrates-high fiber plant foods, which provide ample magnesium, calcium, and potassium to help relax the smooth muscles of arteries to lower blood pressure. These same plant foods also help the lining of the arteries-the endothelial cells-produce nitric oxide, which helps relax arteries and protect them from atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries with cholesterol plaques, is also very uncommon among the tribe. Dr. Frank Sacks, who developed the DASH diet (a mostly whole food plant-based diet) in the 1990s, found that when his diet was compared to other similar low sodium diets, his diet worked better at lowering BP, suggesting it was more than just the sodium. Observational studies, such as the Adventist Health Studies and Nurses Health Studies, have shown that with each step toward a plant-based diet, the lower the incidence of obesity, type two diabetes, coronary artery disease, and hypertension. Interventional studies by Ornish and Esselstyn MD, both of whom have demonstrated arresting and reversing coronary artery disease with a whole foods (and largely) plant-based diet, have further solidified this dietary pattern as a true disease intervention. The American College of Lifestyle Medicine embraces and promotes this dietary pattern, and it’s time for the ACC and cardiologists to jump on board!