Consider adding two cups of fruits and vegetables to your daily diet to experience the many health benefits
You’ve heard it many times: eat more fruits and vegetables.
Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables has many health benefits – a lower risk of stroke, cataracts, macular degeneration, osteoporosis, arthritis, asthma, depression, cognitive decline and cancer of the digestive tract is just one of many.
If you suffer from high blood pressure and early-stage chronic kidney disease, you should add at least two cups of fruits and vegetables to your daily diet.
According to a new study published this month in the American Journal of Medicine, this not only helps lower blood pressure but also protects kidney and heart health.
The link between high blood pressure and chronic kidney disease
High blood pressure, which affects nearly one in four Canadians, is, if left uncontrolled, one of the biggest preventable risk factors for heart disease, heart attacks and strokes.
In addition, it is a risk factor for chronic kidney disease, which involves a gradual loss of kidney function and symptoms that can range from mild to severe.
Damage caused by high blood pressure impairs the ability of blood vessels in the kidneys to filter waste products and excess fluid from the bloodstream.
The kidneys balance the pH of the blood by removing acidic substances. A low pH in the blood (acidic) can cause life-threatening health conditions.
About the new research
The study, a five-year randomized controlled trial, involved 153 adults aged 18 to 70 who had high blood pressure and early (stage 1) chronic kidney disease. In stage 1 chronic kidney disease, the kidneys still filter normally, but there are signs of mild kidney damage.
The aim of the study was to test whether reducing dietary acid intake has a positive effect on the progression of chronic kidney disease and improving cardiovascular health.
Fruits and vegetables are alkaline (basic) foods, meaning that after digestion, they produce alkaline (basic) compounds in the bloodstream that increase the pH level in the bloodstream. Beans and lentils also produce bases.
Digestion of animal foods such as meat, chicken, fish and cheese creates acidic compounds in the bloodstream that lower the pH of the blood. Grains and carbonated drinks are also acid-forming.
Participants were assigned to one of three groups: one supplemented their usual diet with two to four cups of fruits and vegetables per day, one took baking soda tablets twice daily, and another continued their usual medical care. Like fruits and vegetables, baking soda has acid-reducing properties.
All participants received standard drug therapy from their primary care physician to protect cardiovascular and renal health.
Participants in all three groups experienced a reduction in blood pressure during the study, with participants in the fruit and vegetable group experiencing the greatest reduction.
Participants in the fruit and vegetable group and the baking soda group experienced a slower decline in kidney function over five years than participants who received drug therapy alone.
While both acid-reducing dietary strategies resulted in similar kidney protection, only participants who ate an additional two to four cups of fruits and vegetables per day improved their cardiovascular disease risk factors such as LDL cholesterol and body mass index.
The new findings are consistent with the results of previous studies conducted by the researchers. They showed that in both animals and humans, an acid-forming diet (high in animal products) is harmful to the kidneys, while an alkaline-forming diet (high in fruit and vegetables) is healthy for the kidneys.
The researchers concluded that “fruits and vegetables should be considered fundamental” in the treatment of hypertension.
Related: What is the DASH diet and can it help lower blood pressure?
Increase your fruit and vegetable consumption
Whether you have high blood pressure or not, increasing your daily intake of fruits and vegetables offers many nutritional and health benefits. Make these foods a priority at every meal.
Include both fruits and vegetables in smoothies. For example, mix leafy greens, raw carrot or pumpkin puree with frozen berries, mango or pineapple.
Add vegetables to your meals. Stir spinach, chopped kale or chard into soups, chilis, stews and pasta sauces. Top a vegetable pizza with baby arugula before serving.
Add baby spinach, diced red peppers and sliced mushrooms to omelettes and frittatas.
Eat fruits and vegetables as a snack instead of reaching for granola bars or crackers.
Prepare vegetables in advance. Wash and chop carrots, celery and peppers and refrigerate for quick meals and snacks. Grill extra vegetables to put on pizzas, add to salads or put on sandwiches.
To maintain your fruit and vegetable consumption even when you are short on time, stock up on a variety of frozen vegetables.
Serve fresh fruit for dessert to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Add dried or fresh berries, orange pieces or apple slices to green leaf salads.
Leslie Beck, a Toronto-based nutritionist in private practice, is Director of Food and Nutrition at Medcan. Follow her on Twitter @LeslieBeckRD
