VEGETARIAN AND OTHER COMPLEX DIETS, FATS, FIBER, AND HYPERTENSION

Although much of the attention on diet and hypertension has centered a round the rule of specific nutrients such as sodium, potassium, and al cohol, it has become evident that certain complex dietary patterns hav e a blood pressure-lowering effect and may help protect against the de velopment of hypertension. It remains to be seen whether these effects on blood pressure require complex but specific combinations of nutrie nts or, alternatively, are due to hitherto unrecognized single nutrien ts with antihypertensive properties. The issues are difficult to resol ve because people eat foods, not single nutrients, and there is a high degree of association between different nutrients in foods and patter ns of food intake, as well as potentially confounding effects of other factors associated with eating habits such as age, body fat distribut ion, physical activity, alcohol consumption, tobacco use, and psychoso cial stress.