New research suggests that we our diet should include more vegetables for lower blood pressure. An amino acid found in vegetables, glutamic acid, appears to have the ability to reduce blood pressure.
The vegetarian lobby uses this and similar studies to promote vegetarianism. Now they also have the “green” debate on their side with claims that raising animals increases global warming.
There’s no question that the average diet in the West is too high in meat and low in vegetables. But vegetable promoters often exaggerate their claims and overlook the benefits of meat in the diet. For example, the glutamic acid study showed that increasing vegetable consumption by about 5% resulted in blood pressure reductions of around 1 o 2 points systolic over 1 point diastolic. These results are barely even significant and would not make a dent in high blood pressure.
On the other hand, meat and dairy products contain beneficial amino acids found nowhere else. Clearly, the most sensible diet contains balanced amounts of meats and vegetables.
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