They list these veggies to include:
- arugula
- bok choy
- broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- cabbage
- cauliflower
- collard greens
- horseradish
- kale
- radish
- turnips
- watercress
Commenting on what they found, medicalnewstoday.co stated that doing this could mean reducing the risk for major cardiovascular events by 5%. To carry out this research, participants were randomly selected by recruiting 18 participants, both men and women, between 56 and 72 years old who had mild or moderately high blood pressure, defined as a systolic blood pressure between 120 and 160 mmHg and a diastolic reading of less than 100 mmHg.
Researchers measured how cruciferous vegetables affected 24-hour brachial systolic blood pressure – the top blood pressure number – which measures when the heart muscles contract. After filling out questions about their diet and how often they eat these veggies, they noticed that by eating four servings of cruciferous vegetables a day helped reduce this number. However the research found this was lower during the day but did not appear to impact nighttime systolic blood pressure.
Both groups also lost weight with study authors Emma Connolly, PhD candidate with the Nutrition and Health Innovation Research Institute at Edith Cowan University, and Lauren Blekkenhorst, PhD RNutr, National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia Emerging Leadership Fellow, telling Medical News Today: “We found a 2.5 mmHg reduction in 24-hour ambulatory systolic blood pressure, which can translate to roughly 5% lower risk of experiencing a major cardiovascular disease event, such as a heart attack or stroke.
“Cruciferous vegetables typically only make up a small portion of total vegetables consumed by the adult population so strategies to increase these vegetables will likely lead to substantial impacts on reducing burden of cardiovascular disease.”