Milk and Hypertension

Hypertension

About 7.5 million Canadians live with hypertension, a risk factor for atherosclerosis and premature death.¹ Almost a quarter of Canadians report that they have been diagnosed with hypertension by a health-care professional, or that they take anti-hypertensive medication.²

In addition to medication, there are lifestyle interventions that can help manage high blood pressure. These include being more active, eating healthier, relaxation therapies, and cutting back on alcohol and cigarettes.³

As part of the treatment for high blood pressure, the Clinical Practice Guidelines from Hypertension Canada recommend that hypertensive or at-risk patients eat healthier by following a DASH eating pattern.⁴DASH is short for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, which is an evidence-based eating pattern that is shown to lower blood pressure levels and reduce the risk of developing heart disease.

Dash dietary pattern

The combination of foods in the DASH eating pattern can decrease systolic blood pressure by about 6 to 11 mm Hg in both hypertensive and normotensive people.⁵Milk plays an important role in the DASH pattern, which is outlined below⁶

Food group

Number of servings

What is one serving?

Daily servings

Milk products

2-3

1 cup low-fat milk
1 cup yogurt
1.5 ounces cheese

Grains

6-8

1/2 cup cooked grain
1 slice bread
30 grams cereal

Meat, fish, poultry

6 or less

1 ounce cooked meat, fish or poultry
1 egg

Vegetables

4-5

1 cup raw leafy greens
1/2 cup any cooked vegetables

Fruit

4-5

1 medium fruit
1/2 cup cut fruit
1/4 cup dried fruit

Fats and oils

2-3

1 tsp oil, butter or salad dressing

Weekly servings

Nuts, seeds and legumes

4-5

2 tbsp nut butter
1/2 cup cooked legumes
1.5 ounces nuts or seeds

Sweets

5 or less

1 tbsp sugar

DASH is also lower in salt, sugar, fat and red meat compared to the typical North American diet. People following DASH are reminded to choose foods that are:

Low in saturated and trans fats

Rich in potassium, calcium, magnesium, fibre, and protein

Lower in sodium⁷

How much milk?

The DASH pattern includes two to three servings of low-fat milk or milk products daily.⁸ One serving is equal to a cup of milk or yogurt, or 1.5 ounces of cheese.⁹ A meta-analysis published in 2022 examined the association between milk and hypertension. A total of 42 articles were included. The researchers found a significant inverse association for low-fat dairy and milk for each 200 gram per day intake increase.¹⁰

Milk is an important part of DASH because it’s an excellent source of protein, and contains minerals including calcium, potassium and magnesium, which help lower blood pressure levels. There are many proposed mechanisms by which these minerals help lower blood pressure, including helping blood vessel walls relax.

While the original DASH studies focused on low-fat milk as part of the eating pattern, a 2016 study found that a higher-fat DASH plan (replacing low-fat milk products with full-fat milk products) was able to lower blood pressure as much as the original DASH plan.¹¹ Using higher fat milk products also lowered triglyceride levels and did not adversely impact blood cholesterol levels.