Low-sodium grocery deliveries could improve blood pressure for residents of food deserts
Home deliveries of groceries patterned on the low sodium DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Diet) Diet—which emphasizes fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, and lean meats—may be an effective approach for lowering blood pressure in people with limited access to healthy foods, according to a study led by Stephen Juraschek, associate professor in the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Department of Nutrition.
The results of the randomized clinical trial of 180 Black adults with elevated blood pressure or hypertension, who live in areas of Boston with fewer grocery stores, were published Nov. 9 in JAMA.
Participants received either 12 weeks of weekly home-delivered DASH-style groceries along with counseling from a dietician, or three monthly $500 stipends to do their own grocery shopping. People in the second group received a handout about the DASH diet but were not restricted in their purchases.
At the end of the trial, participants who received home-delivered groceries saw drops in both their blood pressure and their LDL (bad) cholesterol compared to participants who received stipends. While the benefits were not maintained in the months after the study ended, the study’s authors wrote that its findings can be applied by health practitioners to advise patients on how to purchase groceries to improve their cardiometabolic health or by nutrition plan administrators to inform grocery purchases for larger populations.
“These findings highlight the potential for food-delivery interventions to improve cardiometabolic health in urban Black communities with limited grocery access,” Juraschek said during an American Heart Association press conference announcing the findings. He said that the trial is being expanded to three states in the Southeast. He added, “We’ve also partnered with a consortium called GoFresh World, with countries in all inhabited continents, to see if we can establish universal principles in grocery ordering to promote cardiometabolic health throughout the world.”
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Low-sodium grocery deliveries could help tackle hypertension in food deserts
