Chock this up to one of the many reasons you should make an effort to eat more veggies: A vegetarian (or even flexitarian) diet may help lower your blood pressure, according to a new meta-analysis of more than a century’s worth of clinical trials and observational studies.
Researchers from various universities and medical facilities in Japan and the U.S. teamed up to pore over the vast amount of existing data on the relationship between a vegetarian diet and its effects on blood pressure. In addition to dietary info, researchers looked at study participants’ systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings—i.e., the ratio-like stat your doctor gives you at checkups, measured in millimeters of mercury. (A healthy BP is 120/80.)
The meta-analysis concluded that study participants who followed a vegetarian diet had lower BP measurements across the board, likely because animal-free eating plans tend to be low in saturated fatty acids and high in both polyunsaturated fatty acids and potassium—all of which have been linked to lower blood pressure readings. It doesn’t hurt that vegetarians also tend to maintain a healthy weight.
But it wasn’t just the strict vegetarians who saw blood pressure benefits. In the study, people who identify as “semi-vegetarians” were counted as vegetarians (as were vegans). Inspired to start working more vegetarian meals into your diet? Learn how to become a part-time vegan.
MORE: 3 Tips for How to Do a Part-Time Diet Right
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