Dagfinn Aune Links 170g Legumes to Lower Blood Pressure Risk
Researchers led by Dr Dagfinn Aune found that eating 170g of legumes a day or 60–80g of soy was linked to about a 30% lower risk of developing blood pressure problems. The finding matters for adults already living with blood pressure concerns, especially because the study tied the benefit to foods that are already widely available.
The work pooled data from 300,000 adults across 12 studies and found that higher intake of legumes and soy tracked with lower hypertension risk. Aune said the results could support a shift toward plant-based protein sources, which he described as a low-cost and sustainable alternative.
Dagfinn Aune and the study
Aune is a senior author on the research, a research fellow at Imperial College London and an associate professor at Oslo New University. He said, "These findings are important because elevated blood pressure is a major risk factor for several circulatory disorders" and, "Putting more emphasis on plant-based protein sources like legumes and soy in the diet is a low-cost and sustainable alternative that could reduce the burden of hypertension, and potentially the risk of hypertension-related diseases,".
The researchers combined observational data from studies in the US, China, Iran, South Korea, Japan, France and the UK. The cohorts ranged from 1,000 to 90,000 people, and five of the studies came from the US. The analysis grouped participants by how much legumes or soy they ate.
Legumes, soy and hypertension
Legumes in the study included beans, peas and lentils. Soy foods included tofu, edamame and miso. The strongest signal in the analysis came at 170g of legumes per day and 60–80g of soy per day, where adults were around 30% less likely to develop high blood pressure than people who ate none.
The study also found smaller gains at the highest intake levels: people with the most legumes were 16% less likely to develop hypertension than those in the lowest intake groups, while the highest soy intake was linked to a 19% lower risk. Researchers said the findings came from observational data, so they did not prove that the foods caused the lower risk, even though they said a causal relationship was likely.
What adults can take from it
High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, affects an estimated 1.4 billion adults aged 30 to 79 worldwide. Untreated cases can lead to heart attack, heart failure and stroke, and Aune said, "We hope that people will be inspired to try to incorporate more legumes and soy in their own diets".
For readers looking for a practical target, the study points to 170g of legumes or 60–80g of soy a day as the intake linked to the lowest risk. That gives a specific benchmark for meals built around beans, peas, lentils, tofu, edamame or miso, rather than a general call to eat more plant protein.
