Washington, Jan 26: A low-carbohydrate diet can prove effective in lowering blood pressure, a new study has found.

In the study, researchers found that two popular weight loss methods proved equally effective at helping participants lose significant amounts of weight. But a low-carbohydrate diet proved better at lowering blood pressure than the weight-loss drug orlistat, said researchers at Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Duke University Medical Center.

According to William S. Yancy, Jr., MD, lead author of the study in the Jan. 25 Archives of Internal Medicine, and an associate professor of medicine at Duke, the findings send an important message to hypertensive people trying to lose weight: "If people have high blood pressure and a weight problem, a low-carbohydrate diet might be a better option than a weight loss medicatio.”

Yancy added, "It's important to know you can try a diet instead of medication and get the same weight loss results with fewer costs and potentially fewer side effects." --ANI