Tag: nighttime

High consumption of processed foods was associated with greater variability in systolic BP during sleep and greater odds of extreme nocturnal dipping, researchers reported.

Unprocessed food intake was tied to lower odds of extreme nocturnal dipping, the researchers wrote in Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases.

The researchers aimed to evaluate the association between food consumption by degree of processing and ambulatory BP, using the NOVA classification to categorize foods into four groups, according to the degree and purpose of their processing: unprocessed or minimally processed; processed culinary ingredients; processed; and ultra-processed foods.

“Researchers have investigated the relationship between food consumption according to the degree of food processing and several health outcomes,” Jessica Benatti Ribeiro, of the department of nutrition and health at the Federal University of Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil, and colleagues wrote. “However, evidence about its association with BP shows that the results are still contradictory, while the assessment of this relationship from ambulatory BP monitoring data has not yet been reported.”

In a cross-sectional analysis, Ribeiro and colleagues analyzed data from 815 participants in the second wave of the ELSA-Brasil study, conducted in six Brazilian cities, who underwent 24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) and face-to-face interviews (50.7% women). Researchers assessed systolic and diastolic BP means and variability during the 24 hours, sleep and wake periods, nocturnal dipping and morning surge. Food consumption was classified according to NOVA.

“The unprocessed/minimally processed foods group included foods such as fruits, vegetables, milk, eggs, rice, beans, among others, as well as culinary ingredients