​Consistent consumption of animal foods, such as meat, poultry, and seafoods, may up hypertension risk in both men and women.

This study investigated the association between long-term intake of animal flesh, such as meat, poultry, and seafoods, and the likelihood of developing hypertension. A team of researchers from Harvard Medical School looked at the dietary data and prevalence of hypertension in more than 150,000 men and women recruited from the Nurses' Health Study and Health Professional Follow-Up Study.

Researchers observed that habitual consumers of animal flesh, such as meat, poultry, and sea foods, were more likely to develop hypertension than their counterparts who rarely consumed or totally avoided these types of foods. The results of this study indicate that regular intake of meat, poultry, and seafoods may increase the incidence of hypertension in the general population.