Reducing the amount of carbs in your diet can not only help you lose weight, it can also lower your blood pressure, according to a recent study.

The research team led by William S. Yancy Jr. of the VA Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina concluded that eating fewere carbs was an effective as eating less fat, but participants in the study who ate fewer carbs saw their blood pressure go down.

Researchers followed almost 150 patients during the study. Some focused on eating fewer carbs, others on eating less fat while taking a weight reduction medication called orlistat.

There was little difference in weight loss, Yancy said. But the low carb diet group saw a significant drop in blood pressure that the other group didn’t.

To read more about the study, click on low carbs and high blood pressure. Also see blood pressure foods and ways to lower high blood pressure.