For people trying in hopes of lowering their blood pressure, consuming a low-carb diet may boost the effects.

According to a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, adopting a diet low in carbohydrates helps an individual lose weight and lower their blood pressure. The diet has been proven to be more effective than a weight-loss drug.

Study author Dr. William Yancy, Jr. said that this may help people realize that a healthy diet can offer more benefits than prescription medications, which can also produce harmful side effects in addition to being costly.

“While weight loss typically induces improvements in blood pressure, it may be that the low-carbohydrate diet has an additional effect,” Yancy explained.

Participants were split into two groups. The first group was submitted to a low-carb regimen and the others took a weight loss drug. Although the average weight loss for both groups was nearly 10 percent of their body weight, the low-carb group had a lower blood pressure level, indicating more health benefits.