2.1. Participants and Randomization
gastrointestinal tract disease, hypertension, cognitive impairment
DIABETES MELLITUS, HYPERTENSION
Participants were recruited from the outpatient clinic or through media advertisements. Potentially eligible participants were screened and those who met the criteria were invited to a clinical visit. Eligible participants were men and women aged 40 to 80 years who had a diagnosis of hypertension and were undergoing BP-lowering drug treatment at the clinic and had not been visiting a nutritionist in the previous six months. Participants were invited to participate and, after signing a consent form, were randomly allocated to either the educational intervention or the control group. Exclusion criteria included gastrointestinal tract disease, inflammatory disease, chemotherapy treatment, physician diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, those with cognitive impairment detected during the interview, and those unable to participate without third-party involvement, pregnant or lactating women. The follow-up was carried out for up to six months with monthly monitoring.