High blood pressure affects between 15 and 30 percent of the adult population in the United States, and is a major contributor to some of the leading causes of death including coronary artery and cerebrovascular diseases. A substantial body of evidence from both population and laboratory studies indicates that a number of dietary and lifestyle factors are associated with the chronic and progressive increase in blood pressure with age, commonly observed in populations of industrialized countries. There are also an increasing number of reports of important reductions in blood pressure in persons with hypertension following treatment with a number of different non-pharmacological interventions. These observations have led to interest in the possibility of the primary prevention of hypertension through non-pharmacological intervention on factors related to the development of high blood pressure.