Good news, those of you who suffer from high blood pressure: there may be a simple way to get your blood pressure levels lower.

A new study claims that magnesium supplementation results in decreases in blood pressure among both hypertensive normotensive adults, according to an American Heart Association statement.

Taking a 368 mg magnesium dose per day for three months resulted in 2.00 mm Hg reductions is systolic blood pressure and 1.78 mm Hg reductions in diastolic blood pressure, significant results that are encouraging for the millions of people who suffer from high blood pressure in the United States.

The findings are based on a meta-analysis of 34 separate trials with a total of 2,028 participants.

Researchers concluded that the findings indicate that oral magnesium supplements can help prevent hypertension or be used as adjuvant antihypternsive therapy.

There are some limitations to this meta-analysis. Most of the trials had a fairly small sample size and many had a high drop-out rate. Also, researchers used serum magnesium as a surrogate for overall magnesium status, but they are not exactly the same.

However, it’s an encouraging sign that could lead to more detailed studies down the road and potential new treatments for high blood pressure.

“With its relative safety and low cost, magnesium supplements could be considered as an option for lowering blood pressure in high-risk persons or hypertension patients,” said Yiqing Song, M.D., Sc.D., lead author and associate professor in the department of epidemiology at the Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at Indiana University.

“This study underscores the importance of consuming a healthy diet that provides the recommended amount of magnesium as a strategy for helping to control blood pressure,” said Kris-Etherton, a distinguished professor of nutrition at the University of Pennsylvania. “Importantly, this amount of magnesium (368 mg/day) can be obtained from a healthy diet that is consistent with AHA dietary recommendations.”