- The average diets of middle-aged and older adults in the United States include excessive salt, which experts believe has contributed to increased mortality over the last decade.
- In a recent study of 213 people, a low sodium diet reduced blood pressure in nearly 3 out of 4 people compared to a high sodium diet.
- The decline in blood pressure researchers observed was independent of hypertension status and blood pressure medication use.
- The low sodium diet’s anti-hypertensive effect was comparable with a widely used blood pressure medication.
High-salt diets are commonly associated with increases in blood pressure and risk of cardiovascular mortality, even among individuals with healthy blood pressure.
Cardiologist Dr. Bradley Serwer, chief medical officer at cardiovascular and anesthesiology services provider VitalSolution, told Medical News Today: “For the general population, it is recommended to have a sodium intake of under 2300mg per day. For those with high blood pressure or heart disease, we recommend less than 1500mg per day. […]To put this in perspective, a tablespoon of salt has approximately 2,300mg of sodium.”
However, dietary sodium recommendations have been disputed, in part due to varying blood pressure responses to sodium consumption. The blood pressure effect of dietary sodium among people taking blood pressure medications has not been studied well to date, either.
A novel study sponsored by Vanderbilt University Medical Center found that a low sodium diet can reduce blood pressure as much as a prescription drug.
Researchers with Northwestern University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham…
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