A recent study found that cutting just one teaspoon of salt from your diet each day can work just as well to lower blood pressure as medication, cutting your risk of heart disease and stroke.
According to a team of U.S. researchers, restricting salt intake can significantly reduce blood pressure, regardless of whether the person is already in hypertension or is taking medication. This reduction can be as small as one teaspoon, or approximately 2,300 milligrams, of salt.
The researchers conducted a study of 213 individuals between the ages of 50 and 75, some of whom had already been diagnosed with hypertension. Others had undiagnosed high blood pressure while some had no blood pressure issues whatsoever.
The participants were divided into two groups and put on either a low-sodium diet of 500 milligrams a day or a high-sodium diet in which bouillons of approximately 2,200 milligrams a day were added to food for one week. Then the groups would switch diets for another week after their vitals had been recorded.
The team found that 73.4% of individuals saw considerable reductions in their blood pressure when they followed the low-sodium diet, which is lower than the American Heart Association’s recommendation of consuming up to 1,500 milligrams of salt per day.
“Compared to their normal diet, people reduced their blood pressure by about 6 millimeters of mercury, about the same effect you’d see for a first-line blood pressure medication,” explained Norrina Allen, who was a co-principal investigator for the study, according to CNN. She is also a professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.
“In addition, that drop happened pretty quickly and was consistent for people with normal blood pressure, slightly high blood pressure, or those already on medications,” Allen added.
In fact, the study, the results of which were published in the journal JAMA in early November, is unique for showing that “people who are already on blood pressure medication can lower their blood pressure even more by limiting sodium,” according to Allen.
Although cutting down on salt could result in things tasting bland for a while, Allen promises that you will get used to it in time.
“I want to encourage people to stick with it because your taste buds do adjust within a couple of weeks or so, and you really do get taste and flavor back and normal things will taste very salty,” she said.
In an interview with KERA, cardiologist Dr. Brandie Williams from Texas Health Heart and Vascular Specialists suggested that reducing your salt intake requires more than just stowing away the salt shaker. It is important to read the nutrition labels of the processed foods you eat.
“Even breads have a lot of salt,” Williams said. “I tell my patients and I say this probably 10 times a day, but peanuts, popcorn, chips — and one food I love — Mexican food [all have salt]. I give them an example: Mexican food has enough salt in one meal for three days as the salt requirement.”
A 2018 study found that “long-term ingestion of a high-salt diet is also associated with obesity, insulin resistance, and metabolic syndrome through unknown mechanisms.” Obesity is one of the biggest problems facing our nation and our area.
