Study finds low salt diets may not lower blood pressure
A new study uncovered the fact that low salt diets might now lower blood pressure as initially thought, Daily Mail reports.
The study, conducted by scientists at Boston University, revealed that people consuming less salt than the maximum recommended daily dose of six grams actually had higher blood pressure.
The scientists declared that the advice to eat less salt is too simple, as salt can raise hormone levels in the body that adjust the blood pressure and keep it low.
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Moreover, they stated that the people with heart disease that reduce their salt intake and see their blood pressure fall are “salt-sensitive” people most of the times.
“Many people with high blood pressure are sensitive to salt and, for these people, lowering their salt intake will lower blood pressure and maybe heart disease risk,” Dr Lynn Moore, associate professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, said.
“However, the assumption that everyone should consume less sodium to lower their blood pressure is not supported by our study or previous studies,” she added.
“Lowering your salt intake might reduce blood pressure in some people, but not in others. It could even have unintended consequences which could raise the risk of heart disease. The simple, single-minded focus on salt ignores the importance of other minerals, which include potassium, magnesium and calcium. Our new results support these other studies that have questioned the wisdom of low dietary sodium intakes in the general population,” Moore explained.
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