Want to lower your blood pressure? Reducing salt in your diet may help you do just that, and new research shows that for many people it can be as effective as taking common blood pressure medications. There may be.
I want to lower the price blood pressure? Reduce salt in meals And new research shows that for many people, it can be just as effective as taking common blood pressure medications.
The study was published on Saturday Japan Automobile Manufacturers Associationfound that reducing sodium intake significantly lowered blood pressure in the majority of participants.
Researchers surveyed 213 participants between the ages of 50 and 75 about their usual diet, as well as high- and low-sodium diets. The high-sodium diet contained approximately 2200 mg of additional sodium per day, and the low-sodium diet contained approximately 500 mg of sodium per day. This group included a mix of people with and without blood pressure problems.
After one week on a low-sodium diet, systolic blood pressure (the first number measured) decreased by an average of 8 mm Hg compared to a high-sodium diet, and by 6 mm Hg compared to a normal diet. It was done. The researchers noted that this is comparable to the average effectiveness of commonly prescribed drugs for this condition. hydrochlorothiazide (dose 12.5mg).
“A low-sodium diet lowered systolic blood pressure in nearly 75% of people compared with a high-sodium diet,” the authors wrote, and the results were “independent of hypertensive status or use of antihypertensive medications.” “and were generally consistent across subgroups.” No excess adverse events occurred. ”
high blood pressureAlso called high blood pressure, Known as the “silent killer” And it can increase your risk of heart attack, stroke, chronic kidney disease, and other serious conditions. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 691,000 people died in the U.S. in 2021 due to high blood pressure.
Nearly half of adults According to the CDC, hypertension is defined as a systolic blood pressure of 130 or higher or a diastolic blood pressure of 80 or higher. And the CDC estimates that only about 1 in 4 adults with hypertension have their high blood pressure under control.
Salt isn’t the only thing in our diet that can affect blood pressure.
In a study published earlier this year in the American Heart Association’s journal Hypertension, drinking alcohol on a daily basis Even as little as one drink a day is associated with elevated blood pressure readings, even in adults without high blood pressure.
