Ann Robinson’s research reviews—16 November 2023

Take it without a pinch of saltReducing salt intake is as effective for lowering blood pressure as commonly used first line antihypertensive drugs in people aged 50-75 years. This small, but important, study of 213 people included roughly equal numbers of people with normal blood pressure, treated blood pressure, inadequately treated blood pressure, and untreated high blood pressure. The researchers found an average lowering of 8 mm Hg in systolic blood pressure in those who reduced their usual salt intake compared with those who increased it over one week.Everyone seemed to benefit from cutting down on salt regardless of age, sex, race, baseline blood pressure, known hypertension or diabetes, and body mass index. The median sodium intake per day before the intervention was 4.5 g, far in excess of the WHO’s recommendation of 2 g. By cutting down their salt intake by 1 teaspoon a day (2.3 g sodium), the…
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