COMPASS/BAHANA PATRIA GUPTA
Farmers carry freshly harvested salt in Benowo District, Surabaya, East Java, Tuesday (7/11/2023).
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Reducing salt intake is an effective way to lower blood pressure. Recent research has found that almost everyone can lower their blood pressure, even those who are taking blood pressure-lowering medication. The way to do this is simply to reduce your salt intake.
This study from the research team at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), Northwestern Medicine, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on Saturday (11/11/2023). The study results were also presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2023 in Philadelphia.
Deepak Gupta, a professor of medicine at VUMC who was the lead researcher, said that in the study, middle-aged to elderly participants reduced their salt intake by about one teaspoon a day compared to their usual diet. The result was a reduction in systolic blood pressure of about 6 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), which was comparable to the effects produced by commonly used first-line treatments for high blood pressure.
Reducing sodium by any amount will be beneficial.
“We found that 70-75 percent of all people, regardless of whether they were on blood pressure medication or not, would likely experience a decrease in blood pressure if they lowered the sodium in their diet,” said another researcher from Northwestern University Feinberg, Norrina Allen.
This is one of the largest studies investigating the effect of reducing dietary sodium on blood pressure involving people with hypertension and already undergoing treatment. According to Allen, previously the medical world had no evidence whether people who had undergone blood pressure treatment could actually lower their blood pressure more by reducing their sodium.
KOMPAS/WILIBRORDUS MEGANDIKA WICAKSONO
Salt consumed by salt farmers in Tanggulangin Village, Klirong, Kebumen, Central Java, Tuesday (24/9/2019).
The total daily sodium intake recommended by the AHA is under 1,500 milligrams, and this study was designed to get it even lower than that. “It may be challenging, but reducing sodium by any amount will be beneficial,” says Allen.
High blood pressure is the main cause of morbidity and death in the world. “High blood pressure can cause heart failure, heart attack, and stroke because it puts extra pressure on your arteries,” says Allen. “This affects the heart’s ability to work effectively and pump blood.”
Research process
In this study, middle-aged to elderly individuals aged 50–70 years from Birmingham, Alabama, and Chicago were randomized to either a high-sodium diet (2,200 mg per day on top of their usual diet) or a low-sodium diet (500 mg total per day ) for one week. After that they switched to the opposite diet for one week.
Also read: Excessive salt consumption risks developing type 2 diabetes
The day before each study visit, participants wore blood pressure monitors and had their urine collected for 24 hours. Among 213 participants, systolic blood pressure fell significantly by 7-8 mm Hg when they consumed a low-sodium diet compared with a high-sodium diet, and by 6 mm Hg compared with a regular diet.
KOMPAS/YOLA LITERARY
Anchovies preserved by adding salt and drying in the greenhouse of the UPTD Fisheries Processing Center, Padang City Fisheries and Food Service, Pasie Nan Tigo Village, Koto Tangah District, Padang City, West Sumatra, Wednesday (6/9/2023).
Overall, 72 percent of participants experienced a decrease in systolic blood pressure on the low-sodium diet compared to the regular diet. “The effect of reducing dietary sodium on reducing blood pressure was consistent in almost all individuals, including those with normal blood pressure, high blood pressure, treated blood pressure, and untreated blood pressure,” said Gupta.
According to Gupta, just as any physical activity is better than none for most people, reducing sodium from today’s usual diet is likely better than none for most people with regard to blood pressure.
“This reinforces the importance of reducing sodium intake to help control blood pressure, even among individuals taking hypertension medications,” adds Allen.
Also read: More than 50 percent of Indonesian people consume excessive salt
The blood pressure lowering effect of reducing dietary sodium is achieved quickly and safely within one week. “The fact that blood pressure dropped significantly in just one week and was well tolerated is important and emphasizes the potential public health impact of reducing sodium in the diet, considering that high blood pressure is a huge health problem worldwide,” said Cora Lewis, a professor of medicine at the University of Alabama, was involved in the study.
According to Lewis, the products used in low-sodium diets are generally available so people have a real opportunity to improve their health through improving their diet in this way.
2023-11-13 09:19:33
#Blood #Pressure #Reducing #Salt
