If you're an urban adult at high risk for heart problems, using spices and herbs in a guided program might help you cut way back on salt—almost 1,000 mg less per day—compared to trying to do it on your own.

If people at high risk for high blood pressure — like Black adults or those who already have it — get help using more spices and herbs instead of salt, they might cut down on sodium by nearly 1,000 mg a day over 20 weeks, more than if they try to do it on their own.

People who learned to use more spices and herbs instead of salt kept eating less sodium for 20 weeks after a short low-salt diet, and their bodies showed much less salt in their urine compared to people who didn’t get the training.

If you eat a lot of salt—like 18 grams a day for 10 days—your body will flush out more salt in your urine and also have a bit more salt in your blood, which proves you actually ate the salty food they gave you.

If you eat a lot of salt—like 18 grams a day for 10 days—your body will pee out more salt and your blood will have a bit more salt too, which proves your body is responding as expected to the extra salt.

Even if you eat a ton of salt for 10 days, your blood pressure won’t go up if you’re a healthy young adult—your body just pees out the extra salt and your blood stays normal.