Some groups of people, depending on their ancestry or where they’re from, have bodies that react differently to salt—some get a bigger spike in blood pressure when they eat salty food, and that’s because of differences in their genes.
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (3)
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Some people’s bodies react more strongly to salt because of their genes — this study found that people with certain genetic traits had much bigger drops in blood pressure when they ate less salt, while others didn’t change much.
Genetic Variation in SLC8A1 Gene Involved in Blood Pressure Responses to Acute Salt Loading
This study found that a specific gene variant in Chinese people makes their blood pressure rise more when they eat a lot of salt, showing that our genes can affect how our bodies react to salt — which supports the idea that different groups of people respond to salt differently.
Dr Lewis Kitchener Dahl, the Dahl Rats, and the “Inconvenient Truth” About the Genetics of Hypertension
Scientists used specially bred rats that get high blood pressure from eating too much salt, and found that their genes make them sensitive to salt — this helps explain why some human groups might react differently to salt too.
Contradicting (2)
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The blood pressure sensitivity to changes in sodium intake is similar in Asians, Blacks and Whites. An analysis of 92 randomized controlled trials
This study looked at whether different ethnic groups have different blood pressure reactions to eating less salt, and found they mostly react the same way — so the idea that some groups are much more sensitive to salt because of their genes isn’t supported by this evidence.
Dietary salt intake and cardiovascular outcomes: an umbrella review of meta-analyses and dose-response evidence
The study says eating too much salt is bad for everyone’s heart, but it doesn’t say whether some groups (like different ethnicities) are more sensitive to salt because of their genes — so it doesn’t prove the claim.
Gold Standard Evidence Needed
According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.