Salt and Blood Pressure: Not Everyone Reacts the Same
Heterogeneity of blood pressure response to dietary sodium restriction in normotensive adults.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Sodium restriction may not be innocuous in all normotensive adults.
Public health guidelines universally recommend low-sodium diets for everyone, but this study implies that for some healthy people—especially older ones—reducing salt could cause harmful or unstable blood pressure changes.
Practical Takeaways
If you're over 50 and have normal blood pressure, don't automatically cut salt without checking with a doctor.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Sodium restriction may not be innocuous in all normotensive adults.
Public health guidelines universally recommend low-sodium diets for everyone, but this study implies that for some healthy people—especially older ones—reducing salt could cause harmful or unstable blood pressure changes.
Practical Takeaways
If you're over 50 and have normal blood pressure, don't automatically cut salt without checking with a doctor.
Publication
Journal
Journal of chronic diseases
Year
1987
Authors
J. Z. Miller, M. Weinberger, S. Daugherty, N. Fineberg, J. Christian, C. Grim
Related Content
Claims (3)
Cutting down on salt can lower your blood pressure, and the more salt you cut, the more your blood pressure drops—especially if it was already high to begin with.
As people get older, their blood pressure tends to react more wildly when they eat less salt—meaning older folks might be more sensitive to how much salt they consume.
Cutting back on salt might seem healthy, but for some people who don’t have high blood pressure, it could accidentally raise or lower their blood pressure in ways that aren’t good.