Why some people's blood pressure spikes with salt
POLYMORPHISMS IN THE SERUM- AND GLUCOCORTICOID-INDUCIBLE KINASE 1 GENE ARE ASSOCIATED WITH BLOOD PRESSURE AND RENIN RESPONSE TO DIETARY SALT INTAKE
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
The genetic effect on blood pressure disappears completely on low salt — no difference between gene carriers and non-carriers.
Most assume genetic traits are always active — but here, the environment (salt intake) turns the gene’s effect on and off like a switch.
Practical Takeaways
If you have high blood pressure or a family history, try a 2-week low-salt diet (under 1500mg/day) and monitor your BP — if it drops significantly, you may be genetically salt-sensitive.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
The genetic effect on blood pressure disappears completely on low salt — no difference between gene carriers and non-carriers.
Most assume genetic traits are always active — but here, the environment (salt intake) turns the gene’s effect on and off like a switch.
Practical Takeaways
If you have high blood pressure or a family history, try a 2-week low-salt diet (under 1500mg/day) and monitor your BP — if it drops significantly, you may be genetically salt-sensitive.
Publication
Journal
Journal of human hypertension
Year
2012
Authors
A. Rao, Bei Sun, A. Saxena, P. Hopkins, X. Jeunemaître, N. Brown, G. Adler, Jonathan S. Williams
Related Content
Claims (6)
People of Caucasian descent with high blood pressure who have two copies of certain gene versions may be more likely to have a type of high blood pressure that doesn’t respond well to the body’s normal salt-control system, and this could mean their condition is driven by how their genes affect salt and hormone balance.
People of Caucasian descent with a certain common gene version might see their blood pressure rise a little when they eat a lot of salt, but the change is so small that we can’t be sure it’s real yet — we’d need to study more people to find out for sure.
People of Caucasian descent with high blood pressure who have two copies of certain gene versions tend to see their blood pressure rise more when they eat a lot of salt, and their body produces less of a hormone called renin when they eat little salt—this suggests their genes might make them more sensitive to how much salt they eat.
For people with high blood pressure who are white, having certain versions of the SGK1 gene might make their blood pressure more sensitive to salt—but only if they eat a lot of salt. If they eat very little salt, this gene doesn’t seem to affect their blood pressure at all.
In people with high blood pressure who are white, certain gene variations seem to make their bodies produce less of a hormone called renin when they eat less salt—but these same gene changes don’t affect another hormone called aldosterone. This suggests the genes are tweaking renin on their own, not through aldosterone.