Some people's blood pressure drops more when they use low-salt salt
Association between low-sodium salt intervention and long-term blood pressure changes is modified by ENaC genetic variation: a gene-diet interaction analysis in a randomized controlled trial.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Scientists tested if using a special low-sodium salt helps lower blood pressure more for people with certain genes. They found that people with a specific genetic pattern had much bigger drops in their top blood pressure number.
Surprising Findings
The gene-diet interaction was significant for systolic BP but absent for diastolic BP, despite both showing overall reductions with low-sodium salt.
It’s counterintuitive that two closely related BP measurements would respond so differently to the same intervention based on genetics — suggesting distinct biological pathways.
Practical Takeaways
If you have high blood pressure, consider asking your doctor about genetic testing for ENaC variants to see if low-sodium salt could offer you significantly greater benefit.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Scientists tested if using a special low-sodium salt helps lower blood pressure more for people with certain genes. They found that people with a specific genetic pattern had much bigger drops in their top blood pressure number.
Surprising Findings
The gene-diet interaction was significant for systolic BP but absent for diastolic BP, despite both showing overall reductions with low-sodium salt.
It’s counterintuitive that two closely related BP measurements would respond so differently to the same intervention based on genetics — suggesting distinct biological pathways.
Practical Takeaways
If you have high blood pressure, consider asking your doctor about genetic testing for ENaC variants to see if low-sodium salt could offer you significantly greater benefit.
Publication
Journal
Food & function
Year
2023
Authors
Hao Sun, Ying Zhou, Shuyi Jiang, Dan Zhao, Huamin Li, Yue Lu, Bing Ma, Bo Zhou
Related Content
Claims (4)
People with high blood pressure who have certain genes that make them more prone to high blood pressure tend to see their blood pressure drop more when they switch to low-sodium salt, compared to others with those same genes but lower risk.
If people with high blood pressure switch to a low-sodium salt for three years, their top blood pressure number (systolic) tends to go down—but their genes don’t seem to change how much their bottom number (diastolic) changes.
For people with high blood pressure, using a special low-sodium salt for three years might lower their systolic blood pressure more than regular salt—especially if they have certain genes that make them more likely to have high blood pressure. The drop is about 9.2 points on average.
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.