Less Salt = Lower Blood Pressure, Especially If You're Older or Have High BP
Effect of dose and duration of reduction in dietary sodium on blood pressure levels: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised trials
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
When people eat less salt, their blood pressure goes down — and the more salt they cut, the more it drops. This works for everyone, but older people, non-white people, and those with high blood pressure see the biggest drops. If you cut salt for just a few days, you don’t see the full effect — it takes weeks.
Surprising Findings
The effect of sodium reduction is linear and predictable—every 50 mmol drop gives the same BP reduction, regardless of starting point.
Many assumed the effect would plateau or be negligible in healthy people. Instead, the body responds consistently across the spectrum—like a volume knob for BP.
Practical Takeaways
Reduce your daily salt intake by 1/4 teaspoon (about 50 mmol sodium)—swap one processed snack for fresh fruit, or use herbs instead of salt in cooking.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
When people eat less salt, their blood pressure goes down — and the more salt they cut, the more it drops. This works for everyone, but older people, non-white people, and those with high blood pressure see the biggest drops. If you cut salt for just a few days, you don’t see the full effect — it takes weeks.
Surprising Findings
The effect of sodium reduction is linear and predictable—every 50 mmol drop gives the same BP reduction, regardless of starting point.
Many assumed the effect would plateau or be negligible in healthy people. Instead, the body responds consistently across the spectrum—like a volume knob for BP.
Practical Takeaways
Reduce your daily salt intake by 1/4 teaspoon (about 50 mmol sodium)—swap one processed snack for fresh fruit, or use herbs instead of salt in cooking.
Publication
Journal
The BMJ
Year
2020
Authors
Liping Huang, K. Trieu, S. Yoshimura, B. Neal, M. Woodward, N. Campbell, Qiang Li, D. Lackland, A. Leung, C. Anderson, G. MacGregor, F. He
Related Content
Claims (6)
If you cut salt for just a week or two, your blood pressure doesn’t drop as much as it will if you keep it low for a month or more—it takes time for the full effect to show up.
Cutting back on salt in your diet lowers your blood pressure—on average, by about 4 points for the top number and 2 points for the bottom number.
For every 1/4 teaspoon of salt you cut out of your diet, your systolic blood pressure drops by about 1 point, and your diastolic by about 1/3 of a point.
People who are older, Black or Asian, or already have high blood pressure see a bigger drop in their blood pressure when they cut salt than younger, white, or healthy people do.
Even if your blood pressure is normal, cutting back on salt still helps lower it a little—which could help prevent high blood pressure as you get older.