The Study
Associations Between Salt‐Restriction Spoons and Long‐Term Changes in Urinary Na+/K+ Ratios and Blood Pressure: Findings From a Population‐Based Cohort
This study found that people who used a special salt spoon tended to have lower salt in their urine and their blood pressure didn’t go up as much over three years. But we can’t say the spoon made the difference — maybe they also ate less salty food in other ways.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
In China, many people add a lot of salt while cooking. This study tested a small spoon that holds exactly 2 grams of salt to help people use less. People who used it regularly ended up eating much less salt and their blood pressure didn't rise as much.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 558 / 100
Quality score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — a 5.3 mm Hg systolic rise is much smaller than the 10+ mm Hg rise seen in people who didn’t reduce salt, meaning the spoon helped prevent dangerous blood pressure spikes.
- 2People who used the spoon cut their salt intake by 3.49 more units (mmol/mmol) than those who didn't.
- 3Those who cut salt the most had only a 5.3 mm Hg rise in systolic blood pressure over 3 years — and no rise in diastolic pressure.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Journal of the American Heart Association: Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Disease
Year
2020
Authors
L. Hou, Xiao-lei Guo, Ji-yu Zhang, Xi Chen, Liu-xia Yan, Xiao-ning Cai, Jun-li Tang, Chunxiao Xu, Baohua Wang, Jing Wu, Jixiang Ma, A. Xu
Related Content
Claims (6)
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.
In China, people who cook with a lot of salt and actually use a special spoon to measure less salt ended up excreting much less salt in their urine than people who didn’t use the spoon — showing that using the tool correctly makes it work better.
People in China who used a special spoon that measures exactly 2 grams of salt while cooking for three years ended up excreting less salt in their urine than those who didn’t use it—meaning the spoon helped them eat less salt.
People in China who lowered the balance of salt to potassium in their urine the most over three years ended up with much smaller increases in their blood pressure — some didn’t even see their bottom number (diastolic) go up at all, and their top number (systolic) only rose a little.
In China, people who used a special spoon that measures exactly 2 grams of salt ended up eating less salt than those who switched to low-salt seasoning—suggesting that changing how you cook might work better than just swapping out your salt.
In China, when people were encouraged to eat less salt over three years, their urine showed a big drop in salt relative to potassium—and the people who started with high blood pressure saw the biggest changes. This suggests cutting salt might help those at highest risk for heart problems the most.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.