To Your Health
January, 2024 (Vol. 18, Issue 01) |
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Lower Sodium = Lower BP
By Editorial Staff
If you're unaware of the connection between sodium intake and blood pressure, this is your wake-up call. With sodium (most commonly as salt) added to countless processed and prepared foods, and a popular flavoring staple at restaurants, you're likely getting way too much sodium in your daily diet – and your blood pressure will eventually pay the price, if it's not already suffering.
High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart attack and stroke – two health events you don't ever want to experience if you can possibly avoid them. If lowering your sodium intake puts you on the path to prevention, what are you waiting for? Here's what research says about how lowering your sodium can help lower your BP – and how quickly it can accomplish it.
One week – that's all it took on a low-sodium diet to reduce systolic blood pressure by an average of 8 mmHg compared to a high-sodium diet; and according to research, it did it in nearly three of four study participants. Even more impressive, according to the research team, writing on their findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association, "the blood pressure-lowering effect of dietary sodium reduction was comparable with a commonly used first-line antihypertensive medication."
Lower your sodium intake – instead of taking medication – to lower blood pressure. What a novel concept in today's "drugs first" world. Talk to your doctor to learn more.
