Does Salt Really Cause High Blood Pressure?

It has been a long-standing belief that high amounts of dietary sodium raise your blood pressure. This belief originated from a British doctor in the 1950s who had many of his patients go on low-sodium diets. The result in each patient was lower blood pressure. Ever since that time, dietitians, doctors, and other medical professionals have preached that lower levels of dietary sodium will help keep blood pressure low.

David McCarron, MD, recently published a study. In his study/survey, David and his team kept track of 33,000 subjects sodium, calcium, and mineral intake. According to his findings, the amount dietary sodium did not have much impact on the subjects blood pressure. Rather, the amount of calcium and other vital nutrients played a major role in a person's blood pressure. In fact, high mineral intake was linked to lower blood pressure.

"We believe that as a rule, high sodium intake is a marker of a poor quality diet," says David McCarron. "The data indicate that it is not the sodium per se that affects blood pressure, but the lack of calcium, magnesium, potassium, and probably some other minerals and vitamins."

The American Heart Association (AHA) still stands firm in its belief that sodium does, in fact, increase blood pressure. The AHA bases its recommendations on the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension ) clinical trial. In this study, 412 subjects were given a diet high in fruits and vegetables and low in sodium. Every subjects blood pressure decreased in this study. Based on this study, the AHA recommends that Americans eat less than 1500 mg of sodium a day.

So which study is true? Is sodium the key factor in our blood pressure, or is it our nutrient intake? Perhaps the answer lies somewhere in between. Maybe blood pressure depends on sodium as well as nutrient intake. After all, exercising lowers blood pressure, so many factors could play into the blood pressure dilemma.

Researchers still debate amongst themselves as to which studies are true. Numerous studies conducted over two decades have indicated that dietary sodium has a direct affect on blood pressure, while recent studies have indicated that nutrients, exercise, and genetics all have more influence on blood pressure than sodium. Whatever is true, one fact remains certain. A healthy diet and plenty of exercise will benefit anyone faced high blood pressure. Keep fit, healthy, and hopefully these findings won't have to matter.

Sources
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