"No added salt diet" reduces BP

Simply avoiding pre-salted foods and not adding salt to foods can result in a modest, but statistically significant reduction in blood pressure. Researchers from the Shiraz University in Iran, assessed blood pressure and 24-hour sodium levels in urine in 60 individuals before and after instructing them to follow a 'no added salt' diet for six weeks. Twenty patients who did not follow the diet were used as a comparison group (controls). The average age was 49 years, half were men, and all the patients had mild to moderate hypertension. There was no statistically significant difference between age, weight, sex, hyperlipidaemia (high lipid / cholesterol levels in blood), family history of high blood pressure (BP), mean systolic and diastolic BP during the day and at night, and mean sodium levels in 24 hour urine of case and control groups. After six weeks, there was a significant reduction in urinary sodium excretion in those on the diet, compared with those not on the diet. The blood pressure reductions were seen even in 50 per cent of the patients who consumed a medium amount (3 to 7 grams / day) of dietary salt and the 25 per cent of the patients who ingested 7 or more grams per day. Only 21 per cent of the subjects consumed less than 3 grams of salt daily. Despite modest effect on dietary sodium restriction, no added salt diet significantly decreased systolic and diastolic BP and so it should be advised to every patient with high BP.