{"id":11615,"date":"2023-11-17T15:58:32","date_gmt":"2023-11-17T10:28:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/reducing-salt-intake-by-just-1-teaspoon-has-same-effect-as-blood-pressure-meds-study-finds\/"},"modified":"2023-11-17T15:58:32","modified_gmt":"2023-11-17T10:28:32","slug":"reducing-salt-intake-by-just-1-teaspoon-has-same-effect-as-blood-pressure-meds-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/reducing-salt-intake-by-just-1-teaspoon-has-same-effect-as-blood-pressure-meds-study-finds\/","title":{"rendered":"Reducing salt intake by just 1 teaspoon has same effect as blood pressure meds, study finds"},"content":{"rendered":"

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An estimated 61.9 million U.S. adults are on blood pressure medication<\/u>, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) \u2014 but a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that cutting just 1 teaspoon of salt each day could have the same effect.<\/p>\n

Researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Northwestern Medicine and the University of Alabama at Birmingham studied a cohort of 213 individuals aged 50 to 75 years.<\/p>\n

The participants were evaluated while eating their normal foods; they also followed a low-sodium diet<\/u> for a week and a high-sodium diet for another week.<\/p>\n

SKIPPING THE SALT CAN REDUCE HEART DISEASE RISK BY ALMOST 20%, STUDY FINDS: \u2018KNOW WHAT YOU ARE CONSUMING\u2019<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

“Most middle-aged to elderly individuals consume a diet that is very high in sodium,” said Deepak Gupta, MD, associate professor of Medicine at VUMC and co-principal investigator, in a statement to Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n

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A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that cutting just 1 teaspoon of salt per day could have the same effect as blood pressure medications.<\/span> (iStock)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

“Compared with an individual\u2019s usual diet, a low-sodium diet lowered systolic blood pressure by 6 mm Hg, which is an effect comparable to that of a commonly utilized medication for high blood pressure.”<\/p>\n

In the study, the participants reduced their salt intake by about 1 teaspoon a day compared with their usual diet.<\/p>\n

ASK A DOC: ‘HOW CAN I PREVENT HIGH CHOLESTEROL?’<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

One tablespoon of salt contains approximately 2,300 mg of sodium.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The magnitude of blood pressure reduction with a low-sodium diet was similar across individuals with normal blood pressure, controlled hypertension, untreated hypertension and uncontrolled hypertension,” Gupta told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n

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Hypertension is the leading risk factor for death worldwide, affecting more than one billion people globally, according to data from the World Heart Federation.<\/span> (iStock)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Some 70% to 75% of the study participants saw a reduction in their blood pressure, regardless of whether they were already on medication, according to co-principal investigator Norrina Allen, PhD, professor of preventive medicine at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in a press release.<\/p>\n

The results were also presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2023 in Philadelphia<\/u>.<\/p>\n

WANT A MORE ACCURATE BLOOD PRESSURE READING? TRY LYING DOWN WHEN IT’S TAKEN, NEW STUDY SUGGESTS<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

“We previously didn\u2019t know if people already on blood pressure medication could actually lower their blood pressure more by reducing their sodium,” said Allen in the release.<\/p>\n

“This reinforces the importance of reduction in dietary sodium intake to help control blood pressure, even among individuals taking medication for hypertension.”<\/p>\n

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“Sodium is a key player in maintaining blood pressure, as it attracts water and causes more fluid absorption from your gut,” a doctor told Fox News Digital in light of the new study.<\/span> (iStock)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Also notable is how quickly the participants\u2019 blood pressure dropped in the week that they followed the low-sodium diet.<\/p>\n

“The fact that blood pressure dropped so significantly in just one week and was well-tolerated is important and emphasizes the potential public health impact of dietary sodium reduction in the population, given that high blood pressure is such a huge health issue worldwide,” said co-investigator Cora Lewis, M.D., professor of medicine at the University of Alabama<\/u> at Birmingham, in the release.<\/p>\n

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“People have a real shot at improving their health through improving their diet in this way.”<\/p>\n

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“It is particularly exciting that the products we used in the low-sodium diet are generally available, so people have a real shot at improving their health<\/u> through improving their diet in this way.”<\/p>\n

Dr. Bradley Serwer, a Maryland-based<\/u> cardiologist and chief medical officer at VitalSolution, a company that offers cardiovascular and anesthesiology services to hospitals nationwide, was not involved in the study but reviewed its findings.<\/p>\n

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The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that adults stick to 1,500 mg or less of sodium per day.<\/span> (iStock\u00a0)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

“This degree of improvement is comparable to taking blood pressure medication, but without any side effects,” he told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n

“Sodium is a key player in maintaining blood pressure, as it attracts water and causes more fluid absorption from your gut,” the doctor went on.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A SINGLE ALCOHOLIC DRINK PER DAY COULD RAISE BLOOD PRESSURE, SAYS STUDY<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

“This results in more fluid volume in the bloodstream, which in turn results in higher pressures and more workload for the heart.”<\/p>\n

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that adults stick to 1,500 mg or less of sodium per day.<\/p>\n

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“High blood pressure can lead to heart failure, heart attacks and strokes because it puts extra pressure on your arteries,” one of the study authors warned.<\/span> (iStock)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The total daily sodium intake recommended by the AHA is 1,500 milligrams, and this study was designed to decrease it even lower than that, Allen said.<\/p>\n

Hypertension is the leading risk factor for death worldwide, affecting more than one billion people globally, according to data from the World Heart Federation.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

“High blood pressure can lead to heart failure<\/u>, heart attacks and strokes because it puts extra pressure on your arteries,” Allen said in the study’s release. “It affects the heart\u2019s ability to work effectively and pump blood.”<\/p>\n

In 2021, hypertension contributed to 691,095 U.S. deaths, per the CDC.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

“It is known as the \u2018silent killer\u2019 and contributes to one in eight deaths worldwide,” Gupta told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n

“Preventing hypertension and controlling blood pressure in individuals with hypertension is important to help people live healthier and longer lives.”<\/p>\n

For more Health articles, visit <\/u><\/strong><\/i>www.foxnews.com\/health<\/u><\/strong><\/i>.<\/strong><\/i><\/p>\n

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Melissa Rudy is health editor and a member of the lifestyle team at Fox News Digital.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n[ad_2]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[ad_1] An estimated 61.9 million U.S. adults are on blood pressure medication, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) \u2014 but a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that cutting just 1 teaspoon of salt each day could have the same effect. Researchers from Vanderbilt University …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11616,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11615"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11615"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11615\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}