Pleiotropic Benefits of Moderate Salt Reduction

Abstract

The report by He and colleagues provides additional support for reducing daily salt intake from the ≈9 g/d typical of UK and US populations to <6 g recommended by health authorities in both countries.1,2 In their study, moderate sodium reduction lowered clinic blood pressure −4.8/−2.2 mm Hg and daytime ambulatory blood pressure a nearly identical −4.7/−2.2 mm Hg. The blood pressure benefits of moderate sodium restriction were clinically and statistically significant in middle-aged hypertensive adults with predominantly Stage 1 disease. And, the blood pressure changes were significant not only in self-identified blacks and whites, which is consistent with previous reports,2 but also Asians, which adds new information. The mean sodium intake on slow sodium and placebo in this study were comparable to the high (target 150 mmol/d) and intermediate (100 mmol/d) intake in DASH sodium.2 …