Higher sodium intake associated with lower blood pressure. You read that right

Another example of the accepted wisdom doled out by the most expensive medical system that the world has ever known is wrong. Lowering sodium intake does not lower blood pressure.

This A study is an offshoot of the groundbreaking Framingham Heart Study. Both are projects of the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute and Boston University.
In another blow against decades of accepted medical wisdom, one of the most prestigious, long-running studies reports that lowering sodium intake doesn’t reduce blood pressure.

www.sandiegouniontribune.com...

The study implies that most Americans are getting a safe amount of sodium but 20% of the population is salt sensitive, but the majority of people are fine.
Lower blood pressure was associated with higher intake of sodium. And the American Heart ass's advice is not correct. Don't forget to write that check out to them when they ask for donations.

High blood pressure is a known risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Hence, lowering salt intake is supposed to lower blood pressure and thus reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. But the study found that supposition to be unfounded.

Moreover, the lowest blood pressure was recorded by those who consumed 4,000 milligrams or more a day — amounts considered dangerously high by medical authorities such as the American Heart Association.

a reply to: seasonal

As someone who drinks copious amounts of high sodium energy drinks and coca cola products, I have long wondered (Albeit i am still young-ish) why do I still seem like I have incredibly good blood flow, pressure, and overall health. I am not someone who necessarily cares about living healthy or better, you're a dead man either way, but it's nice to know that I was not taking years off of my life (that is, if this is correct).

a reply to: SR1TX

Correct no one is getting out of this alive.

Seems like we have been getting bad medical advice by the highly paid experts.

AHA! I knew it! I knew it wasn't a figment of my imagination! I knew there was something to my BP spiking when I go low sodium, and lowering when I eat normally. Nobody ever believed there was a connection (I think I've tried just about every BP med out there, with zero BP budging to boot) I've been written off as having "medication resistant BP" and told to just exercise & go low sodium. Pfft, no, I'll eat healthy & normally, I've watched both numbers go crazy high when I eat low sodium, it doesn't do that any other time unless I'm wolfing garbage foods with asininely high salt content.

a reply to: Nyiah

Enjoy your salted meals, and do what works for you.


Seems like Dr.'s are giving bad advice to very common ailments.

originally posted by: seasonal
Seems like we have been getting bad medical advice by the highly paid experts.

And the only reason for it is because ... they're highly paid.

A major part of the swamp that needs to be drained. I can't imagine how hard it's going to be trying to undo all of the propaganda that's been forced onto people because ... these folks wanted to be the ones who were right.

a reply to: seasonal

As time goes on and medical science improves, as we learn more and more about the human body, things will change... accepted wisdom will change. Heart patients, kidney patients and cancer patients have a harder time regulating sodium. Most people are able, as long as intake is not ridiculously high or low, to maintain a steady sodium level.

You are playing with fire. Salt is bad. All I know is this low salt low saturated fat diet got my blood pressure and cholesterol totally under control:

www.medifast1.com...

a reply to: dfnj2015

The only problem I see with your view is there are a lot of people who have heart attacks that have low cholesterol #'s and normal blood pressure.

Sugar is real bad.

a reply to: seasonal

Yeah, I never bought the whole salt = high bp thing. It has been well known for a long time that salt actually helps dilate veins etc.. Always seemed counter intuitive that it'd have the opposite effect . Plus, eating something salty can help migraines, something caused by low blood flow (most often anyhow). Good find op!

a reply to: Kali74

Fat is an example of knowing it is not bad and still telling people to eat carbo.

Sugar is a huge example of knowing it is terrible, but the $$$ is still keeping the info sealed.

Of course we have/had tobacco, and asbestos and now big food.

We are lied to all the time.

If you do not eat much salt then eat something really salty, it causes water to come out of the cells and into the fluid in the body. Along with that fluid is metabolic byproducts of cellular energy production and waste materials from cells. The kidneys are supposed to flush that out of the body. If the kidneys aren't working up to par, then blood pressure goes up in the body. Actually glucose signals the kidneys to retain sodium. And there is a hormone that stimulates us to pee too, it is made by the pituitary gland I think.

But once you get over the hump, then the cells don't load up the intercellular fluid and blood stream and raise blood pressure. The detoxing of the cells uses electrolytes, sodium and chloride shuttle the toxins out from the cells and potassium and chloride work inside the cells for distributing things. These need to be balanced.

The problem with receptors on the cells being blocked is a problem, glutamate sticks to the receptor for insulin. Sugar actually is the treatment, it knocks the glutamate off. When we have sugar, the body conserves salt, salt is needed to burn fats, when we have sugar it switches over to burning glucose. When we burn fats, the sodium should be secreted bound to some metabolites we need to get rid of. But again, chloride is important for this too. The urine should get saltier in ketosis if things are working correctly.

This is a very complex subject, it would take a long drawn out hour to explain all the different cycles. If you eat more fats, you need more salt to utilize them. If you eat more carbs, you should not each as much salt. Now remember, excessive glutamates can cause a lot of problems with all this, the receptor pumps on cells have a calcium and a glutamate molecule on each side of the valve. We need some glutamate but not too much. Other minerals are also necessary in these processes, most Americans are deficient on some minerals.

Did I bore anyone, I suppose if I get a response it means someone read the whole post.

Remember, low sodium and chloride causes low blood pressure, causes problems with bloated cells in the brain and neurons and even your regular cells. It causes toxic buildup in cells. More people die of brachychardia and low blood pressure than die of high blood pressure. Low sodium can cause dehydration in the cellular fluid, they give you salt water IVs in the ER when you are dehydrated, and often a little sugar in it too so you do not pee out the salt. More problems come from low electrolyte levels than high. Just make sure to get adequate potassium from the diet, eat a few potato chips or potatoes. Strawberries are also decent for potassium.

a reply to: rickymouse

So what increases glutamate? May not get back to you but will read tomorrow.

originally posted by: liveandlearn
a reply to: rickymouse

So what increases glutamate? May not get back to you but will read tomorrow.

Aged foods contain glutamates, so do things like tomatoes, peas, and certain foods. Mushrooms are also high in them, they are made by fungi. Drying grains ups the glutamate levels too. There are bound and free glutamates, both give you a little high when you consume excess. Like beer. MSG is a drug that dopes people sort of like beer, but without the alcohol part. The Umammi taste is psychoactive. It raises dopamine levels in the brain. Our microbes in our digestive system turn glutamine to glutamates, glutamines are in grains in higher amounts. So the bacteria in our gut can get us sort of drunk.

originally posted by: seasonal
Another example of the accepted wisdom doled out by the most expensive medical system that the world has ever known is wrong. Lowering sodium intake does not lower blood pressure.

Perhaps, but sucking down the salt will fry your kidneys, no? Edema with concurrent nerve damage?
Imbalance will kill you.
So when an excess of salt kills you six different ways from Sunday, your blood pressure will be just wondrous!
Big whoop.

originally posted by: namelesss

originally posted by: seasonal
Another example of the accepted wisdom doled out by the most expensive medical system that the world has ever known is wrong. Lowering sodium intake does not lower blood pressure.

Perhaps, but sucking down the salt will fry your kidneys, no? Edema with concurrent nerve damage?
Imbalance will kill you.
So when an excess of salt kills you six different ways from Sunday, your blood pressure will be just wondrous!
Big whoop.

I didn't see the memo stating "Here's your license to inhale a slab of salt at each meal." For folks like myself who show the exact opposite of low sodium diet results expectations, it's basically vindication that we're not total medical freakzaoids exiting in Opposite Land. Low sodium just has negative effects on us. For others, it's vindication for the numbers that don't change at all. Hence, it's not the salt in their diet at fault after all.

a reply to: seasonal

Dont mistake the difference between high or low blood pressure and the given fact that sodium retains fluid

MS
EMT
Advanced Life Support

a reply to: rickymouse

Many thanks! Good info!
My mother's side of the family all have/had high BP. Most of them ignored it or went the other route and did ultra low sodium. No real change in their BP either way.

I believe my high BP is due to tiny veins, intestines that have never been "normal", and propensity to worry. Since I don't care for salty foods per se, I use herb blends, or Hawaiian sea salt for flavor. BP still "high".

The BP drugs my relatives took inadvertently caused their deaths in many cases; falls, forgetfulness, exhaustion with inability to sleep. I was completely unable to function on the mildest BP drug. Not worth it.

a reply to: rickymouse

YES!!!! THIS! THANK YOU! I am sensitive to alcohol anyway, and beer with pizza can knock me out at the table. (I had a bad stomach that docs took out, but never had decent stomach acid anyway. Food goes directly to small intestine now, but had the same issues when I had a stomach).

There are foods that literally make me loopy.

a reply to: rickymouse

Much of what you say is pretty much what my nephrologist says. I have a low sodium co-morbidity with cancer, hospitalized in the ICU 3 times because it got so low. Initial treatment was 12 grams (yes) sodium chloride via tablet everyday and no more than 1 liter of fluid per day. Torture. Finally my kidney guy came along and while under ICU watch decided to try me on a diuretic which seemed counter intuitive to my other doctors saying I was flushing out too much salt. I wasn't flushing out enough fluid. I'm down to 6 grams of sodium and a 10 mg diuretic 2x a day and no fluid restriction as long as I don't go crazy.

He did go on to say because I asked how feasible it was to manage nutritionally, that there's no way I could eat enough or take enough supplements to manage my sodium levels.