High blood pressure (BP) affects more than 150 million adults in the United States, putting them at increased risk for a range of health problems, including heart attack and stroke. Because salt consumption is thought to contribute to high blood pressure by stimulating thirst and leading to greater fluid intake, cutting salt intake is widely considered to be an important strategy for lowering blood pressure. Separately, recent studies have suggested that higher sodium intake does not in fact stimulate thirst and fluid intake but promotes weight loss by changing the body’s total energy needs.
A new study led by Stephen Juraschek, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), sheds new light on these conflicting findings. The researchers found that reducing sodium intake in adults with elevated blood pressure or hypertension decreased thirst, urine volume (a marker of fluid intake), and blood pressure, but did not affect metabolic energy needs. These results, published in the journal Hypertension, support the traditional notion that decreasing sodium intake is critical to managing hypertension – disputing recent studies.
