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For America: 1. Sodium intake correlates with blood pressure 2. The sodium content of processed foods provide ≈80% of the sodium in the average American die

For America: 1. Sodium intake correlates with blood pressure 2. The sodium content of processed foods provide ≈80% of the sodium in the average American diet. 3. According to national food-recall surveys (which underestimate food intake and exclude salt added at the table), daily sodium consumption increased from 2262 mg in 1974 to 3375 mg in 2000. Excerpted from https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/81/4/941/4753811 https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/81/4/941/4753811

JohnJamesRambo 5y ago
Salt has been demonized for high blood pressure maybe unnecessarily. Morton Salt even sued about it once. Unless you are salt sensitive (most people aren’t, you’d know if you were, you would have high blood pressure) eating high salt won’t raise blood pressure. Salt away and stop denying yourself! I think it’s a masochism thing for many people. https://time.com/3313332/salt-and-blood-pressure/ https://time.com/3313332/salt-and-blood-pressure/ America’s high blood pressure is probably caused by that 42% obesity rate I saw yesterday…
- giantg2 5y ago
  I generally agree. However, sodium imbalance can potentially lead to higher blood pressure. Basically, if one's diet sucks and they aren't getting enough other electrolytes and water, then it could cause a temporary rise.
  - bamboozled 5y ago
    A lot of people would consider a diet high in salt to "suck", so what do you call a diet that doesn't suck ? High in fats, sugars and salt?
    - giantg2 5y ago
      If you are eating an otherwise healthy diet, then higher salt intake doesn't mean much. If you are eating fruits and veggies, then your electrolyte intake should be balanced enough not to matter (with sufficient hydration and renal function). For example, if you aren't eating fruits and veggies, your magnesium and potassium levels could be out of whack and cause BP issues. "A lot of people would consider a diet high in salt to "suck"..." I don't anyone who thinks that, so I doubt it's "a lot of people".
      - bamboozled 5y ago
        It sounds like you’re really saying, you can add _some_ salt to your diet, as long as it’s balanced?
- morpheos137 5y ago
  Yeah working kidneys should remove salt efficiently the think is HBP often damages kidneys. So people with long term HBP may be less efficient at removing salt than others.
- wombatmobile 5y ago
  The time article you linked to says: All of which is surprising given the fact that Americans are bombarded with warnings that we eat far too much: just yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a report finding that 90% of U.S. children eat more sodium than guidelines recommend. Almost half of that comes from 10 processed foods that kids tend to eat a lot of: pizza, bread, processed meats, savory snacks, sandwiches, cheese, processed chicken, pasta dishes, Mexican dishes, and soup. The CDC firmly believes that salt directly influences blood pressure. “We consider the totality of the evidence,” said Janelle Gunn of the CDC’s Division of Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention at a press conference. “A vast majority of scientific research confirms that as sodium is reduced, so is blood pressure.”
  - giantg2 5y ago
    “A vast majority of scientific research confirms that as sodium is reduced, so is blood pressure.” Is that for people who already have hypertension? There's a big difference between causing hypertension and people with hypertension being sensitive to it.
    - wombatmobile 5y ago
      The mechanism by which salt causes high blood pressure is basic. Salt causes fluid retention.
      - giantg2 5y ago
        It shouldn't if you have proper fluid intake, balanced electrolyte consumption, and renal function.
        phaemon 5y ago
        By "balanced electrolyte consumption" you mean chemicals such as sodium, right? I'll give you a moment to think about that...
        5y ago
- bamboozled 5y ago
  For some people it's a great way to get Kidney stones, so maybe there's no need to constantly reach for the shaker, just get used to less salty food and you will be ok.
- jghn 5y ago
  Right. Yes it's diet related but that's because most American's diets are awful in general. As an n=1 bit of anecdote, I had hypertension for years, capping out somewhere around 180/120. I was put on low sodium diets with no change at all. I was put on blood pressure medication, with modest benefits. Then one year I arrived at my annual physical with a dramatic drop. What changed? I lost 30 pounds. The next year I arrived with another notable drop, now square in the normal BP range. What changed? I lost another 10 pounds and had picked up a fair amount of cardiovascular exercise. During this time period and to this day I never bother limiting my sodium intake, and I both have a heavy hand in the kitchen as well as eat out a lot, both leading to high levels.
- YeGoblynQueenne 5y ago
  >> Unless you are salt sensitive (most people aren’t, you’d know if you were, you would have high blood pressure) eating high salt won’t raise blood pressure. The question is how you would know if you have high blood pressure. Most people don't measure their blood pressure as a matter of fact and there are no symptoms of high blood pressure until it gets really, really bad.
  - xboxnolifes 5y ago
    Probably assuming a yearly checkup.
    - YeGoblynQueenne 5y ago
      Occasional checkups seem to have a tendency to produce inaccurate results. See white coat hypertension, discussed elswhere here. There is also white coat hypotension. In general, the most accurate measurement of blood pressure, as far as I can tell, is the measurement of so-called ambulatory pressure taken with a 24-hour meter. Besides which a year with high blood pressure can have lasting effects.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
johnnyApplePRNG 5y ago
I watched a great Nature of Things episode called "Pass the Salt" [0] recently which disproved the myth that salt causes high blood pressure. (It's highly correlated to alcohol intake, smoking, and poor diet in general.) The data that inferred that salt was the culprit (there was none) almost makes it look like the tobacco/alcohol industries might have cherry picked it to inject doubt on what they probably knew to be true about their products. Highly recommended watch! [0] https://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/episodes/pass-the-salt https://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/episodes/pass-the-salt
sneak 5y ago
I eat tons of salt, but with a ketogenic diet, and my BP is perfect now (it was always high prior to going keto). Perhaps your post is an oversimplification.
refurb 5y ago
No. The only time sodium impact blood pressure is if you have sodium sensitive hypertension. Normally functioning kidneys can easily excrete excess sodium with no impact on blood pressure.

JohnJamesRambo 5y ago

Salt has been demonized for high blood pressure maybe unnecessarily. Morton Salt even sued about it once. Unless you are salt sensitive (most people aren’t, you’d know if you were, you would have high blood pressure) eating high salt won’t raise blood pressure. Salt away and stop denying yourself! I think it’s a masochism thing for many people. https://time.com/3313332/salt-and-blood-pressure/ https://time.com/3313332/salt-and-blood-pressure/ America’s high blood pressure is probably caused by that 42% obesity rate I saw yesterday…

giantg2 5y ago
I generally agree. However, sodium imbalance can potentially lead to higher blood pressure. Basically, if one's diet sucks and they aren't getting enough other electrolytes and water, then it could cause a temporary rise.
- bamboozled 5y ago
  A lot of people would consider a diet high in salt to "suck", so what do you call a diet that doesn't suck ? High in fats, sugars and salt?
  - giantg2 5y ago
    If you are eating an otherwise healthy diet, then higher salt intake doesn't mean much. If you are eating fruits and veggies, then your electrolyte intake should be balanced enough not to matter (with sufficient hydration and renal function). For example, if you aren't eating fruits and veggies, your magnesium and potassium levels could be out of whack and cause BP issues. "A lot of people would consider a diet high in salt to "suck"..." I don't anyone who thinks that, so I doubt it's "a lot of people".
    - bamboozled 5y ago
      It sounds like you’re really saying, you can add _some_ salt to your diet, as long as it’s balanced?
morpheos137 5y ago
Yeah working kidneys should remove salt efficiently the think is HBP often damages kidneys. So people with long term HBP may be less efficient at removing salt than others.
wombatmobile 5y ago
The time article you linked to says: All of which is surprising given the fact that Americans are bombarded with warnings that we eat far too much: just yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a report finding that 90% of U.S. children eat more sodium than guidelines recommend. Almost half of that comes from 10 processed foods that kids tend to eat a lot of: pizza, bread, processed meats, savory snacks, sandwiches, cheese, processed chicken, pasta dishes, Mexican dishes, and soup. The CDC firmly believes that salt directly influences blood pressure. “We consider the totality of the evidence,” said Janelle Gunn of the CDC’s Division of Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention at a press conference. “A vast majority of scientific research confirms that as sodium is reduced, so is blood pressure.”
- giantg2 5y ago
  “A vast majority of scientific research confirms that as sodium is reduced, so is blood pressure.” Is that for people who already have hypertension? There's a big difference between causing hypertension and people with hypertension being sensitive to it.
  - wombatmobile 5y ago
    The mechanism by which salt causes high blood pressure is basic. Salt causes fluid retention.
    - giantg2 5y ago
      It shouldn't if you have proper fluid intake, balanced electrolyte consumption, and renal function.
      - phaemon 5y ago
        By "balanced electrolyte consumption" you mean chemicals such as sodium, right? I'll give you a moment to think about that...
        5y ago
bamboozled 5y ago
For some people it's a great way to get Kidney stones, so maybe there's no need to constantly reach for the shaker, just get used to less salty food and you will be ok.
jghn 5y ago
Right. Yes it's diet related but that's because most American's diets are awful in general. As an n=1 bit of anecdote, I had hypertension for years, capping out somewhere around 180/120. I was put on low sodium diets with no change at all. I was put on blood pressure medication, with modest benefits. Then one year I arrived at my annual physical with a dramatic drop. What changed? I lost 30 pounds. The next year I arrived with another notable drop, now square in the normal BP range. What changed? I lost another 10 pounds and had picked up a fair amount of cardiovascular exercise. During this time period and to this day I never bother limiting my sodium intake, and I both have a heavy hand in the kitchen as well as eat out a lot, both leading to high levels.
YeGoblynQueenne 5y ago
>> Unless you are salt sensitive (most people aren’t, you’d know if you were, you would have high blood pressure) eating high salt won’t raise blood pressure. The question is how you would know if you have high blood pressure. Most people don't measure their blood pressure as a matter of fact and there are no symptoms of high blood pressure until it gets really, really bad.
- xboxnolifes 5y ago
  Probably assuming a yearly checkup.
  - YeGoblynQueenne 5y ago
    Occasional checkups seem to have a tendency to produce inaccurate results. See white coat hypertension, discussed elswhere here. There is also white coat hypotension. In general, the most accurate measurement of blood pressure, as far as I can tell, is the measurement of so-called ambulatory pressure taken with a 24-hour meter. Besides which a year with high blood pressure can have lasting effects.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

johnnyApplePRNG 5y ago

I watched a great Nature of Things episode called "Pass the Salt" [0] recently which disproved the myth that salt causes high blood pressure. (It's highly correlated to alcohol intake, smoking, and poor diet in general.) The data that inferred that salt was the culprit (there was none) almost makes it look like the tobacco/alcohol industries might have cherry picked it to inject doubt on what they probably knew to be true about their products. Highly recommended watch! [0] https://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/episodes/pass-the-salt https://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/episodes/pass-the-salt

sneak 5y ago

I eat tons of salt, but with a ketogenic diet, and my BP is perfect now (it was always high prior to going keto). Perhaps your post is an oversimplification.

refurb 5y ago

No. The only time sodium impact blood pressure is if you have sodium sensitive hypertension. Normally functioning kidneys can easily excrete excess sodium with no impact on blood pressure.