Physical activity counters salt’s effect on blood pressure
March 24th, 2011 - 12:21 pm ICT by IANSWashington, March 24 (IANS) There’s some good news for people who like their snacks well salted. Physical activity ensures that your blood pressure remains under control even if you like a bit of extra salt in your diet, says a new study.
“Patients should be advised to increase their physical activity and eat less sodium,” said Casey M. Rebholz, who led the study as doctoral scholar at Tulane University School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine in New Orleans.
“Restricting sodium is particularly important in lowering blood pressure among more sedentary people,” added Rebholz, according to a Tulane statement.
Investigators compared study participants’ blood pressure on two one-week diets, one low in sodium (3,000 mg /day) and the other high in sodium (18,000 mg/day).
The American Heart Association recommends consuming less than 1,500 mg/day of sodium.
If a person’s average systolic blood pressure (the top number in the reading, measured when the heart is contracting) increased five percent or more from the low-sodium to the high-sodium regimen, the researchers labelled them as high salt-sensitive.
The participants were 1,906 Han Chinese adults (average age 38) in the Genetic Epidemiology Network of Salt Sensitivity (GenSalt), a large project to identify genetic and environmental factors contributing to salt sensitivity.
GenSalt project is located in rural China because the homogeneous population makes it more likely that genes influential to blood pressure control will be identified.
These findings were presented at the American Heart Association’s 2011 Scientific Sessions.
- Exercise decreases salt's effect on blood pressure - Mar 24, 2011
- Limiting salt intake checks BP, protects heart - Aug 13, 2011
- Low-salt advice based on spurious science, say experts - Oct 22, 2010
- Proteins regulating water retention in salt-sensitive hypertension identified - Oct 23, 2010
- Why some people find it harder to give up salt - Jun 17, 2010
- Sugar-sweetened drinks linked to higher BP - Mar 01, 2011
- Dopamine also vital for kidney health, lifespan - Jul 20, 2011
- Americans urged to cut salt consumption - Jan 15, 2011
- Parenthood linked to lower BP - Jan 15, 2010
- Diet soda ups risk of vascular events; high salt intake linked to stroke - Feb 10, 2011
- Low salt intake in teens' diets 'cuts heart disease, stroke risk in adulthood' - Nov 15, 2010
- Salt is addictive as cigarettes: Study - Jul 12, 2011
- How salt intake raises BP - Apr 15, 2011
- Sea salt no healthier than table salt - Nov 17, 2011
- Raising kids may lower parents' blood pressure - Jan 16, 2010
Tags: american heart association, blood pressure control, doctoral scholar, environmental factors, epidemiology network, genes, homogeneous population, low sodium, lowering blood pressure, physical activity, rebholz, regimen, salt sensitivity, school of public health, study participants, study patients, systolic blood pressure, tropical medicine, tulane university school, tulane university school of public health