Less salt means lower blood pressure

I guess this is something we have all heard, but it's nice to have a study to prove it.

Article source: http://www.thewest.com.au/aapstory.aspx?StoryName=438010

"Simply avoiding pre-salted foods and not adding salt to foods can result in a modest but statistically significant reduction in blood pressure, study findings suggest.

A modest reduction in dietary salt, measured by sodium content in the urine by about 35 per cent and lowered daytime blood pressure by 12.1 mm Hg systolic and 6.8 mm Hg diastolic in patients with high blood pressure (hypertension) not taking anti-hypertensive medications, reports Dr Javad Kojuri. Blood pressure readings at night were slightly lower.

Kojuri and Dr Rahim Rahimi, both from Shiraz University in Iran, assessed blood pressure and 24-hour urinary sodium excretion in 60 individuals before and after instructing them to follow a 'no salt added' diet for 6 weeks.

Twenty subjects who did not follow the diet were used as a comparison group ("controls")."