Learn how sodium intake influences blood pressure

Blood pressure is complicated, but we now know that sodium causes arterioles to contract, which raises blood pressure. We'll go over the research and help you make healthier diet choices to keep your blood pressure normal.

• In addition to restricting arterioles, sodium also draws more fluid into the bloodstream and holds it there. The more fluid, the more pressure. Think of a garden hose: if you turn on the water as a trickle, there's little pressure. Turn it on full blast, and it gushes out with such force that the hose may jump out of your hands.
• The research can be confusing. One study found little correlation between salt and blood pressure, whereas another found that overweight people who ate the most salt had a greater risk of dying from all cardiovascular disease that those who were only overweight.
• To further muddy the water, another study found that manipulating dietary sodium intake may have an adverse effect on overall health. However, The Dash-sodium study found that the less sodium participants consumed, the lower their blood pressure dropped.
• How could the studies yield such confusing results? Well, researchers suspect that there's a strong genetic component, meaning that some people have certain genes that make them particularly sensitive to the effects of sodium. There's no simple test to see which category you fall into, but everyone agrees that 3,600 to 4,000 milligrams of sodium a day (which is consumed in a typical diet) is simply too much.

It's difficult to fully understand sodium's impact on blood pressure, but it seems rather likely that reducing your sodium intake can have positive effects on your health. Depending on your genetics, reducing your sodium intake may also seriously improve your blood pressure. Either way, it's worth a shot.