Chapter 10 Beyond a DASH of Salt – Minerals That …

1 135 Chapter 10 Beyond a DASHof salt Minerals that Helpto Lower Blood PressureDoctors have known for many years thatmoderation of salt intake can help many peoplelower blood pressure. It has been less well knownthat several other Minerals can help reduce bloodpressure when we include more of them in our that are rich in calcium, potassium, andmagnesium, in particular, have been shown to lowerblood pressure, and the majority of Americans donot get enough. Fortunately, this plan will assurethat you meet your needs, since foods rich in theseminerals are the foundation of the dash dash of SaltEveryone has heard that lowering salt will lowerblood pressure. Recently there has been somecontroversy about this broad statement. Somepeople may be more sensitive than others to theeffects of salt or sodium. (We talk about salt almostinterchangeably with sodium, since it is the majorcontributor of sodium to our diets.)

2 And there areseveral other Minerals , such as potassium, calcium,and magnesium, which play into the original dash investigation used amoderate level of sodium, 3,200 mg per day, well136above the current recommendations. With theDASH diet, blood pressure was loweredsignificantly, even at this moderately high intake ofsodium. But the question remained, what if the saltlevel were lower, would there be furtherimprovements in blood pressure control? RecentDASH studies have shown that , in fact, the lowerthe salt intake with the dash diet, the more theblood pressure declined. So, yes, watching yoursodium intake is still a good studies have shown that people aroundthe world who consume more sodium have higherblood pressures. This sensitivity increases with where people do not consume any salthave almost no hypertension, and blood pressuredoes not increase with age.

3 (In general these peoplealso have low weight, low alcohol consumption, andhigh levels of physical activity.)Typically, African Americans are quite sensitiveto salt , and blacks have higher rates of hypertensionthan whites and Hispanics in the U. S. In the dash study that looked at lower salt levels, blacks, andespecially black women, responded better thanwhites to salt , as much as it seems like gospel thatwe should all try to lower our sodium intake, thereare some studies in the U. S. which have shown thatlow intake of sodium is associated with shorterlifespan. Further, some people may actually be atrisk of developing increased blood pressure if theyadopt a diet that is overly restrictive in sodium. This137includes people who have a cluster of symptomsknown as metabolic syndrome, which includeoverweight, high blood pressure, high triglycerides,low HDL (good) cholesterol and high LDL (bad)cholesterol, and carrying excess weight around thewaist or upper salt Calcium,Potassium, and MagnesiumSodium isn t the only mineral that helps withcontrolling blood pressure.

4 Calcium, magnesiumand potassium are all involved in helping toregulate blood pressure. And their relationship withblood pressure is generally positive. that is, gettingmore of these Minerals in your diet helps to lowerblood has many interesting health benefitsbeyond strengthening bones. People who consumemore calcium in their diets have lower bloodpressure, weigh less, have less body fat, and havelower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The dash diet encourages at least 2 - 3 servings a day of low-fat or nonfat dairy foods. More servings are neededto get the recommended amount of calcium forpeople over 50. It is preferable to include 3 - 4 dailyservings of dairy to get 1200 mg of calcium per day,which is the RDA for people over news about all the extra health benefits of