Whenever a patient with hypertension comes to the hospital and their blood pressure is measured to be significantly elevated, they are always advised to eat less salt and to eat a lighter diet. So what is the connection between salt and hypertension. Let’s talk about salt and hypertension. Salt, chemically called
“Sodium chloride”, after the body ingests salt, it dissolves in water and decomposes into sodium and chloride ions. When the body consumes too much sodium chloride for a long time, the sodium ions in the extracellular fluid increase significantly and will surge into the intracellular fluid under the pressure of the difference in concentration between the intra- and extracellular fluid, and the cells gradually become swollen. As the cells swell and increase in size, the lumen of the blood vessels made up of cells naturally becomes narrow. The swelling of the cells also induces an increase in the responsiveness of the walls of the small arteries to the vasoconstrictive hormones in the blood, thus predisposing them to vasoconstriction spasm. Once the blood vessels are in spasm, their flexibility and ductility become weaker, which directly leads to increased resistance of the small arteries throughout the body and consequently to higher blood pressure; after the concentration of extracellular fluid increases, the body will mobilize more water into the extracellular fluid in order to dilute it, so that the concentration goes down, but it will inevitably cause water and sodium retention – Blood volume increases, as does the volume of return blood, ventricular filling and output.
In short, too much salt intake increases the total volume of blood on the one hand, and narrows the vascular channels on the other. Just as a larger volume of water has to pass through a thinner pipe, the water pressure (blood pressure) naturally increases. The effect of sodium chloride on blood pressure after a high salt diet is a physiological mechanism that occurs in everyone. However, different groups of people do not have the same sensitivity to salt. According to relevant data, about 50% of hypertensive patients and 25% of normal people in China show “salt sensitivity”, but there are also great differences among people of different races, regions and ages, for example, the northern population is significantly higher than the southern population, the elderly are significantly more than young people, women are more than men, and obese people are more than young people. There are more women than men, and more obese than normal weight people. Since a high-salt diet has such a significant impact on hypertension, it is important to eat as little salt as possible. Many international studies have shown that strictly limiting salt intake can lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure and reduce the incidence of stroke, so it is concluded that eating less salt is good for cardiovascular health! The World Health Organization has recommended 5g of salt per person per day, while the salt intake of our residents is significantly over the limit (12g), for hypertensive patients should supply salt per day lower, generally 2-5g is appropriate. Finally, I would like to tell you: eat a lighter diet to make your blood pressure a little more manageable.