Look at the evidence, not the headline
Perhaps you saw the headlines like "salt reduction benefits go beyond blood pressure." We did, so we read the study by Kacie Dickinson et al, "Effects of a low-salt diet on flow-mediated dilation in humans ." The study of 29 overweight and obese Australians in this month's American Journal of Clinical Nutrition is being portrayed as yet another reason to reduce dietary salt.
Not so fast. We recognize that there are many changes that occur when dietary salt is reduced, some well understood (e.g. renin, aldosterone, insulin resistance, blood pressure), others less so. So it may be that this study adds to our understanding.
Keep in mind one key finding: "There was no correlation between change in FMD (flow-mediated dilation) and change in 24-h sodium excretion or change in blood pressure. No significant changes in augmentation index or pulse wave velocity were observed."
As we push for risk factors of risk factors, let's not lose sight of the other competing mechanisms that are activated by lowering dietary sodium and reaffirm our commitment to examining the sum total, the net outcome of all these interventions in terms of cardiovascular health.
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