(Deseret News) — Folks who think low blood pressure means they can consume salt without worry may be in for a surprise. Research suggests that the ratio of sodium to potassium in the diet is more predictive of health risks than high blood pressure is.
Even healthy individuals with normal blood pressure should avoid a “sodium-saturated diet,” according to an eMaxHealth article by Dr. Robin Wulffson.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers published a recent study in the Archives of Internal Medicine that found an increased risk based on that ratio, as well. The scientists controlled for “all the major cardiovascular risk factors” and still found an association with deaths from heart disease when the sodium-potassium ratio was bad. Sodium raises blood pressure and reduces the elasticity of arteries. Potassium activates nitric oxide, which relaxes arteries and lowers the risk of high blood pressure. Sodium, by the way, blocks uptake of nitric oxide.
The Institute of Medicine last year looked at data from 12,000 American adults and reported that a high-sodium diet increases the risk of heart disease, as has been widely reported. But of greater portent, it said, is the balance between the two chlorine salts: sodium raises risk, while potassium lowers it.
That study concluded that “no one is immune to the adverse health effects of excessive sodium intake.”
Research shows that when the sodium-to-potassium ratio is high, people are nearly 50 percent more likely to die from any cause within the 14.8-year follow-up period and twice as likely to die from ischemic heart disease, compared to those who consumed less sodium than potassium.
Three-fourths of salt in the American diet is eaten in processed foods or at restaurants. Wulffson pointed out that it also comes from water that has run through a water-softener. That can be charged with potassium chloride instead of with sodium chloride, although it costs more.
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This is not that ‘new’. Richard D. Moore MD, PhD, addressed this issue in his book “The K-factor, The high blood pressure solution” in 1993. See also (2009):http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbg-A_FQuok
What’s the ratio? The article is useless.
The ratio is at the very least 2 : 1 (2 parts potassium, 1 part salt), but ideally 4 : 1. Very well explained in Richard Moore’s book and also on how to start a high potassium diet. It explaines that, especially if you had a high salt intake to proceed gradually in order to allow the body to get used to and absorb the increased amount of potassium. Also, the ratios do not mean that you still can have a high sodium intake and just increase potassium. Salt ought to be limited to reasonable levels.
The following websites give information on the nutrition value of food, but I don’t know how old the data is.
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/
(search for specific foods)
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/HG72/hg72_2002.pdf
Richard Moore’s book is available from Amazon. May be ‘used’ though, but a very worthwhile read.