I’m 37yo, 157 and 7% body fat. I’ve been on blood pressure drugs since my mid 20s due to genetics, so that’s probably the biggest factor. Secondary, I will tell you that I’ve had my blood pressure measured countless times back to back on moderate to high sodium and then sodium fasting. Salt is the second biggest problem for me after genetics. I’ve never noticed ANY other factor that affected my BP (other than short term from the obvious caffeine, exercise, etc.)
I just recently started reading the Supplements forum, and I gotta say man, you have a LOT of good information to give. Is this something that you do professionally or simply an area of interest?
You are one of the unlucky salt-sensitive people, your situation is different. We are looking at what affects the majority of people without any pre-existing health conditions and there is some uncertainty over how salt really does affect the BP of healthy people.
In your case, is BP still high if you keep salt low and don’t take the drugs? I wonder if there is some other solution than the conventional medications because it sounds like they have a lot of side effects.
It sounds like you are positing ‘salt sensitivity’ as an independent variable. If that’s the case, you are over your skis, as there is no such accepted phenomenon (to my knowledge).
I don’t claim to have any special knowledge on this topic (I did start this thread, remember?) and based on what this guy is saying it sounds like he still needs to take medication to keep his BP down even with low salt intake. But from what I understand (could be wrong) there appears to be different responses to salt consumption. I just searched it and found this:
" What is salt sensitivity?
Salt sensitivity is a measure of how your blood pressure responds to salt intake. People are either salt-sensitive or salt-resistant. Those who are sensitive to salt are more likely to have high blood pressure than those who are resistant to salt.
There are many ways to measure if a person is salt-sensitive or salt-resistant. One of the methods involves eating a low-sodium diet (about 230 mg sodium or 600 mg of table salt per day) for four days, followed by four days of a high-sodium diet (about 4.6 g sodium or 12 g of table salt per day). If blood pressure increases by at least 5% at the end of the high-sodium period, the person is said to be salt-sensitive. Otherwise, he or she is salt-resistant or salt-insensitive (1)."
References
- Sullivan JM.1991. Salt sensitivity. Definition, conception, methodology, and long-term issues. Hypertension. 17(1 Suppl):I61-8. PMID:1987013.
So while I may just be parroting information that I heard elsewhere, there does seem to be some basis for these claims.
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Here’s some more from the same article for you (What is salt sensitivity?)
Why are people salt-sensitive?
Sodium homeostasis in the human body is regulated mainly by the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. This system operates mainly in the kidney and in vascular smooth muscle cells. Variations in this system, due to genetic background, age, race, gender and medical history, cause the kidney of salt-sensitive individuals to handle excess sodium less efficiently. Asian or African ancestry, older age, female gender, high blood pressure, and kidney disease are all associated with salt-sensitivity.
What genes are involved in salt sensitivity?
Genetic variations in genes involved in the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system predispose salt sensitivity in carriers (4). As mentioned in the article Hypertension and the ACE gene, about 38% of the general population carries an ACE gene variant that causes increased activity of this system, which leads to greater blood pressure increase in response to increased sodium in the blood. These people are therefore salt-sensitive. Two other genes associated with salt sensitivity are the NOS3 gene, described in Cardiovascular disease and the NOS3 gene, and the AGT gene, described in Hypertension and the AGT gene. Table 2 lists the frequency of risk variants associated with increased risk for salt sensitivity and hypertension.
There you go. Wasn’t aware of that. Thanks.
NDAID use is also considered to raise BP probably primarily by raising sensitivity to sodium. In my case, when I took NDAIDs frequently, sodium intake affected my BP but since I eliminated them I find no relationship between my sodium intake and BP. I stopped getting headaches too when I quit ibuprophen.
Same here, same age, bit taller and more BF… luckily I have absolutely zero side effects from my meds, but the long term plan is to reduce and get rid of them. With work and the kids I am finding it difficult to keep the discipline to consistently eat better to be able to get off meds.
I think if your BP is fine, you do not need to worry too much about salt intake. Obviously not a carte blanche to binge on salt, because it does not change your BP…A bit of common sense and everything in moderation will keep … the doctor away?
Out of curiosity, how come? due to training and constant inflammation that goes with it?
NSAIDS cause fluid retention and decrease kidney function even at small doses. You can’t really tell anything else about the underlying causes of someone’s high BP if they are taking NSAIDS 3+ times a week.
I might have not been too clear. I was just curious to know why you took NSAIDs frequently?
They caused rebound headaches. When I stopped taking them I stopped getting headaches.
@mertdawg Read that specifically Saturated fats from plants raise LDL, true?
I know i’m tacking this on pretty late here, but doing so anyway for interested future explorers.
From my own experience:
A: was overweight following injury/surgery and sent for bloodwork. Doc put my cholesteol at about 200 and gave me 6 months to get under control.
B: Was finally able to get back in gym, lost excess fat, ate more meat (much of it red) and upped veggie/fruit servings. Cut out 90% of processed food (candie bars, soda, subs, etc.)
Returned for bloodwork and results at the 6mo mark. All well and cholesterol sitting at 110.
Take from that what you may.
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Good to hear the health is in order and I’m glad you necrobumped this thread. It was a pretty awesome read actually.