Does anyone know how long the raised BP effects of Sodium last within the body, after eating a sodium rich meal?
For people sensitive to salt, eating a high salt meal just once a week can cause an increase in blood pressure lasting 4 days. Thus, if two salty meals are consumed evenly spaced through the week, a continuous elevation in blood pressure may occur.
Whether or not you are salt-sensitive, you should lower your salt intake. Most people get too much sodium - up to 6000mg daily. We should try to keep our sodium intake below 2000mg a day.
flowergirl
Last edited by flowergirl2day; 03-12-2008 at 07:11 PM.
Thanks Flowergirl,
I'm waiting to recieve some books on DASH and BP <removed>, so thanks for the sodium recomendation. There seems to be sodium hidden in everything I eat, so a major diet makeover is in order.
You appear to be very knowledgeble on BP matters. In your opinion does one have to constantly monitor BP when one reaches a normal range?
I'd hate to be a slave to the BP monitor.
Any advice gratefully recieved.
Thanks
__________________
Scotsman
Last edited by mod-anon; 03-13-2008 at 02:47 AM.
Reason: do not discuss online purchasing
You are on the right track! Do your research and educate yourself. As has been noted by others, our doctors are simply too busy to provide even the most basic information. It is up to us to do our homework. You'll find that the more you'll learn, the more you'll want to know. Nothing is as simple as one would think.
Quote:
does one have to constantly monitor BP when one reaches a normal range?
I'd hate to be a slave to the BP monitor.
This is a matter of personal choice. After your blood pressure reaches consistently normal levels you might change your mind about frequent monitoring. You could follow the recommendations which, predictably, vary with the source. There's a consensus that the early morning and late night readings are the truest reflections of our blood pressure as we are not physically active then.
Of course, it wouldn't hurt to measure one's blood pressure after a strenous activity and during the course of the day when the blood pressure fluctuates so. One thing everyone seems to agree on is that the blood pressure readings should be taken in a consistent manner -at the same time every day under the same circumstances to be of any value.
Maybe a nieve question, but can consuming a potassium rich food, e.g. a banana offset the bp effect of sodium? Essentially, I'm asking if the resultant effect on the BP of eating both Potassium and Sodium cancel each other out.
The regulation of sodium and water excretion is incredibly complex with many hormonal and neurological reactions. It is our plasma volume that determines the cardiovascular pressures. These pressures control the total body sodium by acting directly on the kidney and stimulating certain reflexes.
The volumes of ECV(effective circulating volume), ECF (extracellular fluid volume), blood pressure and cardiac output increase as sodium levels rise, and decrease as sodium levels fall. The kidneys respond by adjusting the sodium chloride excretion.
For this reason I doubt that dietary potassium can have a great effect on total sodium balance in your body. It is an essential element just like the sodium though that our bodies need. In one study of borderline hypertensive rats, published in JASN in 2006, it was shown that an increased dietary potassium chloride intake did not prevent or reverse salt-sensitive hypertension caused by an increased sodium chloride intake over a period of 12 weeks. By the way, they developed hypertension with the increase in dietary sodium. The increased dietary potassium did not appear to have any protective properties against the sodium intake.
I have been trying to make some sense of these issues because they concern me and I have to learn more about them. I am reading a small book about kidney problems I've had for a while that is written is layman's language. I find that I can sort of understand some of the hormonal mechanisms of fluid & salt regulation-but not very well. I should probably purchase a kidney physiology book for dummies.....
