Research

Hormonal

Reducing sodium intake to 2.0 g/day significantly lowers systolic blood pressure in a linear dose-response manner, with greater reductions observed in older adults, hypertensive individuals, and Black populations.

To lower blood pressure, gradually reduce your sodium intake. Aim for a reduction of about 2.3 grams of sodium per day from your current intake. This change is most effective if you are older, have high blood pressure, or are Black. Focus on whole foods and use herbs and spices to maintain flavor.

WeakSupportsHIGH confidence
each reduction of 2.30 g of sodium per day was associated with a reduction of 3.82 mm Hg (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.08 to 4.55) in blood pressure... The effects of dietary sodium on blood pressure were modified according to population characteristics, with larger reductions in blood pressure among older persons than among younger persons, among blacks than among whites, and among hypertensive persons than among normotensive persons.
Dariush Mozaffarian et al. · New England Journal of Medicine · 2014

Why this rating

Based on a meta-analysis of 107 randomized interventions, providing high-quality causal evidence for the blood pressure mechanism.

Source

Global Sodium Consumption and Death from Cardiovascular Causes

Dariush Mozaffarian et al. · New England Journal of Medicine · 2014

DOI 10.1056/nejmoa1304127

Meta-analysis · 107 studiesCited 1,216×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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