A few weeks ago, my doctor measured my blood pressure and heart rate. My blood pressure was 170/110 and my heart rate was 158 beats per minute. So, my doctor prescribed me a beta-blocker called Bisoprololfumarate and told me to cut back on salt.
Now, the evidence that beta-blockers are safe, if not beneficial, is overwhelming: I have read somewhere (I think it was on ScienceBasedMedicine) about a study that was preventatively giving beta-blockers to people without measuring their blood pressure (so, we can assume most of them had normal or even low blood pressure), and there turned out to be no difference in all-cause mortality between people who were receiving beta-blockers and people who were receiving placebo. So I started taking them.
However, I don't know how much science the recommendation to eat less salt is based on. I know WHO recommends people not to take more than 6 grams of salt per day, and that the standard American diet includes around twice that amount. However, there doesn't appear to be a correlation between salt intake and heart disease. For example, a typical Japanese diet includes around 40 grams of salt per day, yet Japanese have significantly lower mortality from heart disease than Americans do. And I really like salty food. So, what do you think, should I try to eat less salt?
Now, the evidence that beta-blockers are safe, if not beneficial, is overwhelming: I have read somewhere (I think it was on ScienceBasedMedicine) about a study that was preventatively giving beta-blockers to people without measuring their blood pressure (so, we can assume most of them had normal or even low blood pressure), and there turned out to be no difference in all-cause mortality between people who were receiving beta-blockers and people who were receiving placebo. So I started taking them.
However, I don't know how much science the recommendation to eat less salt is based on. I know WHO recommends people not to take more than 6 grams of salt per day, and that the standard American diet includes around twice that amount. However, there doesn't appear to be a correlation between salt intake and heart disease. For example, a typical Japanese diet includes around 40 grams of salt per day, yet Japanese have significantly lower mortality from heart disease than Americans do. And I really like salty food. So, what do you think, should I try to eat less salt?
