Gabe Mirkin, M.D.
Nowhere in medicine is there more confusion than the
issue of salt as a cause of high blood pressure. At the 2006
meeting of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists,
Dr. Abdul-Rahman of Newark, Delaware reported that people
who lowered blood insulin levels had a significant reduction in
high blood pressure even though they also markedly increased
their salt intake (Endocrinology Practice, Volume 12, 2006).
These obese patients increased their daily salt intake
from less than two grams a day to more than 20 grams a day.
They avoided starchy and sugary foods and lost around 12
pounds in six weeks. They did not count calories. Their average
blood sugars dropped from 106 to 98, average fasting insulin
from 21 to 14 mu/ml and average diastolic blood pressure from 96
to 88. Some of the patients were able to stop their blood
pressure drugs. This study and others show that high blood
insulin levels are an important cause of high blood pressure, and
that you can lower insulin levels by avoiding refined carbohydrates
and losing weight. I recommend a modified DASH diet to all my patients.
June 15, 2006