New Blood Pressure Guidelines Recommend Cutting Alcohol And Limiting Salt Intake

The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology released new guidelines on Thursday regarding high blood pressure.

In a first new set of guidelines since 2017, the organizations recommend cutting alcohol entirely and limiting salt intake, among other lifestyle changes.

Why is high blood pressure a cause for concern?

Keeping track of blood pressure helps reduce the risk of kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, dementia and heart disease, which is the No. 1 cause of death in the world, according to CNN. 

“So just trying to more aggressively control blood pressure, for it to be better for more people, to prevent cardiovascular disease, strokes, kidney disease, and now we know lowering blood pressure actually helps reduce the risk for dementia as well,” Dr. Daniel Jones, American Heart Association chair of the writing committee for the guidelines, said.

Almost half of adults in the United States have higher-than-normal blood pressure, according to the news outlet. Normal blood pressure is measured under 120/80 mm Hg, while high blood pressure is 120-129/80 mm Hg and over.

The newly released guidelines recommend lifestyle changes if blood pressure is at 130/80 mmHg or higher. If no changes exist after three to six months, medication should be prescribed.

How to reduce high blood pressure

The new guidelines list several lifestyle changes to reduce high blood pressure or maintain a healthy lifestyle. The recommendation includes eliminating alcohol from one’s diet.

“A lot of people enjoy drinking, but because the evidence is there, we want you to make an informed decision,” Jones said. “There’s a lot of individual variability with the relationship between alcohol and blood pressure, but we put forward the ideal as abstinence, and for those who choose to drink, less than one for women and less than two for men.”

The guidelines also recommend reducing salt intake. 

“We also harp on sodium again and we know salt and alcohol are favorites for lots of people, but we do recommend limiting salt intake, increasing potassium intake,” Jones added.

Potassium-enriched salt substitutes are an alternative to salt, as the ideal limit for sodium intake should be 1,500 mg per day, he recommended.

The guidelines also say to prioritize a heart-healthy diet such as the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet. This plan includes eating vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fat-free or low-fat dairy products, fish, poultry, beans, nuts and vegetable oils. It recommends limiting foods that are high in saturated fat, such as fatty meats, full-fat dairy products and tropical oils like coconut, palm kernel and palm oils. It also points to limiting sugar-sweetened beverages and sweets.

Other recommendations from the new guidelines include managing stress, having at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week and doing resistance exercise such as weight training.

“The reality is the first line of things we recommend for both prevention and treatment of high blood pressure have to do with eating and we live in a very difficult environment for food,” Jones said. “It’s hard for people to have a low sodium intake. It’s hard for people to eat enough potassium. It’s hard for people to take in a small number of calories, but the good news is that all that stuff works if you’re willing to do it.”

“It’s hard, but it works,” he added.