High-Salt Meals Impacts Cardiovascular Measures in 30 Minutes

Dietary salt is related to blood pressure , and cardiovascular disease and increased sodium intakes have been shown to impair vascular function.  Previously, Kacie Dickinson, from the University of Adelaide (Australia), and colleagues demonstrated that a high-salt meal can significantly raise flow mediated dilation, a measure of endothelial function, in as little as 30 minutes.  The team is exploring the mechanism behind this effect, with new evidence finding that plasma nitrate and nitrite remained steady after a high-salt meal, thus ruling out the nitric oxide pathway.