Diet and Drug Therapy for Hypertension

Excerpt

Alterations in the composition of the diet that are either known to influence or suspected of influencing hypertension and its treatment were discussed. We considered the recommendations by national authorities for restriction of excessive dietary salt as a public health measure. Essential hypertension has been linked to the relatively high salt intakes of citizens of industrialized societies. However, specific recommendations about salt intake to the general population are not yet indicated due to the unproven nature of the dietary salt hypothesis, and the unpopularity of the effort to modify the diets of the majority for the unproven benefit of a