While it is healthy to maintain a diet low in sodium, fat and oil, a recent article published by the Taiwan Society of Cardiology and the Taiwan Hypertension Society suggests that sodium-free diets can increase the risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
In the article, Taipei Veteran’s General Hospital New Drugs Clinical Testing Center director Chiang Chen-en (江晨恩) cites the case of an 80-year-old woman who experienced dizziness and then lost consciousness.
Tests showed the woman’s sodium levels were extremely low.
It turned out that her family had not put any salt in her food for three years in an effort to keep her sodium intake low, Chiang said.
The level of sodium in her bloodstream was critically low, and if she had not been treated right away, it might have been fatal, Chiang said.
Ongoing research by the National Taiwan University Hospital has found that people who ingest less than 2.3g of sodium per day have a higher risk of hypertension.
That result agrees with work done by foreign researchers who have found that less than 2g of sodium per day increases the risk of a heart attack.
The article said people with hypertension should ingest at least 2g of sodium a day, or about 5g of salt.
Only 40 percent of patients with hypertension are on regular medication to control their condition, Taiwan Hypertension Society secretary-general Wang Tsung-tao (王宗道) said.
Wang said people with hypertension should follow the “722” blood pressure principle, which is to take their blood pressure twice a day, seven days a week, measuring their blood pressure twice each time and then recording the average figure.
This helps doctors to prescribe the right amount and timing of medications based on the weekly blood pressure records, Wang said.
However, pregnant women should not be on low-sodium diets because this would hamper production of body fluids and could cause malnutrition for the fetus, he said.
Calls by European and US medical societies to relax blood pressure control standards from 130/80 milimeter of mercury (mmHg) to 140/90mmHg has caused quite a bit of debate among hypertension experts around the world, the article said.
The article said that some people, such as diabetics and those with coronary heart disease, kidney problems or who are taking blood thinners, should keep their blood pressure under 130/80mmHg, while others should follow the under 140/90mmHg guideline.
However, the article said many doctors oppose relaxing the standards because high blood pressure increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, especially strokes.
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS