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Enjoying spicy foods linked to lower blood pressure

People who eat spicy foods may have a heightenedย sensitivity to the taste of salt, a new study suggests. The findings were recently published in the journal Hypertensionย and show there is reason to believe eating spicy foods may help people consume less salt. Eating less salt means lower blood pressure and better health for millions of people. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), people are eating too much salt in all corners of the world. The recommended daily salt intake is less than 5 grams, butย most people consume somewhere between 9 and 12 grams. The WHO estimates that 2.5 million deaths could be prevented each year if salt consumption was reduced to the recommended levels. The health issue prompted Zhiming Zhu, M.D., professor of cardiovascular medicine and metabolism at the Chongqing Institute of Hypertension in China to pursue alternatives to salt. Zhu and his team decided to study spicy food…