"Dr. Bibbins-Domingo said that for many people the decrease in blood pressure would be modest, which is why, she said, “many physicians have thrown up their hands and said, ‘I’m not going to advise my patients to reduce salt because it’s too hard for patients and the benefits for any individual are small.’"<p>This is consistent with what Gary Taubes has been saying. Reducing refined carbohydrates has a much bigger impact on blood pressure than salt (4-5x as much, IIRC) because of the way it affects water retention.