A study has found that lower zinc levels in your body can be the reason behind high blood pressure levels.
Lower-than-normal levels of zinc — a nutrient that helps the immune system fight off invading bacteria and viruses — may contribute to hypertension, finds a new study on mice.
The study, from the Wright State University in the US, demonstrated that the way in which the kidneys either excrete sodium into the urine or reabsorb it into the body — specifically through a pathway called the sodium chloride cotransporter (NCC) — also plays a role in controlling high blood pressure.
The results, published in the American Journal of Physiology — Renal Physiology, showed that zinc-deficient mice developed high blood pressure and a corresponding decrease in urinary sodium excretion.
A small group of the zinc-deficient mice were fed a zinc-rich diet partway. Once the animals’ zinc reached adequate levels, blood pressure began to drop and urinary sodium levels increased.
“These significant findings demonstrate that enhanced renal (sodium) re-absorption plays a critical role in (zinc-deficiency)-induced hypertension,” said Clintoria R. Williams, a researcher from the varsity.