Salt raises blood pressure because it makes it harder for the cardiovascular system to juggle blood pressure and body temperature, U.S. researchers say. Dr. Robert P. Blankfield, clinical professor of family medicine at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and Ellen L. Glickman, professor of exercise science at Kent State University, examined the effect of salt and water consumption versus just water on a group of 22 healthy men without high blood pressure. The study participants\' blood pressure, rectal temperature, cardiac index -- the volume of blood pumped by the heart per minute -- and urine output were monitored at 1, 2, and 3 hours after the men ingested either salt and water or water alone. Changes in rectal temperature were compared between the men identified as salt sensitive versus those who were salt resistant. The study, published in the journal Hypertension Research, found that the ingestion of salt and water lowered body temperature more than the ingestion of water by itself.