Many individuals are aware of the link between excess salt intake and high blood pressure. Numerous studies exist to back up this link and further studies have shown that it is possible to achieve significant reductions in blood pressure, in individuals with high and normal blood pressure levels, by reducing salt intake.
A research paper just published in the British Journal of Medicine (1) has now found that higher salt intake is associated with significantly greater incidence of strokes and heart attacks. The association seems stronger with increasing intakes of salt (it is a dose-dependent association). A difference of 5 g a day in a person’s usual salt intake was found to be associated with a 23% difference in the rate of stroke and 17% difference in the rate of total cardiovascular disease (heart disease, stroke and other diseases involving the heart and blood vessels such as atherosclerosis). Worldwide, raised blood pressure accounts for around 62% of strokes and 49% of coronary heart disease events. The authors of the study note that (1) “each year a 5 g reduction in daily salt intake at the population level could avert some one and a quarter million deaths from stroke and almost three million deaths from cardiovascular disease worldwide”. A significant finding, furthermore, because of probable imprecision in measurement of salt intake, the authors say that these effect sizes are likely to be underestimated!
The research paper (1) mentions that most adult populations around the world have average daily salt intakes far higher than 6 g, and for many in eastern Europe and Asia have intakes higher than 12 g. The World Health Organization recommended that salt consumption should ideally not exceed more than 5 g per day.
Most of the salt we eat comes from that added to food in the manufacturing process by industry, caterers and food producers. The authors of the paper (1) discuss the fact that In the UK there is a voluntary scheme for the food industry – where there is encouragement for the reformulation of many food items towards a lower salt content and proposals of improved labelling. These efforts have led to a reduction of 0.9 g a day (or about 10%) in population salt intake in four years (from 9.5 to 8.6 g a day), which is still far from the recommended 6 g a day initial targets that were set in the UK. While the voluntary approach is the preferred choice for many governments it may well be time for a more formal ‘regulatory’ approach in order for recommended targets to be reached and for health to be positively influenced.
Practical tips:
*Minimise the amount of processed/refined foods you eat – ready prepared meals are often very high in salt content and other common household staples, such as bread, can also be packed with added salt.
*Always check the label to view the salt content of foods, salt is often ‘hidden’ in various foods that you wouldn’t expect to contain it e.g. biscuits and condiments to name but a few.
*Instead of adding salt to food at the table or during cooking try using herbs and spices to add flavour
*Visit the Food Standards Agency website for loads more information on salt and health and ways to reduce daily consumption
(1)Strazzullo P et al. 2009. Salt intake, stroke, and cardiovascular disease: meta-analysis of prospective studies. BMJ. 339:b4567,
Written by Ani Kowal
Related posts:
- Bioactive plant compounds in berries may help to reduce high blood pressure
- Cutting down on sugary drinks may lower blood pressure
- Study links sugary drinks with higher blood pressure
- Boosting potassium levels through fruit and vegetable consumption may help to reduce blood pressure
- High vegetable and fruit intake may be linked to better brain function
It’s really a great and useful piece of info. I am glad that you simply shared this helpful info with us. Please keep us informed like this. Thanks for sharing.