Low-Salt Diets May Not Be Safe, Might Lead To Rise In Heart Disease, Stroke Or Even Death

If you are hooked on low-salt diets as life-saving, you can think again. Canada's McMaster University experts say that they may not really be healthy, and may, in fact, expose you to a greater risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and death, compared to diets that are exposed to an average intake of salt. Moreover, only those who have high blood pressure should focus on reducing sodium consumption.

While probing 130,000 people from 49 countries, the team looked at the nature of the relationship between salt intake and death, heart disease and stroke in those who have high as well as low blood pressure. They found that low-salt diets were linked to more heart attacks, strokes, and deaths compared to others whose diets had an average salt intake.

"These are extremely important findings for those who are suffering from high blood pressure," said  Andrew Mente of McMaster University and lead author of the study. "While our data highlights the importance of reducing high salt intake in people with hypertension, it does not support reducing salt intake to low levels."

"Our findings are important because they show that lowering sodium is best targeted at those with hypertension who also consume high sodium diets," he added.

Even though some studies state that sodium consumption needs to be reduced to 2.3 grams per day from the standard intake of 3.5 to four grams per day, the new study shows that if you ingest less than three grams of salt per day, you are exposed to health issues irrespective of your blood pressure.

"Low sodium intake reduces blood pressure modestly, compared to average intake, but low sodium intake also has other effects, including adverse elevations of certain hormones which may outweigh any benefits," Mente said. "The key question is not whether blood pressure is lower with very low salt intake, instead, it is whether it improves health."

It is of course known that high salt diets are dangerous to people with high blood pressure.

"This study adds to our understanding of the relationship between salt intake and health, and questions the appropriateness of current guidelines that recommend low sodium intake in the entire population," added Martin O'Donnell of McMaster University and co-author of the study.

"An approach that recommends salt in moderation, particularly focused on those with hypertension, appears more in-line with current evidence," he added.

The findings were published in the May 20 issue of the journal The Lancet.