If you are one of those who treat the salt as a silent killer and try to consume it as less as possible, then this article is perfect for you. According to a study in JAMA Internal Medicine, cutting down on salt doesn’t actually improve heart health or blood pressure.
The researchers taking part in this study estimated the sodium intake of 2,600 healthy elderly Americans within a period of 10 years. In the meantime, they were using dietary surveys in order to track them for cardiovascular disease, heart failure and death.
They adapted the data for potential confounders such as race, exercise habits, gender and BMI. They didn’t find any considerable relation between sodium intake and risk of the above mentioned cardiovascular disease, heart failure and death. Additionally, the found that the ones who consumed less than 1,500 mg ( ¾ of a teaspoon) of sodium per day which is the current recommendation by the American Heart Association, didn’t have a considerable lower risk of health problems in comparison to the ones who consumed larger amounts, such as 2,300 mg on daily basis.
Even though this article and the researchers who conducted the study indicate that there is little point in going low sodium that still doesn’t mean that you can go crazy with it and use in huge amounts. According to Andreas Kalogeropoulos, MD, PhD who is a lead author and assistant professor at Emory University School of Medicine, there is a small benefit of going from very high to slightly lower sodium intake. However, as you go lower and lower, the benefit gradually disappears. We found that there was a breaking point where lower sodium consumption was not associated with further benefits”- he says.
Furthermore, Andreas claims that the “mild” recommendation of 2,300 mg (at most) which is proposed for general population is tolerable but when it comes to the more strict recommendation of 1,500 mg, that is totally unacceptable and unnecessary.
