Salt wars: New study says a dash or two is OK

Taking a moderate amount of salt may be healthier than too little or too much, researchers reported on Tuesday in a study likely to fuel the debate over the health effects of salt in the diet.

Doctors for years have warned that high salt intake increases the risk of high blood pressure and other heart problems, but recent studies have begun to debunk that notion.

Although lowering salt intake is known to reduce blood pressure, research has yet to show whether that translates into better overall heart health in the wider population. A large review of studies released earlier this month suggested cutting salt may not improve the health of the general population.

In the latest entry in the debate, researchers at McMaster University in Canada found people who consumed a moderate amount of salt had the lowest risk of heart problems, while people who had high-salt diets had an increased risk of stroke, heart attack and other cardiovascular events.

Those in the study with low-salt diets had a higher risk of death from heart disease and an increased risk of being hospitalized for heart failure, the team reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"Our findings highlight the importance of reducing salt intake in those consuming high-salt diets and the need for reducing sodium content in manufactured foods that are high in salt," Dr. Salim Yusuf of McMaster, who helped lead the study, said in a statement.

"However, for those with moderate (or average) intake, whether further reduction of salt in the diet will be beneficial is an open question," he said.

How much Salt Is for the best for the Heart?

If anyone is with heart problems or diabetes, too little salt may perhaps harbor almost all the danger as an excessive amount of salt, experts report.

Reducing salt continues to be very crucial in persons consuming over 6, 000 and also 7, 000 milligrams connected with sodium everyday, said Doctor. Martin O'Donnell, lead author of a study from the Nov. 23/30 issue from the Journal from the American Professional medical Association.

But folks that already eat moderate and also average quantities of salt may not need to reduce their intake further, additional O'Donnell, the associate healthcare professor during McMaster Collage in Hamilton, Ontario, inside Canada.

"We're seeing a lot more that there can be an ideal moderate amount of salt that men should become eating, " reported Dr. Mark Bisognano, professor connected with medicine along with director connected with outpatient cardiology on the University connected with Rochester Professional medical Center, in Los angeles. "This will be reassuring for those who eat the diet which is moderate inside salt. "

Bisognano were involved while using study, that is funded by simply pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim.