Salt consumption is vital for Health.
While it is necessary for the metabolism ,some times it is reported to be responsible for health problems like heart ailments,Hypertension ,Renal Disorders and Diabetes.
Contradicting Study results have been obtained regarding Salt intake and cardiac,hypertension and diabetes.
It is better not to meddle with salt intake excepting in the case of Renal Disorders.
” A high salt diet isn’t bad for you, it’s good for healthy people, European researchers suggest.
Jan A. Staessen, MD, PhD, of the University of Leuven, Belgium, led a study that measured urinary sodium levels in 3,681 healthy, 40-ish people and then followed their health for about eight years.
Their finding: People with the highest sodium levels had a significantly lower risk of dying from heart disease than did people with the lowest sodium levels.
“Our current findings refute the estimates of computer models of lives saved and health care costs reduced with lower salt intake,” Staessen and colleagues conclude in the Journal of the American Medical Association. “They do also not support the current recommendations of a generalized and indiscriminate reduction of salt intake at the population level.”
These recommendations come from the American Heart Association (AHA), which advises everyone to limit their sodium intake to 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day — a substantial cut from the 3,600 to 4,800 milligrams of sodium most Americans get each day.”
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We now know conclusively that the U.S. government’s war on salt consumption will cause harm,” Lori Roman, president of the Salt Institute, says in a news release. “This study confirms previous research indicating that reductions in sodium lead to an increased risk of disease and death.”
Nothing could be further from the truth, says Ralph L. Sacco, MD, president of the American Heart Association and chairman of the neurology department at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
“We need to take this article with a large grain of salt,” Sacco tells WebMD. “There are major problems with it, and there is only this one article with these findings, which are contrary findings to what we and others have found.”
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Sacco notes that the study looks only at relatively young, white Europeans, with no sign of high blood pressure or heart disease, over a relatively short period of time. He suggests that the measure on which the study is based — collection of all urine output over a 24-hour period — is subject to large variation if even one sample is missed during the collection period.
More to the point, Sacco notes a long string of studies linking high salt intake to high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.
“The AHA recommendation to reduce salt intake is based on strong science, not just extrapolations or complex math,” Sacco says. “There have even been randomized trials, the strongest evidence we have that show people who follow lower-sodium diets have lower blood pressure and fewer heart attacks and strokes.”
Staessen and colleagues note that blood pressure did go up a bit in people with the highest sodium levels. They agree that people with high blood pressure can lower their blood pressure by lowering their salt intake. But they suggest that previous studies have overestimated the effects of salt intake on healthy people who are not oversensitive to sodium.”
http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/news/20110504/study-shows-salty-diet-good-heart-group-disagrees
“A modest reduction in the mounds of salt consumed by the typical American each year could lead to 155,000 fewer heart attacks and strokes annually, according to a new analysis.
The benefit would come from reductions in blood pressure that would result from cutting about 3 grams of salt a day.
The average man and woman now consume 10 grams and 7 grams a day, respectively.
That’s about 8 pounds of salt a year for a man.
While some groups such as African-Americans, older people and those with high blood pressure would benefit the most, reducing salt would lower blood pressure throughout society, said lead author Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, an associate professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of California, San Francisco.
“Everybody benefits to some extent,” she said. “Everybody has slightly lower blood pressure when they reduce salt.”
http://www.jsonline.com/features/health/82218417.html
Diabetes and Salt:
“Having diabetes puts you at greater risk for high blood pressure. High levels of salt (sodium) in your diet can further increase that risk. So your doctor or dietitian may ask you to limit or avoid high-salt foods”
http://diabetes.webmd.com/diabetes-understanding-salt
Cirrhosis and Salt Intake:
“If you have cirrhosis, you may need to reduce your sodium intake by eating less salt. You’ll feel better and lower your risk of fluid buildup in the abdomen (ascites) and legs (edema) and other complications by following the suggestions in this Actionset. You may also want to visit with a nutritionist (registered dietitian) to help you get started or find more ways to cut down on salt and eat a healthful diet.”
http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/eating-a-low-sodium-diet-when-you-have-cirrhosis
Abstract
“We have reviewed the role of salt intake in kidney diseases, particularly in relation to renal hemodynamics, renal excretion of proteins, renal morphological changes and progression of chronic renal failure. High salt intake may have detrimental effects on glomerular hemodynamics, inducing hyperfiltration and increasing the filtration fraction and glomerular pressure. This may be particularly important in elderly, obese, diabetic or black patients, who have a high prevalence of salt-sensitivity. Changes in salt intake may influence urinary excretion of proteins in patients with essential hypertension, or diabetic and non diabetic nephropathies. Moreover, high sodium intake may blunt the antiproteinuric effect of various drugs, including angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors and calcium antagonists. Experimental studies show a direct tissue effect of salt on the kidney, independent of its ability to increase blood pressure, inducing hypertrophy, fibrosis and a decrease in glomerular basement membrane anionic sites. However, no firm conclusion can be drawn about the relationship between salt consumption and progression of chronic renal failure, because most information comes from conflicting, small, retrospective, observational studies. In conclusion, it would appear that restriction of sodium intake is an important preventive and therapeutic measure in patients with chronic renal diseases of various origin, or at risk of renal damage, such as hypertensive or diabetic patients.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12113591
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