This is not the final word.Intake of less Salt can be far more serious to health.Until we know more, let us keep this information on record.For the present, let our body take care of its requirements,-there is no need to deliberate.
Story:
People who eat high levels of salt have a higher risk of stroke, and possibly heart problems, according to new research. The researchers calculated that cutting salt consumption to recommended levels worldwide might save almost 3 million lives a year, although this would mean persuading whole populations to halve their salt consumption, which isn’t likely to be easy.
What do we know already?
Eating less salt can help lower your blood pressure. By itself, high blood pressure isn’t necessarily a big deal, but over time, and combined with other factors such as a high cholesterol level or being overweight, it can increase your risk of heart attack or stroke. It would be useful to know whether a low-salt diet could cut your risk of these serious health problems, rather than just lowering your blood pressure.
Now, researchers have looked at lots of smaller studies on salt intake to get a better picture of the health effects. They combined the results of 13 studies, which looked at more than 177,000 people from six countries, including the Untied States, Scotland, and Japan.
What does the new study say?
People who ate more salt had a higher chance of having a stroke. On average, an extra 5 grams of salt per day was linked to a 23 percent higher risk of stroke.
This might sound like a big increase, but the impact will depend on how likely you are to have a stroke in the first place. Increasing a 1 in 1,000 risk by 23 percent still only gives you a risk of 1.23 in 1,000.
The impact of salt on cardiovascular disease overall (both stroke and heart disease) was less clear. There seemed to be a 14 percent increase in risk, but statistically the researchers couldn’t be sure that this wasn’t a chance result.
How reliable are the findings?
One problem with the research is that it’s hard to accurately gauge someone’s salt intake. Most of the studies used questionnaires to look at the foods people ate, which relies on accurate (and honest) answers from the participants. Only 4 studies out of 13 measured the amount of salt in people’s urine, which is much more precise. Even these studies only looked at salt levels for one day, so don’t account for any changes in people’s diets over time.
Where does the study come from?
The study was published in the BMJ (British Medical Journal), which is owned by the British Medical Association. It was partly funded by a grant from the European Commission.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/besttreatments/2009/nov/25/cuts-in-salt-intake-needed-worldwide-to-reduce-risk-of
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